Dear Colleagues,
As many of you know, I have been meeting with the faculty and staff at each of our ten schools—as a sort of listening tour—to check on our progress and better understand how we can improve. The feedback I have received so far has been incredibly helpful and some common themes are clearly emerging. For example, at the elementary level, there is little doubt that teachers are feeling overwhelmed by curriculum changes across multiple content areas. At the same time, in our desire to be clearer about curriculum expectations, we may be inadvertently creating content silos that pull our practice away from interdisciplinary content integration. At every level, teachers remain concerned about levels of student stress and about the resources in place to support students who come to us with increasingly diverse needs each year.
I suspect none of these areas of concern are revelations to our staff reading this bulletin. As we consider how we can most effectively address these and other challenges, it will be essential to do so collaboratively, particularly to ensure that the voice of teachers remains primary in our District planning.
Finally, please accept my best wishes for a restful and safe April vacation!
Best regards,
David
Calendar
04/18-22 – School Vacation Week
04/26/16 – School Committee Meeting – 7 pm – Town Hall
04/25/16 – Open Enrollment Health Fair – Wellesley Free Library – 2 – 4 pm
05/01/16 – Deadline for WTA Non-resident Members to Enroll in WPS
05/10/16 – School Committee Meeting – 7 pm – Town Hall
Open Enrollment Health Fair
April 25, 2016 2:00 – 4:00 pm
Wellesley Free Library
Open enrollment for health, dental and long term disability will be during the first 3 weeks of May. General information on rates and open enrollment will be sent to all benefit eligible employees next week. The annual open enrollment Health Fair will be held at the Wellesley Free library on April 25th. Representatives from each of the health plans will be available for any questions you may have about current or potential coverage.
If you would like to speak to someone in Human Resources about your benefits, please call (781) 431-1019, extension 2244 between the hours of 8am and 4:30pm.
Apply Now to Enroll Children
of Non-Resident WTA Members in Wellesley Schools.
Children of teachers or nurses residing outside 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 2016-17 school year, please click here to access the form. Once complete, please return it to District Registrar Nancy Costigliola in Central Office or email it back to her at registrar@wellesleyps.org. The Application Deadline is May 1, 2016.
Attention Wellesley Walkers!!!!!
You are invited to join the Wellesley Walkers for our spring walking program. The kick off meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 26th, at 3:30 pm in the Selectman’s meeting room in the Wellesley Town Hall. The program will run from May 1st through May 28th, and is free, fun and filled with benefits. All program participants will receive a goody bag at the start of the program and will be eligible for random prize drawings throughout the program. Sponsored by the Wellesley Health Department and the Human Resources Department, the walking program is geared for individuals from all walks of life. If you are a serious walker, a casual walker or a walker “wanna be”, please consider joining the Wellesley Walkers for our spring walking program. If interested in participating this spring, please let Cheryl Daebritz know by Thursday, April 21st, 2016 (I want to make sure I have enough goody bags!!). Late enrollment is always accepted! cdaebritz@wellesleyma.gov or (781) 431-1019, ext. 2246
Graduate Course Reimbursement
Course reimbursement funding of $30,000 is available to distribute in FY17 among qualified teachers. This funding is for graduate course work done as part of a master’s degree program to fulfill a teacher’s obligations for the Massachusetts Educators Professional License and for course work required to achieve the next stage of licensure culminating in a professional license. To apply for this course reimbursement, please send the following information to Valerie Spruill, Administrative Assistant to the HR Director,spruillv@wellesleyps.org: 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. The deadline for submissions is June 1, 2016. You will be notified of the amount awarded to you some time prior to the first paycheck in September 2016. Please note: all information must be received by June 1, 2016 or you will be disqualified for reimbursement. All courses must have occurred in the summer of 2015, fall of 2015 and spring of 2016 and have been completed by June 1, 2016. Any courses taken prior to the summer of 2015 will not be considered reimbursement.
Professional Development Opportunities
TEC Online, Self-Paced Courses Free to WPS Educators
WPS has partnered with The Education Cooperative (TEC) to offer two online, self-paced courses free of charge to Wellesley educators. Please note that the ELL course is NOT an endorsement course.
- Engaging All Students with Differentiated Instruction (Click here for more details.)
- Strategies to Enhance Instruction for English Language Learners in the Classroom (Click here for more details.)
To Register: Go to tec.registration.etlo.org and complete the registration page. You’ll receive an email with a URL for the course you’ve selected, as well as instructions on enrolling in the course.
PDPs: Upon completion of the course, participants will receive a certificate of completion. Submit the certificate to Chelsea Bailow, Professional Development Coordinator, in order for the course to appear in your WellesleyPD records.
Thinking About Retirement?
For WTA members interested in retiring in 2016: Contact a representative from MTRS at 617-679-6877.
For further information to determine eligibility for retirement benefits visit: http://www.mass.gov/mtrs; to calculate your retirement benefits, go to http://www.mass.gov/mtrs/active-and-inactive-members/retiring-from-the-mtrs/regular-superannuation/estimate-your-retirement-benefits.html and tohttp://www.mass.gov/mtrs/forms-and-general-resources/downloadable-forms/
If you plan to retire this year, please send a signed letter (four months prior to retirement) indicating your intention to Director of Human Resources Gayle McCracken, Wellesley Public Schools, 40 Kingsbury Street, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481.
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.