Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/tag/watertown-schools/)
Watertown will host the third annual Family Formal for on Saturday, May 17 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The event is for students in grades K-5, and will be held at Hosmer Elementary School, 1 Concord Road, Watertown. This is not a drop off event. Tickets are $10 per adult, $5 per student, with a family cap of $30. Financial assistance is available. There will be a DJ and photo booth.
Watertown Middle School welcomed parents and students to the first Community STEM Night on April 29. (Screenshot from Watertown Cable video)
Hundreds of parents and students came out to see what the Watertown Public Schools have to offer in the areas of science, technology, math and engineering during the STEM Night at Watertown Middle School. The event, co-hosted by the Watertown Public Schools and the Watertown Business Coalition, took place on the evening of April 29. The WBC said the evening was a success, in the group’s recent newsletter:
“We are still basking in the glow from what was an incredibly successful Community STEM Night held Tuesday, April 29 at Watertown Middle School. In conjunction with Watertown Public Schools and the WBC, more than 160 parents, students and STEM professionals attended to learn more about what STEM opportunities are available in the Watertown Schools.”
Watertown School Nutrition Director Brandon Rabbitt
The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Public Schools:
Brandon Rabbitt, the Director of School Nutrition for Watertown Public Schools, has been honored as the top school nutrition director in Massachusetts. The School Nutrition Association of Massachusetts selected Rabbitt as their Massachusetts Director of the Year. In announcing the award, the School Nutrition Association of Massachusetts highlighted Rabbitt’s “leadership, innovation, and unwavering commitment to the world of school nutrition.” He was also lauded for his “dedication to student wellness, [his] ability to lead and inspire [his] team, and [his] efforts to increase accessibility of school meals. “I’m so honored to receive this recognition, but it’s really all about our school nutrition team,” said Rabbitt. “I’m beyond lucky to work with such a hardworking group of people who care deeply about our students.
Artwork created by Watertown students will be on display through the month of April. See details in the announcement from the Watertown Schools. Watertown Public Schools Art Show
Location: Watertown Mall
When: April 8 – May 1, 2025
Art Show Reception:
Tuesday, April 8, 5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
Now in her second year in the role of the Watertown Public School’s Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, Dr. Ceronne Daly said she approaches her work with a goal to build connection not just between her and students, but between families. Her work incorporates programs that started before DEIB began, and she seeks to make it part of what students and families experience in the Watertown Schools. “We’re not doing DEI as an add-on,” Daly stresses. “This work is woven into our strategic plan. If we stopped calling it DEI tomorrow, we’d still be doing restorative practices, still fostering student voices, still building inclusive curriculum.”
Watertown school officials closed a budget gap of nearly half a million dollars without cutting staff. On Monday night, Superintendent Dede Galdston will present the Fiscal Year 2026 Watertown Public Schools budget at a public hearing. The budget hearing will take place during the March 24 School Committee meeting, which will be at Lowell School beginning at 7 p.m. While the FY26 Budget of $61.9 million, which will cover the 2025-26 School Year, was a challenge, Galdston said, Watertown is in a better position than many other communities. “In the relative scheme of things, it was a more challenging budget for Watertown, not quite as challenging as Brookline or Newton or Lexington or some of the people who have experienced pretty dramatic decreases in their budgets,” Galdston said. Coming into the budget making process, Watertown knew it would be facing a $1.1 million increase in special education tuition for out-of-district placements, but the district also saved about $227,000 in staff turnover savings that occurs when a veteran staff member retires and someone with a lower salary replaces the person.
The Watertown Public Schools Extended Day program has been so popular that it consistently has more applications than spots available. School officials said the number of spots will not be increased, but efforts will be made to try to prevent students being on the waitlist for more than one year. The School Committee heard updates on the Extended Day — the district’s after school program for children in grades K-5 — as well as the PreK and district’s Preschool programs at its Jan. 6 meeting. Debi Cornelius, Director of Community Education, said the Extended Day Program is full with 410 students, and officially has 35 students on the waitlist, including 14 at Hosmer, 15 at Lowell and 6 from the PreK program.
Third-grader Naomi Ward stands next to the fridge where food is saved after lunches at Lowell School and donated to the Watertown Community Fridge. She helped raise money to purchased the fridge. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
Thanks to the effort of an elementary school student, bags full of food from lunches at one Watertown school will be saved and made available to those who visit the Watertown Community Fridge. Setting up a program to collect the food and make it available to those who need it was a multi-year effort. Now third-grader Naomi Ward first got the idea of trying to save food from lunches at Lowell Elementary School when she was in first grade.