Government

Town Weighing What to Do with Old Watertown Police Station

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Since the Watertown Police move to their new station the old one has largely sat unused, but many departments would love to get a piece of the building. Tuesday night, the Town Council’s Economic Development and Planning Committee reopened the discussion for how to deal with the building. The town had a study of the cost of renovating or reconstruction the building and received an estimate of $4.8 million to renovate and $7 million to rebuild, according to Assistant Town Manager Steve Magoon. The largest costs would be putting in an elevator and a stairwell. Those prices largely halted any plans to reuse the Police Station.

Charity

New Rotary Club Program Provides Meals for Watertown Kids on Weekends

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A new program sponsored by the Rotary Club, called Food for Thought, is providing some Watertown students who might go hungry over the weekend with two breakfasts, two lunches and two snacks each week.  

During the week, these students can get free or discounted meals at school. About 30 percent of the students in Watertown are in the Free and Reduced Lunch program, said Watertown resident Lilia Weisfeldt, who came up with the idea for the program. “Over the weekend the kids don’t have access to the program and a lot of kids go without any food,” Weisfeldt said. “We give them a bag of food over the weekend so they can go back to school Monday not hungry and ready to learn.”

Schools

Master Plan Answers Some Questions on Rebuilding Schools, Creates More

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The School Master Plan presented to a joint meeting of the School Committee and the Town Council provided some insight into Watertown’s schools, but opened many more questions. 

The Master Plan incorporated the work of the Master Plan Steering Committee, which included parents, staff and elected officials, as well as, input from three community meetings and interviews with school staff and administrators, said School Committee Chairman John Portz.  

Representatives from SMMA, the firm hired to create the master plan, included cost estimates for three different options for improving the schools. Option 1 would be bringing the schools into good working conditions, but would not make major changes to the current configurations. Option 2 would renovate the schools and would make some changes inside so the buildings can handle 21st Century education, with more group and project learning and flexible spaces. Option 3 would be to build brand new buildings.

Schools

School Committee Wants to Hear from Public About Hiring Next Superintendent

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As the search begins for Watertown’s next Superintendent, the School Committee wants to hear from parents and community members about what they want to see in the next leader of the town’s schools. 

The Watertown Public Schools sent out the following announcement:

The Watertown School Committee is interested in getting feedback on the superintendent search process. There are several ways to participate, including live focus groups for the community scheduled at the following dates and times:

Tuesday, January 10, 2017: 8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m.

Wednesday, January 11, 2017: 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Thursday, January 12, 2017: 7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.

The focus groups will take place in the Innovation Lab, Third Floor, Phillips Building, 30 Common St., Watertown. In addition, you can go to the following link and participate in an on-line survey that includes ample space for your open responses. That link is:   https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WPS2017

Schools

Parents, Community Members Sought for Superintendent Search Committee

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The School Committee will be forming a search committee to help find Watertown’s next superintendent, and parents and community members will be a part of the group. 

School Committee Chairman John Portz said the Search Committee will have three parents, three teachers, two administrators, a high school student, two community members and two to three School Committee members. The parents and community members will be selected from people who apply to participate in the process. The teachers will be appointed by the Watertown Educators Association. School Committee member Eileen Hsu-Balzer wondered if someone who is a teacher who also lives in town could count as a community member. She wanted to make sure no group is over represented on the committee.

Schools

Watertown’s Superintendent Invites Residents to Have Coffee With Him

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sInterim Superintendent John Brackett announced he will host his first Coffee with the Superintendent on Dec. 14 to meet with parents and residents. The coffees provide an opportunity for parents, resident and others to talk to Bracket about their concerns and questions about the Watertown Public Schools. He will host two session on Wednesday, Dec. 14, at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Both will occur in Room 101 on the ground floor of the Phillips Building, 30 Common St., Watertown.

Schools

After a Delay, School Committee Adopts Goals for Watertown Schools

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After months of contemplation and delays due to changes in the district, the School Committee adopted the district’s Goals and Priorities at Monday night’s School Committee meeting. The Watertown Public School’s three strategic goals are: Support High Academic Achievement, Foster the Capacity for Life-Long Learning and Promote Local and Global Citizenship. The goals normally come out early in the school year, but School Committee Chairman John Portz said there have been some delays this year. “The process started in August. It started as goals for the superintendent, but then we we had a transition,” Portz said, referring to Jean Fitzgerald’s sudden retirement in October.

Schools

See How You Can Support the Friends of Watertown Music

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To support music in Watertown’s schools, Friends of Watertown Music was formed in the summer of 2011 in response to severe budget cuts in the Watertown Public Schools music program, the said in an announcement. Since then, through the generosity of our donors, we have awarded three major grants and several small grants totaling over $18,000 to the Watertown Public Schools in order to expand and enhance music instruction. Additionally, through grants from outside institutions, we have acquired approximately $15,000 worth of new instruments to be used by students in all of Watertown’s public schools. Friends of Watertown Music continues to prioritize using donations to make grants that expand teaching staff and support teacher-student interaction. We also seek grants from outside sources to provide instruments to expand opportunities for students to learn to play instruments. As this year comes to a close, won’t you please consider joining us in our efforts to continue to enrich, sustain, and develop the music program in the Watertown Public Schools?  We have five donor levels:  Soprano (up to $25), Alto ($50), Tenor ($75), Bass ($100), Conductor ($250) or Maestro ($500 and up) and your generous contribution will be acknowledged in our Sixth Annual MusicFest program book.  (Save the date:  March 31, 2017!) You can donate with PayPal or any credit card on our website: https://watertownmusic.org/donate/ or checks may be sent to Friends of Watertown Music, 43 Paul St., Watertown, MA 02472
Thank you all for your support,
Friends of Watertown Music

Highlights from 2016
• Our 2015-16 grant for a 0.1 FTE (full-time equivalent) teacher for adaptive music has been incorporated into the school budget for 2016-17.