Colleagues,
Welcome once again to the 2021-22 school year! I appreciated the chance to provide an overview of the year with you on Monday and I want to thank everyone for your preparation in advance of our student opening on Wednesday. Traveling around the district these past few days, I have shared in your excitement to see our students again as we begin our return to the familiar rhythms of the school year. At the same time, I want to acknowledge the uncertainty that remains as we pursue our work in the context of COVID-19. I appreciate everyone’s support as we balance our safety mitigation measures while trying to return to normal programming across the district.
We are continuing to work with the state to bring a COVID testing program on-line for students and staff in the next week or so. This will include symptomatic testing (school-day symptoms only), as well as a “test-and-stay” option for asymptomatic close contacts. We also learned this week that our ability to pivot seamlessly to include surveillance testing as needed in the future, may be far more limited than previously described. With this in mind, we will likely affirm our intent to do so now with the state, to help ensure that we don’t miss an opportunity to access the resources and staff to do so, which may not exist if we wait until a later date. (Please look for a message to parents and staff seeking consent to test coming out shortly.)
I hope you each enjoy the long Labor Day weekend and L’shanah Tovah to all of our colleagues celebrating Rosh Hashanah on Tuesday.
-David
Calendar
Welcome Back!
09/06/21 – Labor Day – No School
09/07/21 – Rosh Hashanah – No School
09/14/21 – SC Meeting – 6:30 pm
09/16/21 – Yom Kippur – No School
09/28/21 – SC Meeting – 6:30 pm
Congratulations to Devin Ligon (Hunnewell Fitness & Health Teacher) on the birth of his son, Blake, on June 25, 2021;
Condolences to Cindy Mahr (Assistant Superintendent of Finance & Operations) on the loss of her mother, Anne Gramkow Deane, on July 2, 2021; and to Leigh Petrowsky (Sprague Principal) on the loss of her mother, Elizabeth Petrowsky, on August 21, 2021.
Reminders Regarding Salary Lane Change Process:
Letters of Intent to Change Lanes are due annually by November 1st for the following school year. The letter should include your present lane, intended lane and year in which you plan to make the change. For instance, the intent to change lanes letter due on November 1, 2021 is for a lane change in school year 2022-23. Please note that your letter of intent does not carry over from year to year.
Also, effective November 1, 2020, a teacher must submit a Course Approval Form (CAF) if: 1) a course may lead to a lane change or 2) a course is paid by District funds. Forms should be submitted at least 30 days in advance of the expected start date of the course. Course approvals are active from the date of approval through June 30th of the following school year (e.g., approved 9/1/2021 for a course starting 10/1/2021 would be active through 6/30/2023). Approvals are based on the course title and course description and cannot be exchanged for another course without prior written approval of the Superintendent or designee. A teacher has until June 30th of the following school year from the course completion date to submit the transcripts (e.g., course ended 1/1/2022 transcript must be submitted by 6/30/2023).
Human Relations Services
The Human Relation Services (HRS) can help. Wellesley Public Schools has contracted with HRS to provide up to ten free counseling visits for you and/or your family members. This program is designed to help you deal with stresses of life and work –including personal and family issues, drug or alcohol problems, and job related tension. It offers prevention and intervention to reduce these stresses and improve coping skills.
HRS is located at 11 Chapel Place in Wellesley and can be reached at 781-235-4950. This is a confidential service. Wellesley Public Schools is not aware of the names of employees or their family members who utilize this service.
Do you have a question for the WPS Human Resources Department? Email AskHR@Wellesleyps.org. The Human Resources Department is happy to assist you.
WPS Internal Job Postings on District Website
For all Internal Job Postings, please go to “Internal Job Postings” under the Faculty tab of the District’s website.