Letters

LETTER: Commentary on School Drug Screening, Interim Superintendent Search

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The Watertown Strong Schools group attended the School Committee’s Policy Subcommittee Meeting and added commentary at the end. 

Unofficial Minutes: Policy Subcommittee Meeting

10/20/16 – Key Points and Commentary

Note: These are NOT official minutes. Commentary can be found at the end of the minutes. Written by: Kate Coyne

Subcommittee members: Guido Guidotti, Chair; Eileen Hsu-Balzer; Liz Yusem; Dr. Theresa McGuinness, Acting Superintendent; Others present: Donna Ruseckas, Director of Wellness & Extended Services; and Kate Coyne (WSS). Drug Screening and Intervention Policy

Donna Ruseckas presented on the new state mandated drug screening law. She presented what she would like to have changed in the policy.

Schools

BC Study Looks for Ways Watertown Schools Can Connect with Non-English Speakers

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Students from a wide variety of cultures and nations fill the classrooms of the Watertown Public Schools, and a study by Boston College researchers seeks to make sure all families are included in what is going on at school. Wednesday night, Rebecca Lowenhaupt, an assistant professor at BC’s Lynch School of Education, told the School Committee that Watertown parents, in general, have a high participation rate in school activities, but the story is different for recent immigrants. “You have a high attendance of parents at back to school night of PreK through eighth grade – 95 percent were in attendance or reached out at that time,” Lowenhaupt said. “While there is a high attendance rate for PreK-8, there is a lower rate for those who first language is not English.” About 11 percent of the students in the Watertown schools are in the English Language Learner (also known as ESL) program, and they speak 28 different languages, with the most common being Portuguese, Spanish, Armenian, Arabic and Pashto.

Schools

See the Qualities the School Committee Wants the Interim Superintendent to Have

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Experience, good communicator and someone who learns fast are some of the qualities the School Committee is looking for in an interim superintendent. Monday night, the School Committee discussed finding a temporary head of schools until a permanent replacement can be found for retiring Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald. School Committee Vice Chair Kendra Foley said she would like to find someone with experience and is a good leader. “I do not just want the person to play a role of superintendent, but guide the community through the process of finding a new superintendent,” Foley said. School Committee Chairman John Portz agreed with the need for experience, because there is always a learning curve when a superintendent comes to a new community.

Schools

Watertown’s New Special Education Director Speaking at SEPAC Meeting

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The Watertown Special Education Parent Advisory Council will host the district’s new special education director during a public meeting on Sept. 28. Watertown SEPAC sent out the following information:

The Watertown SEPAC meeting will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at the Phillips School Conference Room, 30 Common St., from 6-8 p.m.

This meeting will be an informal coffee with our new Director of Special Education, Kathleen Desmarais. Bring your kids – child care, beverages and fresh baked goods will be provided.

Letters

LETTER: Resident Disappointed to See Superintendent Leaving Watertown

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To the Editor of Watertown News,

I was very disappointed to hear the news that our school superintendent, Dr. Jean Fitzgerald, has decided to retire. In her letter to the community, Dr. Fitzgerald explained she was ready to start a new chapter in her life. But from my perspective, it seems she was driven out of her position by a negative and unsupportive environment. With Dr. Fitzgerald’s retirement, we have lost a passionate advocate for our children, and a deeply knowledgeable educator who understands the complexities of teaching and learning. We as a community need to ask ourselves why we allowed our kids, and the teachers, staff, and administrators who are educating our kids, to lose the benefit of such a leader.

Jean Fitzgerald

Parents, Teachers Worry About Who Will be the Next Superintendent

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MIWith the unexpected announcement that Watertown Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald will be retiring, parents, teachers and others already began worrying about who will come in to fill her shoes. Fitzgerald made the announcement at Monday night’s School Committee, saying she will be stepping down in early October. “Each new school year represents a fresh start and an opportunity to explore new challenges. We reflect on what we have accomplished, set new goals, and begin the work required to moved forward,” Fitzgerald said. “As this school year begins, I have decided to make such a change in my own career as an educator.

Schools

Watertown Parents Start a Petition Asking for Vote of No Confidence for Superintendent

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A group of Watertown parents have started a petition asking for the School Committee to take a vote of no confidence for Watertown Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald. The petition, which would also be sent to the Town Council, was started on Change.org, and as of 5:45 p.m. had 20 supporters. The first paragraph of the lengthy petition reads:

“We, the undersigned Parents of children who are attending or have attended Watertown Public Schools, and community members who share similar concerns, have composed this letter to express our dissatisfaction with the current superintendent, Jean Fitzgerald.” The organizers, who were not named in the petition, wrote that “it is the petitioner’s’ position that the Superintendent has acted inefficiently, incompetently, and with conduct unbecoming of a Superintendent.” This, the petition says, is enough to terminate and dismiss Fitzgerald under her contract.

Letters

LETTER: Elimination of Half Day Transition by Schools Hurts Working Families

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This letter was originally sent to School Administrators and the School Committee:

I am sure by now you have received considerable feedback from your decision to eliminate coverage on half day transitions to extended day. While your reasoning might have been sound and based on contractual and financial considerations, the impact your decision has on working families in Watertown is far greater than you might have considered. We have enjoyed the advantages of the Extended Day Program at the Hosmer for the past three years. Your staff is accommodating, the program is engaging and the convenience is exactly what we need. By eliminating the bridge period between scheduled half days and the extended day program, you have effectively caused us and most of the families that pay for your program a great deal of hardship and confusion.