Schools

New Group Pushes for ‘Watertown Strong Schools’

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By Charlie BreitroseA new group has emerged advocating for quality public schools in town, known as Watertown Strong Schools.The group seeks to support the Watertown Public Schools in the effort to get the “full funding needed to staff schools and purchase materials to provide quality education to Watertown students,” according to the group’s website, http://www.watertownstrongschools.com.Watertown Strong Schools has a three-tiered approach to improve the schools – data driven understanding and documentation of the schools; building relationships with the school, town and community leaders; and positive communication and outreach.The website provides a place to find out about upcoming meetings that impact the schools and town. It also has announced informational meetings about Watertown Strong Schools. The meetings will be held on Sunday, March 23 at 3 p.m. at the Watertown Free Public Library, and one on Wednesday, March 26 at 7 p.m. – place to be determined.

Schools

Watertown Middle School Gym Roof Needs Replacing

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{Originally Posted on the Watertown News Facebook page on Feb. 12, 2014}

By Charlie Breitrose

The roof over Watertown Middle School’s gym has been leaking, and school officials will be applying to the state to get money to replace it. The project will cost about $605,000, the School Committee learned last week. Watertown will apply for money from the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s Accelerated Repair Program. The leaks have caused events at the gym to be canceled, said Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald, and there are fears that the floor will be damaged by water sitting on it for extended periods of time.

Schools

Are Watertown Children Suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress?

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{Originally posted on the Watertown News Facebook page on Feb. 7, 2014}

By Charlie Breitrose

This week Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald told the School Committee that there has been a rise in Watertown students getting risk assessments. The reason is not clear, Fitzgerald said, but there is one major traumatic incident this year that may be the cause. “We believe it may be related to post-traumatic stress from the bombing and aftermath in Watertown,” Fitzgerald said.