Dear Members of the Wellesley Public Schools Community:
I hope you are enjoying the remaining days of summer and that these past few months have been restful and restorative for you and your families. We look forward to welcoming our students, staff, and families back for the start of the 2025-26 school year, which will begin on Wednesday, August 27th.
We have been busy throughout the summer preparing for opening day and I especially want to thank the Facilities Management Department (FMD) for their incredible work to clean and prepare our buildings, which is a carefully choreographed sprint each year. We have also been busy completing our hiring for the new year, with exceptional new teaching and support staff joining us throughout the district, whom I hope you will join me in welcoming to our WPS community. In particular, I want to welcome back Dr. Stephen Goodwin, who previously served as our Sprague principal and who is returning as the interim principal of Schofield. I also want to welcome Dr. Midge Connolly, who is joining us as our interim Assistant Superintendent of Student Services. Welcome to all of our new colleagues!
As you likely know, last year we formed a working group of students, parents, and staff to engage with the topic of cell phones and smart devices in schools. We explored the research on this topic, heard diverse perspectives from members of our own school community, and examined policies from other schools and districts. As a result of that work, we are instituting some new procedures at the secondary level in WPS. At Wellesley Middle School, if students bring a cell phone or other smart device to school, it must be locked in a pouch provided by the school throughout the day. At Wellesley High School, students must place cell phones in a holder upon entry to any classroom. At the elementary level, students should not bring phones or other smart devices to school. At home, we would value all of our parents/caregivers waiting as long as possible, such as until the end of middle school, before purchasing a phone or other smart device for their student(s).
We know that air conditioning has been an important facilities conversation for our district, with four of our schools – Bates, Fiske, Schofield, and WMS – lacking the climate control that can fundamentally alter learning conditions at school during hot days in the fall and spring. Wellesley Town Meeting approved feasibility funds for this project in April, and as part of that process FMD is conducting a pilot study of window and ductless split solutions in specific classrooms in the coming year to assess elements such as temperature impact and noise.
This summer, our Business Office has also been supporting our transition to a new food service provider, Chartwells, a company that is committed to using fresh, nutritious, minimally processed and locally sourced ingredients. As a reminder, all students are eligible for free school meals and we encourage parents to take advantage of this program. (Please note that families remain responsible for paying for a la carte items and second meal sales.)
Of course our core mission of teaching and learning continues to be guided by and aligned with our Profile of a Graduate and district Strategic Plan. We strive to be a district in which our excellence and equity efforts support the success of ALL students. To better inform our community with respect to our outcomes, we restarted the publishing of an annual progress report last year. Our progress report for SY2024-25 will be coming out later this fall.
I recognize that we are living in uncertain times, and that, at the moment, some members of our community feel particularly vulnerable. I want to emphasize that in WPS, we respect all individuals’ human and civil rights, regardless of race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin or sexual orientation. For WPS to successfully meet its core mission, our school community must be a place where everyone – students, staff, and families – feels welcomed and valued. That theme of community and, more specifically, a community of learning, is one we want to highlight this year, as it both reflects the relationships undergirding our affinity as a school district as well as our role as a learning organization. As a community of learning, we are committed to student, adult, and organizational growth.
As we move closer to opening day next week, please consider phasing in good habits to start the school year around sleep schedules, nutrition, overall organization and setting boundaries on the use of smart devices at home.
Finally, if you haven’t already, please be sure to update your family information in the PowerSchool Portal, including your contact information, and provide the necessary permissions for the upcoming year. Upon completion, homeroom information for students in Grades K-8 is currently available in PowerSchool and schedules for students in Grades 9-12 will be available the afternoon of Wednesday, August 20. You also should have received an invitation to join our new communications platform, ParentSquare; please contact portal@wellesleyps.org if you have any technical issues.
On behalf of the incredible team of educators and staff who serve the students of the Wellesley Public Schools, thank you for putting your faith in us to provide your children with a world-class education. We look forward to partnering with you throughout the school year to ensure the success of all of our students. Let’s have a great year WPS!
Sincerely,
Dr. David Lussier
Superintendent of Schools