Dear Colleagues,
I have two very good news items to share. First, our FY2017 Budget was approved at Town Meeting this week as part of the Town’s overall budget. Wellesley continues to be a community that places a premium on a high quality education as evidenced by the support we receive each year. At the same time, there continues to be concern about the degree to which the Town’s overall budget, and the WPS budget in particular, can continue to grow and outpace any new sources of revenue. It’s clear that we must continue to carefully manage our resources and be transparent in our needs to maintain this level of support in the future.
The second item is that Town Meeting also approved the High School Track and Field project moving forward. This is both very exciting and long overdue. The new facility, which will open this fall, will offer both safer and expanded opportunities for WPS and community athletics.
It goes without saying that we are grateful to everyone who participated in our budget development process as well as the Track and Field request. (A special shout-out to former School Committee Member Patti Quigley for the instrumental role she played in the Track and Field Project.)
As always, thank you for the important work you each do for our students every day and please enjoy the weekend. One week until April vacation!
Best regards,
David
Calendar
04/13/16 – WPS Staff Focus Group – Special Education Strategic Plan – 3:30 – WHS Library
04/14/16 – ‘Footnotes’ – 7 pm – WHS Auditorium
04/18-22 – School Vacation Week
04/26/16 – School Committee Meeting – 7 pm – Town Hall
Special Education Strategic Plan Focus Groups
Members of the Wellesley Public Schools community have begun the important work of establishing a Strategic Plan for Special Education. A critical step of this planning is to check in with our stakeholders and capture their feedback. We value the input of educators in this process. Regardless of your current involvement with the Special Education Department, we invite you to join us for a focus group to help strengthen our District programming.
April 13, 2016
3:00 pm Wellesley High School Library (please note location change)
Should you have questions, please contact Lori Cimeno, Director of Student Services via email cimenol@wellesleyps.org. Light refreshments will be served.
We look forward to the conversation!
The Moving Company in “Footnotes”
The Wellesley High School Performing Arts Department presents the Moving Company in “Footnotes” a collaborative dance performance bringing together dancers from local schools and professional dance companies in a sharing and informative setting. Student and faculty choreographies will be showcased. A variety of dance styles will be featured including collaboration with the WHS Symphonia under the direction of Dr. Sergey Khanukaev. Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” will be showcased and accented by tap dance rhythms. The WMS Junior Moving Company, directed by Kara Sullivan, will return for their 14th season and students from Dana Hall School (director Devon Fitchett) and Cambridge School of Weston (director Nailah Bellinger) will also be performing.
This year Footnotes will welcome back guest artists Rhode Island College, under the direction of Assistant Professor Jessica Pearson, and dancers from Dean College in Franklin, MA. This lineup promises to make for a diverse and dynamic Footnotes performance.
Members of the WHS Moving Company will be performing dance pieces choreographed by company director, Janet Sozio. The focus of Moving Company is to expose both the dancers and audience to a variety of styles including Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Modern, and African. Student works include pieces choreographed by junior Daharah Pritchard and sophomores, Ayri Ayala, Destiny Edwards and Paloma Okunbor. All four students are making their choreographic debut!
“Footnotes” will be held at the Katherine L. Babson Jr. Auditorium at Wellesley High School on Thursday, April 14, 2016 at 7:00 PM. Tickets will be sold at the door: Adults $10; Students K-12 $5; WPS faculty/ staff and senior citizens free. For more information, contact the WHS Performing Arts Department at (781) 446-6250 x5720.
Congratulations to Genie Madden (Sprague Kindergarten Teacher) on the birth of her daughter, Natalie Addison, on April 6, 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
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.
Professional Development Opportunities
WellesleyPD
Registration is open for the following courses through WellesleyPD:
New Dates! – “Special Education for General Educators: A 5 Part Series”
- Instructors: Astrid Mazariegos & Kristen Stacy
- Participants: K-5 Educators
- Dates/Times: 04/30/16, 8:30am – 3:00pm; 05/02/16, 05/09/16 & 05/17/16, 3:30pm – 6:30pm
- To Register: Login to WellesleyPD and select “Offerings” from the menu on the left, then select “Special Education Courses” from the pull-down menu.
SEI Extending the Learning Course
“Six Standards of Effective Pedagogy for Elementary and Secondary Classrooms”
- Presented by: Dr. Annela Teemant & Dr. Serena Tyra
- Participants: All K-12 teachers, including ELA, math, science, history, ESL, elementary, secondary.
- Dates/Times: August 8-12, 2016 plus an online component
- Location: Leominster Area
- Cost: $650 per person
- Registration deadline Friday, May 20, or until course is full.
For more information and to register: www.matsol.org/retell-extending-the-learning
American International College: Off-Campus Master’s & CAGS Programs
Programs Offered:
- Professional License – Early Childhood, Elementary Ed., Moderate Disabilities (Middle/Secondary options also available)
- Initial License – Early Childhood, Elementary Ed., Moderate Disabilities
- Initial License – Reading Specialist
- Initial License – Middle Ed., Secondary Ed. (Subject areas available for Middle & Secondary licensure: Business, Biology, Chemistry, English, French, General Science, History, Math, Spanish.)
- School Adjustment Counseling (offered only in Springfield)
- School Guidance Counseling (offered only in Springfield)
- Initial License School Leadership – Principal/Assistant Principal, SPED Administrator, Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent
Information Meetings:
Tuesday, April 12 @ 3:30 or 4:30
Sharon High School
181 Pond Street, Sharon, MA 02067
Wednesday, April 13th @ 3:30 or 4:30
Milford High School
31 West Fountain Street, Milford, MA 01757
Thursday, April 14th @ 3:30 or 4:30
King Philip Regional High School
201 Franklin Street, Wrentham, MA 02093
To RSVP or for more information, please call (800) 540-9749 or email mnichols@graduateprogram.org
Other 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.
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.
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.