Schools

School Building Committee Leans Toward Single Building on Current High School Site

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A rendering of what a two-story modular building could look like (in white) on Moxley Field. It would be the temporary location for Watertown High School while a new school is constructed. Watertown Middle School can be seen behind the modular campus. The School Building Committee told designers that they like the direction they are going with a single building on the current site for the new Watertown High School. That design would require students to go to a swing space during construction, and Moxley Field has been identified as the preferred temporary site.

Business

Watertown Company Teams Food Trucks, Schools to Put on Fundraisers

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Watertown-based Food Truck Ventures teams up food trucks and schools for fundraisers. Here a food truck visits Wellington School in Belmont as part of the StrEATS for Schools program. The pandemic has made fundraising for schools and PTOs more challenging, but a Watertown-based company has provided a way for schools to bring in money and also provide a tasty meal. This school year, Food Truck Ventures started offering StrEATS for Schools, where food trucks can come to the school or neighborhood and provide food and bring in some funds. Several schools in the area, including Lowell Elementary School in Watertown, have taken advantage.

Schools

Find Out About Wellbeing of Watertown’s Youth at Virtual Town Hall Meeting

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Youth Coalition:

A Town Hall Meeting about the wellbeing of Watertown’s Youth will be held on March 31 at 6:30 p.m.

The event is hosted by the Watertown Youth Coalition and Wayside Youth and Family Support Network in partnership with Watertown Community Foundation & Watertown Public Schools. Register by visiting: https://zoom.us/…/tJEtduyoqD0oE9H8HoibNMWq1ZZ3dJlwxx7f

Police/Fire

See Photos from the 2 Rallies Near the Watertown Police Station

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The sun sets as crowds disperse after the two rallies Thursday in front of the Watertown Police Station. Hundreds of supporters from two groups gathered on either side of Main Street in dueling rallies in front of the Watertown Police Station on Thursday afternoon. The pro-police supporters outnumbered those supporting the teacher who showed the controversial video at Watertown Middle School. Supporters of the Watertown Police waved flags and held signs on Thursday afternoon. Many came to support the Watertown Police, in a “Back the Blue” rally following the showing an anti-police video at Watertown Middle School.

Police/Fire

School Committee Statement: Supports Anti-Racist Work & Watertown Police

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The following piece was provided by the Watertown School Committee:

The Watertown School Committee is committed to becoming an anti-racist school system by acknowledging the structural and institutional racism that is pervasive throughout this nation and its many institutions, and also consistently working to present that reality and incorporate those lessons into the Watertown Public Schools’ curriculum. We also support the Watertown Police Department and acknowledge their work with our schools to create transparent and safe community relations between the Police Department and the WPS. These two statements are not at odds with one another, despite the growing public divide: We can both support the important work of the Watertown Police Department and condemn long standing institutional and systemic racism. Recently our community has been challenged and hurt by an incident at Watertown Middle School involving a video played to a group of students. Instead of fostering open discussion in the classroom, this video sparked divisions in our community, particularly around policing and, by extension, the Watertown Police Department.

Around Town

LETTER: Watertown Group’s Letter to Superintendent, Supports Middle School Teacher

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An Open Letter to the Superintendent of Watertown Public Schools, Dr. Galdston,

We are writing to express our strong support for a Watertown Middle School teacher who is under attack. She is a courageous and principled teacher who has sought to constructively challenge herself, her community, her colleagues, and her students to face the realities of race in America. She has done this in part by becoming an advanced Kingian practitioner. Many like to quote the more comfortable sections of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, but King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is often a more relevant touchstone. It is a challenging call to courageous action, and we believe that this teacher epitomizes its spirit.

Around Town

LETTER: Resident Supports Teacher, Cites Work Spreading MLK’s Nonviolence Principles

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To the Editor:

I am deeply distressed to see that the anti-racist work of Ruth Henry, Watertown Middle School teacher, has become the object of so much criticism, misinterpretation, and misunderstanding. For so many of us, Ruth has been a community icon and mentor, representing the highest standards of respect, clarity, and courage in her teachings and activist practices. Ruth’s commitment to anti-racist, anti-oppression work goes back many years. I became better acquainted with her passion for social justice when we worked together on the World in Watertown committee that planned and facilitated Dr. Bernard Lafayette’s visit to Watertown in 2016. Dr. Lafayette, one of our country’s foremost civil rights leaders, came to our community because of his close relationship with Ruth.

COVID-19

See When Watertown Elementary Students Will be Returning to School Full-Time

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Elementary school students in Watertown will return to school five days a week beginning April 5, and middle and high schoolers will follow at dates to be determined, Superintendent Dede Galdston announced Tuesday. The State Eduction Board voted to give Commissioner of Education Jeffrey Riley the authority to reopen schools for in-person learning on March 5. Galdston said plans for Watertown Middle School and Watertown High School students will be “determined in the coming days.” According to the state’s guidance, middle schools are supposed to return by April 28. No date was given for high schools, but the state will give districts notice of the return date at least two weeks ahead.