Around Town

Teen Trip to Poland & Israel Complements Massachusetts’ New Genocide Education Law

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March of the Living participants pray at entrance to Auschwitz concentration camp. The following information was provided by New England Friends of the March of the Living:

Genocide education will be compulsory in all Massachusetts middle and high schools under a bill Gov. Charlie Baker recently signed into law. The new bill underscores the serious knowledge gap among young Americans that is growing – and becoming more frightening! Examples from recent surveys:                                                                                                                                                       

A high school student asks ‘What’s Auschwitz?’

Two-thirds of millennials admit not knowing what Auschwitz was.                                                                       

41% of adults don’t know what the Nazi concentration camp was known for. Half of millennials and Gen Z’ers have seen Holocaust denial posts online.              

22% think the Holocaust was associated with World War I. 10% weren’t sure, 5% said the Civil War, and 3% said the Vietnam War.

Schools

Watertown Schools Opening Late Wednesday, Over 100 Positive COVID Tests

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The Watertown Public Schools had more than 100 positive COVID-19 tests after retesting on Tuesday. Classes will start late on Wednesday. The positive tests were more than 10 times more than has been seen in the Watertown Schools, said Superintendent Dede Galdston. The arrival time for Watertown Schools are: 10 a.m. for Early Steps Preschool, 10:15 a.m. for the elementary schools, and 10:30 a.m. for the middle and high schools. See more details in the letter sent out by Galdston on Tuesday:

Good evening, WPS Community:

We deeply appreciate your patience today as we appropriately responded to the overnight Covid pool test results.

Schools

Watertown Schools Closed Tuesday to Process COVID Pool Testing from First Day Back

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The Watertown Public Schools were closed on what was to be the second day back from winter vacation so that COVID-19 tests can processed and those testing positive can be notified. On Monday, Jan. 3, students and staff were tested on the first day after the break. Originally, Tuesday was going to be an early-release day, but Superintendent Dede Galdston announced that schools would be closed so that people who tested positive can be notified. The Superintendent sent out the following announcement:

Good morning,

As we process our pool testing, we have made the decision to close schools for today, Tuesday, January 4.

Minuteman High School

Finalists for Minuteman High School Superintendent Visiting Campus in January

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Minuteman High School vocational technical school in Lexington. The following announcement was provided by Minuteman High School:

Dear Minuteman Staff and Families, 

As many of you know, our current Superintendent-Director, Ed Bouquillon, plans to retire at the end of June following a successful 15-year tenure leading the District. The Minuteman School Committee launched a formal Superintendent Search Process in October. 

A Screening Committee of faculty, staff, parents, and School Committee members has recommended three finalists to the Minuteman School Committee. The finalists are scheduled to visit Minuteman on three consecutive Wednesdays – January 5, 12, and 19 – to meet with and answer questions from students, parents, faculty and staff, and advisory committee members. 

The three finalists are Dr. Amy Perreault, Assistant Superintendent for Minuteman; Dr. Kathleen Dawson, Deputy Superintendent of Orange County Schools in North Carolina; and Kevin McCaskill, Assistant Superintendent for the Office of Secondary Schools in the Boston Public Schools. The finalists were first announced at the December 14 School Committee meeting. Read the candidate’s resumes at minuteman.org/suptsearch Each of the three candidates will spend the day at Minuteman on three Wednesdays in January. During their time at Minuteman, the candidates will meet with stakeholders for questions and take tours.

COVID-19

Watertown Schools Returning In-Person, Starting With a Half Day

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Classes will return in-person after winter break, and students will be tested for COVID-19 on the first day back. Superintendent Dede Galdston sent out a letter announcing the return. Cases of COVID-19 have been on the rise in Watertown and Massachusetts in recent weeks, including some confirmed cases among the Watertown School community. The district will hold a vaccination clinic on Jan. 11 from 3:30-7:00 p.m. at the Watertown Middle School.

COVID-19

COVID Cases Reported in Watertown Schools, Student Vaccine Clinic Planned

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Several cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the Watertown Public Schools community, and Superintendent Dede Galdston said officials are planning how to handle the return from winter vacation. Details of what the plan is for the return to school have not been announced, but part of the Watertown School’s response will be a vaccination clinic in early January, according to a letter sent out by Galdston and Director of Student Services Kathleen Desmarais on Dec. 29. “We believe that there is community transmission at this time, so we are currently considering options to maximize testing and safety upon our return after the break,” the letter reads. Statewide, the Mass.

Attendance Zones

Watertown Elementary School Attendance Areas to be Examined by New Committee

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Charlie BreitroseThe public gathered outside the new Cunniff Elementary School. Elementary attendance zones will be studied by a new ad hoc committee. The attendance areas for Watertown’ three elementary schools may be redrawn by a new committee created to study the issue. Superintendent Dede Galdston told the School Committee in December about the ad hoc committee to study the attendance zones. “As we complete (construction on) two elementary schools and are starting a third, it is the perfect time to look at attendance zones,” Galdston said.

Schools

Last Day to Fill Out Watertown Schools’ Parent Climate Survey

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Watertown school officials seek to find out about their experience in the Watertown Public Schools with a Parent/Guardian Climate Survey. Dec. 23 is the final day to submit the survey. The survey is being done in conjunction with the UChicago Impact, a group out of the University Chicago that provides tools and assistance to schools. Superintendent Dede Galdston sent out the following message:

This is a reminder that we are asking parents and caregivers to complete a culture and climate survey based on their experiences in the Watertown Public Schools.