Schools

New School Director Begins Work to Make Watertown Schools More Equitable and Inclusive

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Dr. Kimberlee Henry, the Watertown Public School’s Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. In her first few months in the Watertown Public Schools, the new Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has met with a wide range of people in town to become familiar with the school district and the community, and to build relationships with other departments and organizations in Watertown. The district created the new position in response to reports of students who had experienced racial bias and/or bullying in the Watertown Schools. One such incident was reported on by a local TV news station. The Watertown Schools have hired an outside group to conduct an equity audit, and hired Dr. Kimberlee Henry as the first Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Schools

Watertown Students Excited to Return to School, District Has COVID-19 Testing Policy in Place

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The Watertown Public Schools opened last week and welcomed back full classes of students, with only a handful of COVID-19 cases, and plans to keep as many students in class as possible during the pandemic. The freshman class at Watertown High School is one of the largest in recent years, with 212 students, making the total enrollment at WHS 716, said Superintendent Dede Galdston. The kindergartens in Watertown also got a big group of students. There are 12 classes across the three elementary schools, with a combined 336 students. Watertown High School students were greeted by posters, streamers and banners when the school year started, said Senior Class president Emma Fallon.

Around Town

LETTER: Watertown Teachers Union Responds to Calls for Vaccination

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To the Members of the Watertown School Community,

School Committee Candidate Rachel Kay’s recent letter to the Watertown MA News regarding a requirement for Watertown teachers to be vaccinated was not surprising given the level of political discourse that has recently besieged our country. In the letter, Ms. Kay is dismayed that there is not a vaccine mandate in place for teachers in the Watertown Public Schools. Her letter implies that the Watertown Educators Association and Watertown Public School District are opposed to a vaccine mandate. Ms.Kay appears to be uninformed regarding this matter. Had she inquired about a vaccine mandate by asking WEA leaders, School Committee members, or Superintendent Galdston, she would have learned that this matter is currently in negotiations.

COVID-19

LETTER: Call for Requirement for Watertown Teachers to be Vaccinated

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Editor,

As teachers return to school this week, and students joining them next week, we still do not know whether vaccines will be mandated for teachers and staff in Watertown Public Schools. We do know that the CDC, state government, and the largest teachers union in Massachusetts are all recommending school staff be vaccinated.  Medical professionals, including Dr. Fauci, are saying that the best way to protect children under 12 who are not yet vaccinated is to surround them with vaccinated people. Many school districts have already put this common sense requirement in place. We are fortunate to be in a community where the majority of adults are vaccinated, including the majority of teachers. But, the data from the last 18 months show that when there was Covid-19 transmission in schools, it was usually driven by unvaccinated school staff.

Homepage Featured

Timeline for Building New High School; Questions Posed About Ability to Use Moxley Field, Size of WHS Gym

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Ai3 ArchitectsA proposed layout of the temporary Watertown High School at Moxley Field. During the Community Forum on the new Watertown High School, questions were brought up about the use of Moxley Field for the temporary WHS site and about the size of the gym. Officials also updated the timeline for the design and construction of the new WHS. The high school project took a big step forward last week when the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) Board voted on Aug. 25 to let the project move into the schematic design phase.

Homepage Featured

State Board Approves Design of New Watertown High School

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Ai3 ArchitectsA rendering of what the new Watertown High School could look like. The view is from Common Street. The design of the new Watertown High School got the endorsement of the Massachusetts School Building Authority on Wednesday. Superintendent Dede Galdston sent out a letter saying that the MSBA Board of Directors unanimously supported moving the WHS project to the schematic design phase. “At this time, the design team, the OPM, and the School Building Committee will prepare for the next big milestone, the Board approval of participation in our project,” Galdston said in a letter to school and town officials.

Homepage Featured

Watertown Schools Opening In-Person, With Mask & Testing Requirements

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The opening of school in Watertown comes at a time when the cases of the Coronavirus are on the rise. In response, the School Committee voted to approve COVID-19 protocols for the 2021-22 school year on Monday night that includes requirements for regular testing of students and for masks to be worn when indoors. Some of the rules are the same as those that had been in place when school ended in June, said Watertown Superintendent Dede Galdston, while others have been changed. There will also be a shift in early October. School Committee Chair John Portz thanked the Watertown Public Schools staff and others who put together the COVID protocols.

Schools

Residents Appointed to New Architecture Committee, Will Advise on New High School

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Ai3 ArchitectsA rendering of what the new Watertown High School could look like. The view is from Common Street. A group of Watertown residents has been appointed to advise designers of the new Watertown High School. Town Council President Mark Sideris announced the creation of the new Architecture Committee of the School Building Committee, which will be chaired by Leo Patterson, an architect and member of the School Building Committee. Sideris, who chairs the School Building Committee, sent out the following announcement:

I am pleased to say that we had a number of residents apply to be on this committee.