Schools

Watertown Schools Now Closed Thru April 7, Tips to Keep Students Learning

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With Gov. Baker’s announcement that schools statewide will be closed through early April as a response to the Coronavirus outbreak, the Watertown Public Schools will be closed longer than first announced. Students can still keep their mind active. On Thursday, Superintendent Dede Galdston announced the town’s schools would be shut for two weeks (originally March 27). Now that has been extended to April 7 with the Governor’s announcement Sunday night, which also impacts restaurants, and gatherings over 25 people. See the Watertown School’s entire update from Sunday night father below.

Schools

Schools to Provide Learning Opportunities During Coronavirus Closing, but Will Not be Business as Usual

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Watertown Public School students will have chances to continue learning from home while the schools are closed for two weeks in an effort to stop the spread of the Coronavirus, but Superintendent Dede Galdston said it will not be considered part of the regular classes, nor impact grades. Students at Watertown High School have the Chromebooks, and efforts will be made to get the laptop computers to all Watertown Middle School students to use while they are out of school. Teachers are planning activities for the elementary school students, Galdston added. “Our intent is to keep learning alive, but it is not mandatory and not considered instruction,” Galdston said. “In order to provide equity in access, we are not allowed to provide remote learning as a replacement to in person education.”

Schools

Watertown Schools Postpones Trip & Events Due to Coronavirus, Plans for Possible Remote Learning

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A Spring Break trip to Europe, a band performance, Mr. WHS and more Watertown Public Schools events have been postponed in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak in Massachusetts. On Wednesday, Superintendent Dede Galdston sent a letter updating the situation in the Watertown schools as the COVID-19 virus spreads in the area. This comes a day after Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts, and several area colleges announced that students would not be attending classes on campus for the rest of the academic year. In Watertown, a planned trip to Germany, Hungary and the Czech Republic has been postponed. About 60 WHS students had signed up to participate.

Around Town

Watertown School Staff Member Sent Home as Precautionary Measure Related to Coronavirus

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A teacher from Watertown High School who had recently traveled abroad, was sent home as a precaution measure after the possibility of having been exposed to the COVID-19 “Coronavirus,” the Watertown Public Schools announced. Watertown Superintendent Dede Galdston said the measure was taken out to be cautious, and was in line with recommendations by local, state and federal health officials. She also talked about a planned WHS trip to Europe during spring break. School officials said there has not been a confirmed case of the Coronavirus in the Watertown Public Schools, however, there is a staff member who went home just in case the person was exposed to the virus. “I can confirm there are no known or suspected cases of Coronavirus in Watertown,” said Galdston, who said she could not comment specifically about the case, or even if the person had been tested, due to federal HIPAA regulations protecting people’s medical records.

Schools

Watertown High School’s New Principal Introduced, Has Local Ties

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Watertown High School’s next principal, Joel Giacobozzi, right, shown with WHS students on the day he visited the school for his final interview in January. Watertown High School’s next principal has a wide breadth of educational experience, and also has ties to town. The School Committee formally met Joel Giacobozzi at Monday night’s meeting. Superintendent Dede Galdston picked Giacobozzi from the three finalists, who visited Watertown at the end of January. He currently serves as associate head master at Boston Latin, and previously was assistant principal at Scituate High School and took part in the principal internship program in the Boston Public Schools.

Around Town

Watertown Journalist, Teacher Being Honored at South by Southwest

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John Vitti, center, will receive a Community Service Award at the South by Southwest festival in March for his work with school newspapers in Watertown and many other communities. Here he is shown with students on Watertown Splash, the newspaper at Watertown Middle School. John Vitti’s professional life has been all about journalism, and since his children’s elementary school days he has shared his love and knowledge for reporting with students in Watertown. An editor with the Boston Globe, Vitti helped create the school newspapers at all five of Watertown’s public schools, and his venture now stretches more than 125 schools around the Boston area. For his work, he will receive a Community Service Award at South by Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas, in March.

Dede Galdston

Universal PreK in Watertown: the Superintendent Would Like to See That

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Watertown Superintendent Dede Galdston spoke at the 2020 Unity Breakfast about her desire to have universal PreK. Equity has been a big push for the Watertown Public Schools, and Superintendent Dede Galdston said that part of giving students an equal opportunity is to provide universal Pre-kindergarten to the students of Watertown. Galdston spoke of universal PreK during her talk a the 2020 Watertown Unity Breakfast, of which she was the honorary host. She said Martin Luther King Jr. not only inspired her with his Civil Rights work, but also in his study of education. “Why not give every child equal opportunity to start school at an equal level?”

Charity

Watertown Schools Collecting Gift Cards, Donations for Fire Victims

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After the devastating fire that displaced 31 Watertown residents on Friday, the Parent Teacher Organizations (PTOs) at the schools in town leapt into action to collect items to help those affected. The parent-teacher groups at the town’s three elementary schools, the Middle School and the High school all started collections over the weekend. “I am beyond overwhelmed with the response we have received to our call for donations!!!” wrote School Committee member Lily Rayman-Read on Facebook. “****A HUGE shout out to all the PTOs and the WHS PTSO for their incredibly hard work on organizing and setting everything up for donations.