Schools

Creation of Position Focused on Racial Equity and Diversity Approved by School Committee

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The School Committee approved the creation of a new Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion position in the Watertown Public School administration on Monday night. The person will lead the district’s effort to ensure equity for students in the Watertown schools, but Superintendent Dede Galdston said he or she will not be the only one working on the issue. “It is about having somebody there in a full-time position that can keep us moving, hold us accountable, make sure the plans that we create — not that they create — are actualized,” Galdston said. “And really pinpoint and targeting the support that we need in terms of professional development, in terms of family engagement, in terms of hiring and recruitment and retainment (of staff members of color). They are going to be able to keep us going and keep us in the right direction.” 

School Committee members spoke in support of creating the new position.

Around Town

COVID-19 Cases, Deaths Have Risen in Watertown in Recent Weeks

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The number of active cases of COVID-19 in Watertown has increased more than eight-fold over the past two months, with the total numbers of cases during the pandemic increasing by 60 percent during that time. Similar to the statewide trend in Massachusetts, Watertown has seen a steady increase of COVID-19 cases. Along with the increases in cases, Watertown has had four more COVID-19 related deaths over the past few weeks, bringing the total number to 28, according to the Town Manager’s Dec. 11, 2020 Coronavirus Update. The week prior, the Town reported the first two COVID-19 related deaths in Watertown since the Aug.

Bullying

Residents Call for Action to Stop Racial Harassment in Watertown Schools During Forum

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The 150-plus people who attended Superintendent Dede Galdston’s forum on racial harassment and bullying last week heard from the girl who brought the issue to the forefront, and other attendees called for action to make sure such incidents do not occur in the future. Galdston scheduled the Dec. 3 forum after a Watertown Middle School student named Lialah spoke to Fox 25 News about her experience of being called the N-word at school and being harassed by classmates on social media and on the phone. Harassment Reports

The 13-year-old spoke during the forum, and said that she does not trust the teachers and administrators at the middle school after she reported her experiences and said no action was taken, and people at the school denied her reports. “Why are people spreading misinformation.

Schools

Schools Rolling Out Student COVID-19 Testing Week After Thanksgiving

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Watertown students will be able to be tested for COVID-19 for free starting the week after Thanksgiving, in an effort to keep schools open for in-person learning and to stop the spread of the virus in the school and broader community. Galdston told the School Committee about the district’s testing program on Monday, the same night that a piece on the Watertown Public Schools’ COVID-19 testing program (for which she was interviewed) aired on the NBC Nightly News. “In the 45 minute interview, that was cut to 30 seconds, we spent a lot of time talking about how Watertown has really gone above and beyond to keep our students and our staff safe,” Galdston said. “Here is just another safety net we have for all of our people within our community.” School Committee member Lily Rayman-Read, who teaches in the Cambridge Public Schools, said the NBC story caught the interest of educators in other communities.

Schools

Students Traveling Out-of-State for Thanksgiving Must be Tested or Quarantine

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Watertown students who travel outside of Massachusetts to a high-risk area must either get a negative test for COVID-19 or quarantine for 14 days before returning to school for in-person learning, Superintendent Dede Galdston announced Wednesday. Most states have been put on the the Massachusetts Restricted Travel list, but three of the lower risk ones are in New England — Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont — along with Hawaii. When returning from a high-risk state, students must get a negative PCR test prior to returning to school according to the Massachusetts regulations, Galdston wrote. Students must quarantine while waiting for test results. Galdston also wrote that the schools will have two remote days after the Thanksgiving break, on Nov.

Schools

Forum Planned After Racist Incidents Reported by Watertown Middle School Student

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A Watertown Middle School student reported being harassed online and by phone after putting up posts supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. The incidents were reported by a Boston news station, and the Watertown Public Schools response includes a virtual public forum to address the issue. A 13-year-old African-American girl told her experiences to Boston Fox 25 last week, including being harassed online and receiving threatening phone calls after she put up some BLM messages on her social media accounts. She also reported being called the “N-word” by another student at school after giving a speech about racism in February. The student reported the incidents to Watertown Middle School officials, but said that she is not aware of anything being done about it.

Around Town

LETTER: COVID Mixed Messaging — Schools Running Hybrid, District Offers In-Person Childcare

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Editor,

Watertown Schools are now offering in-person child care for remote learning, for a fee. I thought the purpose of remote learning was to keep people at home to control the pandemic? I am on board with that. And this service is surely a valuable one for families that need it. But I find the fact that they are offering it for a fee a little outrageous.

Letters

LETTER: Watertown Schools Have Asbestos, Air Flow Problems

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Letter to Editor,

This past week, the Massachusetts Department of Education & Secondary Education (DESE) conducted an audit on the Watertown Public Schools and the District’s decision to delay opening the buildings for in-school/hybrid learning. At this moment, no details have been provided to Town residents as to what the audit yielded. Information requests to the DESE have been unanswered. All the details residents know (via a ZOOM call), is that Superintendent Galdston spoke to DESE Commissioner Riley (or an associate) and that the conversation was short with few questions (according to Galdston). So what were the DESE findings and why haven’t the Middle School and High School opened yet?