School Master Plan

Residents Worry if Renovated Schools Will be Big Enough for Future Enrollment

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Watertown’s current school buildings don’t have to be torn down to make room for the all of Watertown’s students, but rather can be reconfigured and have some additions. However, parents and residents at Wednesday’s Schools Master Planning Community Forum worried whether they will be able to handle the growing enrollments. The forum was led by architects from SMMA, a Cambridge firm hired to put together the master plan, which will be a “50,000 foot view” of the school facilities and needs. Eventually the plan will help guide Watertown to renovating or rebuilding the schools so they can provide an education fit for the 21st Century. Michael van Hamel of SMMA said he used guides for size of classroom as laid out by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), which oversees school projects and provides some money for districts to build or renovate schools.

School Master Plan

Voice Your Opinion on the Renovation of Watertown Schools Wednesday

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This summer the Watertown Public Schools and the Watertown community are working with the Cambridge architectural firm SMMA (Symmes Maini & McKee Associates) to develop a
School Facilities Master Plan. This is the first important step to review and assess the capacity
of our school buildings to support the teaching and learning needs of the district. The limitations of the school district’s current buildings have become increasingly apparent with the need for special program spaces, pressure from increasing enrollments, and a goal of maintaining appropriate class sizes. Watertown’s current school buildings are at least 60
years old and were designed for a time with very different educational needs than the present. This first phase of planning includes an extensive look at each school building and the
development of alternative options for renovation, additions, or building replacements.

Letters

LETTER: Current State of Watertown Schools, Prepping for July 27 Community Forum

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Watertown Strong School parents group provides detailed highlights of and a commentary about the most recent School Master Planning Design process. Unofficial Minutes: Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Master Planning Design Process on July 19, 2016 – Key Points and Commentary

Note: These are NOT official minutes. Commentary can be found at the bottom of the minutes. Written by: Kate Coyne and David Stokes

Committee members: John Portz, Co-chair; Dr. Jean Fitzgerald, Superintendent; Vincent Piccirilli, Town Council Vice-President; Michael Dattoli, Town Councilor; Steve Magoon, Assistant Town Manager and Director, Community Development and Planning; Toni Carlson, K-12 Educational Technology and Library Coordinator; Alyson Morales; Mike Shepard; Elaina Griffith; Chris Lowry; and Lindsay Mosca. Absent members: Liz Yusem, Co-chair; Charles Kellner, Director, Business Services; Deb King, WEA President and WMS teacher; Dr. Kimo Carter, WMS Principal; and Pete Caron.

Letters

LETTER: Concern Over Pace of the Watertown Schools’ Master Plan

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Watertown Strong Schools provided a summary of the first meeting of the Steering Committee of the Master Planning Design Process for the Watertown Public Schools. School officials are looking to build the town’s schools for the 21st Century and deal with growing enrollments. Unofficial Minutes: Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Master Planning Design Process on 06/15/2016 – Key Points and Commentary

Note: These are NOT official minutes. Commentary can be found at the bottom of the minutes. Written by: Kate Coyne and David Stokes

Committee members: John Portz, Co-chair; Liz Yusem, Co-chair; Dr. Jean Fitzgerald, Superintendent; Charles Kellner, Director, Business Services; Vincent Piccirilli, Town Council Vice-President; Michael Dattoli, Town Councilor; Steve Magoon, Assistant Town Manager and Director, Community Development and Planning; Deb King, WEA President and WMS teacher; Toni Carlson, K-12 Educational Technology and Library Coordinator; Dr. Kimo Carter, WMS Principal; Alyson Morales; Pete Caron; Mike Shepard; Elaina Griffith; Chris Lowry.