Colleagues,
I hope you each had a productive week. I wanted to thank the members of the Teaching and Learning Team for all of their work to support our district-wide day of professional learning on Monday. I also thank the staff of Bates for allowing me to join them for the morning keynote and follow-up discussions. Some important points that stood out to me included the alignment of important student competencies identified by the World Economic Forum with our WPS Profile of a Graduate. Additionally, professional learning communities within our schools, in which collaborative teams work to support the growth of ALL students, remain one of the highest leverage strategies to support student success. I also need to acknowledge that operationalizing our commitment to all students can feel daunting at times. For our staff, this challenge can feel overwhelming when considering the complexity of needs that students bring to us each day. The pandemic has only added to this challenge. From a leadership perspective, what I left the day reflecting on was how we can support these efforts across all of our schools. First, if we want to streamline our curricula and engage in deeper learning, than we must continue in our efforts to define the essential standards that are non-negotiable for all students to master. It also means we have to have some courage to sunset some elements of our work for our curricula to be feasibly delivered. I’m very proud of the work underway to review our systems, schedules, and approaches to help ensure that we are calibrated as a district to continue to improve. This work is not easy and we will undoubtedly stumble at times. That’s a natural part of the improvement process. Thanks for your commitment to our students in this journey and I look forward to our continued collaboration in the days ahead.
-David
2022-2023 ACCEPT Educator Leadership Institute (ELI)
Part-Time preparation for Administrative Leadership and Licensure Program for Educators (Principal/Assistant Principal at one of two levels: Pre-K-8, 5-12).
Application deadline: December 15, 2022
Classes begin: January 11, 2023
Information Sessions: (same session repeated both dates)
Monday, November 7, 2022, 5:00 – 6:30 pm
Tuesday, December 6, 2022, 5:00 – 6:30 pm
Sample classroom activities and an opportunity to discuss the program with current students, graduates and faculty are provided.
Location of Information Sessions:
ACCEPT Headquarters
4 Tech Circle
Natick, MA 01760
To register for an Information Session: eliadmin@accept.org
ELI has prepared and licensed over 500 distinguished educational administrators in districts across Massachusetts since 2003. Graduates have assumed roles as Principals, Assistant Principals, Supervisors and Directors (ELI no longer offers a Supervisor/Director License). The 18-month part-time program includes:
High engagement pedagogy with extensive fieldwork opportunities
Firsthand involvement with practicing administrators
Optional Masters Degree in Educational Leadership and Management (Financial Aid Available)
Excellent placement record
Strong peer and faculty Support Network
Calendar
Dec 26 – Jan 2, 2023 December Break – No School
Baby News
New baby for Hunnewell’s Speech and Language Specialist, Katie Susi, little “Teddy” born on November 22, 2022.
Condolences
Extending our sincere condolences to Daryl Hedlund, HelpDesk Specialist (Elementary) and Lynn Hershelman, HelpDesk Specialist (WHS) on the loss of their father, Richard Armstrong.
Human Relation 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.