Colleagues,
I hope everyone had a restful February break. I had the pleasure of joining a small group of WPS students from Boy Scout Troop 185 and its affiliated Venture Crew on a camping/hiking trip to northern Minnesota near the Canadian border. After week of no showers and bathroom facilities, I was pleased to return to civilization and all of its amenities!!
Yesterday, I sent a message to our community and staff underscoring our continued adherence to protections for our transgender students and all students/families regardless of their citizenship status. While I suspect this message may be perceived as too political, I believe we must continue to take a visible stand in defense of core values as a school district.
Finally, I am so appreciative of the efforts of our Performing Arts Department in supporting our Step-Up concerts each year. This week, our WHS Choral Department hosted our current 8th graders in an amazing display of talent and enthusiasm. What struck me the most was the incredibly warm reception of our older students to their younger peers who will be following them. I am also reminded of the strong foundation of skills and passion that our elementary and middle school teachers develop in our students before they arrive at WHS. What a great team effort!
Thanks to each of you for all that you do for our students each day and I hope you have a great weekend.
Best,
David
Calendar
03/07/17 – Town Elections
03/10/17 – Deadline for WEF Spring Grant Applications
03/10/17 – WINGS Course Proposal Submissions Due (deadline extended)
03/14/17 – School Committee Meeting – 7 pm – Town Hall
03/27/17 – Annual Town Meeting Begins – 7 pm
Congratulations to Laurie Kern (Schofield Special Educator) on the birth of her daughter, Haley Elie, on March 1, 2017!
Condolences to Mary Gaynor (WMS Special Educator) on the loss of her mother, Eileen Gaynor, on February 19, 2017.
Mount Holyoke Offering Master of Arts in Math and Teacher Leadership Scholarships
Mount Holyoke College is offering scholarships for teachers that enroll in its online/hybrid Master of Arts in Mathematics Teaching or Master of Arts in Teacher Leadership programs. There are scholarships (highly competitive) and grants available. Applications are reviewed monthly on a rolling basis until all scholarships have been given. The Master of Arts in Teacher Leadership (M.A.T.L.) degree offered by Mount Holyoke Programs in Teacher Leadership is a 32-credit program is designed for full-time teachers who want to enhance their leadership skills for current or future roles. Click here for additional information.
WINGS 2017
Teach at WINGS this Summer!
We are looking for instructors to teach Academic and Enrichment courses for students in Kindergarten through Grade 5. Some course ideas from previous years include: woodworking, computers, sports, problem solving, creative writing. This year, classes will run for three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon and kids will not switch classes during the session. Click here for additional information on schedule and salary.
If you are interested in teaching a course at the 2017 WINGS summer program, please go to this link and complete the Course Proposal form. Once completed, the form can be emailed to Chad Norton at cnorton@wellesleyma.gov or dropped off at our office at 90 Washington Street, Wellesley. If you have any questions, please call Chad Norton, Assistant Director, Recreation Department, at 781‐235‐2370. The deadline for course proposal submissions has been extended to March 10, 2017.
Apply Now to Enroll Children of Non-Resident WTA Members in Wellesley Public Schools
Children of teachers or nurses residing outside of Wellesley shall be entitled to attend Wellesley Public Schools without charge for tuition on a space-available basis (Article 12, WTA Unit A Contract). If you are interested in this benefit for the 2017-18 school year, please click here to access the form. Once complete, please return the form, along with a letter of intent, to District Registrar Nancy Costigliola in Central Office or email it back to her at registrar@wellesleyps.org. The Application and Letter of Intent Deadline is May 1, 2017.
Graduate Course Reimbursement Guidelines/Deadline
Course reimbursement funding of $30,000 is available to distribute in FY18 among qualified teachers. This funding is for graduate course work done to obtain a master’s degree and/or a teacher’s professional license. Newly added benefits this year allow course reimbursement for specialists including physical therapists and occupational therapists to recertify their professional or allied health license. The Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning must verify in advance that there are no further in-district specialist courses available in order for the specialists to apply for course reimbursement. To apply for this course reimbursement, please send by no later June 1, 2017, your name, evidence of your enrollment in an applicable master/doctoral degree program, name and description of the course, evidence of course cost (a billing statement), proof of payment (i.e. credit card statement, canceled check or receipt of payment), and transcript to Valerie Spruill, Administrative Assistant to the Director of Human Resources, spruillv. You will be notified of the amount awarded to you some time prior to the first paycheck in September 2017. Please note: all information must be received by June 1, 2017 or you will be disqualified for reimbursement. All courses must have occurred in the summer of 2016, fall of 2016 and spring of 2017 and have been completed by June 1, 2017. Any courses taken prior to the summer of 2016 will not count for reimbursement.
Attention Core Academic Teachers: Important Licensure Information
If you are a core academic teacher and you currently hold a preliminary license, you must take the RETELL course and obtain the SEI Teacher Endorsement in order to renew your license as an initial license. For RETELL purposes, a core academic teacher is an early childhood, elementary, special education, English, reading, mathematics, science, civics and government, economics, history or geography teacher. The requirement to take the RETELL course applies to teachers with preliminary licenses, regardless of whether or not they had an ELL student in their classroom.
If you are unsure about what type of license you are working under (preliminary, initial or professional), please go on your DESE ELAR account and check your license type. https://gateway.edu.state.ma.us/elar/common/EducatorWelcomePagePageControl.ser
RETELL Information
Working in collaboration with the Wellesley Teachers’ Association, tentative arrangements have been made to offer the RETELL course in-District during the Spring 2017 semester. Please watch for additional information in upcoming Superintendent’s Bulletins.
All Benefits Information
Benefits information is handled by the Town Hall Benefits Office. All benefit inquiries should be directed to Joanne Liburd at JLiburd or by calling 781-431-1019 extension 2244.
WPS Internal Job Postings on District Website
Please be aware that we added a new feature called “Internal Job Postings” under the Faculty tab of the District’s website. We will post all of our internal jobs under this website tab. Therefore, you will no longer see internal job postings in the bulletin. This new way of posting will allow us to post internal positions any day of the week.