Superintendent’s Bulletin 5/22/26

Dear Colleagues,

Happy Friday everyone and I hope you each had a productive week. On Wednesday of this week, we celebrated one of the great traditions in Wellesley, which is to honor the members of our staff who have served in WPS for 25 years. The “Chair” Ceremony, has long been sponsored by our incredible partner, the Wellesley Education Foundation. Another powerful aspect of the event is that each honoree is introduced by a colleague of their choosing. Sometimes humorous, sometimes serious, but always heartfelt, these reflections on our colleagues’ body of work serve as a reminder of the legacy of service they have forged in Wellesley. We truly have a special team in WPS. Please join me in celebrating the 17 honorees this year, whose bios are listed below.

I also wanted to give a shout-out to Amie Larson, visual arts teacher at WHS, whose ceramic intensive students had a showing of their work at the Gorse Mill Gallery in Needham this week.  Not only was their work exceptional, but listening to our students describe how they transitioned from inspiration to execution, reminded me of how much student agency is exemplified in Amie’s class.  Well done! 

Finally, as we head into the Memorial Day Weekend, I hope we can all pause at some point and reflect on the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our military who have died in the service of our country.  Please keep them and their families in your thoughts over weekend.  

Thanks for what you do each day in support of our students and have a great weekend.       

Best, David

May 25 – Memorial Day (Schools & Offices Closed)

June 9 – School Committee Meeting

June 18 – School Committee Meeting

June 19 – Juneteenth (Schools & Offices Closed)

Congratulations to this year’s chair recipients:

Pamela Allen, Rebecca Blouwolff, John Brown, Rita Cameron, Kathryn Dexter, Jacqueline Hennessey, Lisa Humphrey, Andrew Kelton, Christine Kerr, Kathryn Mahoney, Mark Mayall, Michael Mazzeo, Neysa McNamara, Lisa Mortarelli, Lauren Pedroni, Elizabeth Quinty and Michelle Weir

Today, Wellesley Public Schools had the honor of hosting the Association of Massachusetts School Equity Leaders (AMSEL) general membership meeting at Hardy Elementary School. AMSEL convenes equity-focused leaders from districts across Massachusetts to advance educational equity, support one another’s work, and build collective capacity for systemic change. As a proud member, WPS welcomed colleagues from across the Commonwealth, and we are grateful to the Hardy community for hosting this important work.

On April 28, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) unanimously approved a new alternative pathway for educator licensure. This change allows qualified candidates to waive the Communication and Literacy Skills test (CLST) if they meet specific criteria, such as holding an advanced degree, completing a state-approved prep program, possessing a comparable out-of-state license, or having two years of documented instructional experience.

This milestone is a testament to our collective advocacy, including AFT and the MTA, as well as Leader Alice Peisch, Senator and the MA Black and Latino Caucus, for their essential testimony and letters of support.

For a full list of eligibility requirements and FAQs, please visit the DESE website.

Graduate credit courses offered through the Albion Center at Idaho State University will no longer be accepted for credit by Wellesley Public Schools. This decision follows a recent message from the Massachusetts School Superintendents’ Association indicating that the program is under review due to concerns about the rigor of its coursework. While Idaho State University courses may still be applied toward professional development points (PDPs), they will no longer count as graduate-level credit within WPS for lane changes. Please reach out to Sandy Trach, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, with any questions.

As we look toward the next school year, the district will be transitioning from Zoom to Google Meet as our primary video conferencing platform for general staff use. This shift, which will take effect this summer, allows us to be more fiscally responsible by fully utilizing our Google Education Plus license. In addition, Google Meet now offers several helpful new features, including Adaptive Audio, which eliminates echo when multiple staff members join a meeting from the same room, live translated captions in over 65 languages, and a picture-in-picture mode that allows the user to view the Meet and relevant documents at the same time.

This change won’t happen until this summer, which will give everyone the remainder of the school year to explore the platform and receive assistance from the Tech Dept. Please visit the Tech Dept. contact page to submit a Help Desk ticket or to find a member of the department assigned to your building.

In August 2026, there will be a three-week gap between pay periods. This occurs periodically due to how the school and payroll calendars align.

 

To help ensure a smooth transition through this period, we are sharing this notice well in advance so that all employees can plan accordingly. Staff may wish to set aside funds during the year to help cover personal expenses during this short gap.

 

Below is a summary of the upcoming schedule for the 2025–2026 school year:

 

No paychecks will be issued between August 17 and September 8, 2026.

 

If you have any questions about your individual pay schedule, please contact the Payroll Office for assistance.

The MTRS has many members who do not have a beneficiary on file. This Spring, these members will receive either an email or a mailed letter (if no email address on file) asking them to designate a beneficiary.

To designate or change a beneficiary, members must sign and mail the Beneficiary Designation Form to our Main Office.

If MTRS members have questions, please email annstmt@trb.state.ma.us.

The Town of Wellesley offers an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to support employees and their families.  Effective July 1, 2025, CMG Associates is the new EAP provider (see announcement). Employees may want to access the EAP because of emotional difficulties, life stress, family difficulties, concerns about substance abuse or other addictive behavior, legal or financial problems, or other personal issues. The EAP is completely free, confidential, and available at all times (day or night, weekdays, weekends, and holidays). Employees may call CMG Associates at 888-851-7032, or they may visit www.cmgassociates.com, click on the link entitled EAP Log-In, and use the User ID: WELL.

SMART Plan (457 Voluntary Retirement Savings) 

May make changes throughout the year through the company.

Work directly through US Omni and the SMART Plan.

Email AskHR@Wellesleyps.org. The Human Resources Department is happy to assist you.  

For all Internal Job Postings, please go to “Internal Job Postings” under the Faculty tab of the District’s website. How to Apply for WPS Internal Job Postings as a New Internal Applicant