Letters

LETTER: Parents Urge School Building Committee to Approve Plan for New High School

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To the Editor of Watertown News:

We are writing to express our strong support for moving forward with plans to build a new high school in Watertown — including a temporary high school on Moxley Field while the new high school is under construction. We are in dire need of a new high school—parts of the current building were constructed in 1925 and 1950! The old age and dated design of the building significantly restricts the educational programs available to our students. In 2016, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), the school accreditation agency, put Watertown on warning because of the poor conditions of our high school. It is imperative that we get a new high school built and in use as soon as possible for the benefit of our students.

Schools

LETTER: Former Recreation Director Suggests Using Old Hosmer Building for Temporary High School

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The following letter was originally sent to Watertown Public Schools officials:

Good Day,

How many students will be in the swing space high school while construction is going on of the new high school? How many students can the soon to be old Hosmer School hold? Portable classrooms can be placed on the Chauncey St. side of the Hosmer to handle the needed classroom and other activities needed to keep grades 9 to 12 together. I would think this arrangement would still save the town many millions of dollars.

Gold Star Mothers

LETTER: Gold Star Mothers President Opposes Using Moxley Field for Temporary High School

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Dear School Committee,

My name is Robin Abbott and I am the President of the Department of Massachusetts/Rhode Island American Gold Star Mothers. I write to express my deep sadness and anger that Moxley park and field is being considered for your swing space project. As an American Gold Star Mother, we devote what is left of our broken lives strengthening one another and working to ensure the memory of all veterans is never forgotten. You have no idea how painstaking it is to try to have a bridge or corner block, let alone a park, memorialized to the fallen. It takes an actual act of congress.

Letters

LETTER: Nephew of Richard Moxley Asks School Officials Not to Put Temporary WHS on Field Named for Vietnam Vet

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I am writing to you about the use of Moxley Field as a location for a temporary high school while a new state of the art high school is built for the kids of Watertown. Moxley Field is named after my uncle, PFC Richard Stephen Moxley. All of Richie’s immediate family have passed away, and I wanted to reach out to you before a final decision is made. Growing up in Watertown after his death, most people I met would mention Uncle Richie fondly and share how they had known him or grown up with him. Moxley Field is a dedicated reminder of his ultimate sacrifice in the Vietnam War, and the sacrifices of others.

Letters

LETTER: Group of Parents Support Using Moxley Field as Site for Temporary High School

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As WPS parents, We are writing in support of the proposal to build a new WHS on its current site and to use a section of Moxley Park as swing space during construction. There are many important reasons for this choice: this proposal will provide the best possible educational experience for students during construction; it will minimize the construction timeline; it will create the space needed to build a state-of-the-art, 21st Century high school for Watertown; and, it will reduce overall project costs. This investment requires temporary sacrifices from abutters, students and families. We are all sharing this burden, but the benefits far outweigh the temporary inconveniences. This project will benefit the entire Watertown community for generations to come.

21st Century Policing

OP-ED: Who Gets to Reform the Police?

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“Owning your own narrative” is a common expression used in business, in politics, and in private life where personal reputation is at stake. Owning your narrative means ensuring that what is told about you matches the way you’d like it to be told, without distortions, mischaracterization, half-truths, or false perceptions. If you are waging a battle in the arena of public opinion, and others succeed in owning your narrative, you have lost the battle. If you are paying even the slightest attention to town politics, you are aware that there is a police crisis in Watertown, centered around alleged racist behavior regarding stops, citations, and arrests. In my opinion — and I believe in the opinion of the vast majority of residents — this is an invented crisis.

Homepage Featured

LETTER: Group of Parents Support Using Moxley as Site for Temporary High School

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Ai3 ArchitectsA view from Columbia Street of what the new Watertown High School could look like. Last week, the Town Manager announced that the new Watertown High School would be paid for within the confines of Proposition 2 ½, and will NOT require a debt exclusion vote by the community. This is truly an astonishing, unprecedented commitment by Watertown. Thank you to the Town Manager and the Town Council for creating this remarkable opportunity. This is a project that will be transformative for our entire community.

Around Town

LETTER: Watertown School Committee Thanks Teachers During Educator Appreciation Week

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From The Watertown School Committee:

Teachers do a job that many do not fully understand, yet everyone knows and hopefully has loved a teacher or two throughout their lifetime. This year we asked our educators to do the unthinkable — to become experts on remote education seemingly overnight, to pivot between plans, learning styles, modalities and pedagogy without everything that usually goes into making those types of switches. And our educators of WPS did not miss a beat. From the first day of the shutdown last spring, until the moment this is being read, WPS educators have put students first, have reached into their hearts, their minds, and their depth of knowledge to provide the very best educational experience for all WPS students. While they faced uncertainty and anxiety that we all faced with this pandemic — they stepped up, and they calmed their students, reassured parents, and found ways to both build relationships with students virtually, and provide a rigorous and joyful learning experience as best they could.