Around Town

Watertown Schools Close a $495K Gap for FY26, Superintendent Will Present Budget March 24

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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.

Schools

Changes to School’s Extended Day Program But No Extra Seats; Plans for PreK & Preschool

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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.

Schools

Student Leads Effort to Install Fridge at Watertown School to Save Unopened Items for Community Fridge

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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.

Schools

Watertown Public Schools Hosting Family Meet and Greet Series

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The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Public Schools:

The Watertown Public Schools Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging is inviting members of the community to a series of caregiver “meet and greets” this fall. These informal forums will give families and caregivers an opportunity to meet one another and will be led by Watertown Public Schools’ Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Director Dr. Ceronne Daly. “We are so excited to launch this series of meet and greets,” said Dr. Daly. “We are hoping these sessions will give us an opportunity to connect in an authentic way with our families and caregivers. It is critical for families and caregivers to know they have access to Watertown Public Schools and they see the district as partners in the education of their children.”

These gatherings are born out of the Office of DEIB’s goal to plan, execute, and attend events that engage staff, families, students and the community in the work of DEIB.

Schools

Unlike Other Districts, Watertown Prepares to Open School With Nearly Full Staff

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Watertown Superintendent Dede Galdston was interviewed by WBZ Channel 4 about hiring teachers. (Screenshot from WBZ)

On Monday, Superintendent Dede Galdston welcomed 42 teachers who are new to the district during the orientation at Hosmer Elementary School. When school opens on Sept. 3, Watertown will be in a position that is enviable to other communities. According to WBZ Channel 4, there are nearly 4,800 open teaching positions in Massachusetts, and the TV station approached the Watertown Schools while doing the story, Galdston said.

Schools

School Officials & Police Believe Bomb Threats on 4 Schools Are Linked to Recent Publicity of Middle School Hit List

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Watertown Middle School

School officials and Police believe the bomb threats on four Watertown schools on Tuesday were the result of recent publicity of an incident at Watertown Middle School in January when a student’s hit list was found. In a statement from the Watertown Schools and WPD, they said the schools are committed to “ensuring the safety and well-being of all of our students,” that “Watertown is a kind and caring community,” and they “stand together against these hateful actions.” The hit list was discovered in January, and Watertown School officials and Watertown Police determined that there was not threat. At the time, some parents expressed concern about their children’s safety and questioned the response by School officials. On Jan.

Around Town

WBC Life Science Panel Spotlights Collaboration Between Schools & Life Science Companies

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If you missed the fourth annual Watertown Business Coalition Life Science Panel on April 9 focusing on the collaboration between the Watertown Public Schools and local life science companies, you can see the video produced by Watertown Cable Access Television. The collaboration is known as CoLAB High School STEM Career Collaboration, and has been organized by Watertown’s Merle Kummer and the group’s board. CoLAB is a nonprofit organization in Watertown where local life science professionals and high school educators collaborate to inspire student interest in STEM careers — Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math — and build new levels of STEM self-confidence.  The Life Science Panel was held at Mosesian Center for the Arts. The event included panelists from Addgene and Acrivon Therapeutics, and a Watertown High School Junior shared his experience on what it is like to have a real scientist as a mentor.”We are proud to partner with life sciences professionals, working together to mentor our students and future scientists,” the Watertown Business Coalition said after the event. See the video below:

Schools

Information About Watertown’s Free PreK and Preschool Programs

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On Monday, the School Committee approved Superintendent Dede Galdston’s plan to provide free universal prekindergarten in the Watertown Public Schools beginning in the fall of 2024. Galdston provided more information about the program in an announcement sent out this week, see it below. Watertown Public Schools is pleased to announce that PreKindergarten and Preschool classes will be tuition-free for children who turn 4 by August 31, 2024. Applications for the 2024-2025 school year have already begun, and we are excited to be able to offer up to 40 additional spaces for Watertown children in our prekindergarten and preschool classrooms.

Here is more information about our Early Steps PreKindergarten program and process:

PreKindergarten is for students who turn four by August 31. The classroom has 18 students in it with 1 certified teacher and 1 instructional assistant. The curriculum is age-appropriate with an emphasis on socialization, early numeracy, and early literacy skills.