Superintendent’s Bulletin 6/12/26

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you each had a productive week.  I know the heat and humidity have a been a real challenge this week at our non-air-conditioned buildings; I want to acknowledge and thank our students and staff for their efforts under difficult conditions.  As a side note, our air conditioning project continues to move forward on the municipal timeline, with the next checkpoint coming at special town meeting this fall, when funds for the final phase of design will be sought.  

Thanks to everyone who helped celebrate our seniors last week during their graduation on Friday.  I also want to thank our elementary colleagues, who hosted clap-out events for the seniors who returned to their elementary schools in their graduation regalia.  I love this tradition across the district! 

And finally, I want to take a moment to honor the many colleagues who have, or are about to, retire from the Wellesley Public Schools this year.  We honor your service to our students, families and colleagues! 

Andrea Holbrook, Tech Support Specialist

Donna Kalinowski, Central Office-Accounting Coordinator for Payroll

Deanne McGoldrick, Central Office-Transportation Director 

Elizabeth Rey, Bates Librarian 

Trisha Slyne, Central Office-Financial Transaction Asst.- Facility Rentals 

Leanne Jones, WHS Child Lab Teaching Assistant

Janet Sozio, WHS School Counselor

Timothy Eagan, Department Head of World Language (6-12) 

David McCullough, WHS English Teacher

Thomas Carter, Director of Visual Arts

Nancy Smith, WMS Literacy Teacher

Jonathan Wachs, WMS Industrial Tech. Teacher

Cynthia Peltier, WMS Math Teacher

Marcia Sullivan, Hunnewell Grade 5 Teacher

Heidi Marquedant, WHS Family & Consumer Science/Child Lab Teacher

Mark Bugden, Occupational Therapist

Karen Perry Kaplan, Schofield Fitness & Health Teacher

Jane Barrell, WHS Academic Resource Teacher

Jill Lapato, WHS Math Teacher

Martin Wagner, WMS Math Teacher

Steve Goodwin, Schofield Interim Principal 

Dina Maggipinto, Hardy Grade 2 Teacher

Alicia Diozzi, WMS Social Studies Teacher

Karen Thurber, Central Office-Production Center Clerk

John Brown, Athletic Director

Thanks for what you do each day in support of our students and have a great weekend.       

Best, David

June 18 – School Committee Meeting

June 19 – Juneteenth (Schools & Offices Closed)

June 22 – Last Day for Students (Early Release)

June 23 – Last Day for Teachers

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Education issued guidance to help districts and other educational entities plan their response protocol for interactions with federal immigration officers. We are reviewing our current internal protocol for interacting with immigration officers to ensure it aligns with the recommendations in the document. Once any adjustments are made, the district will share more information about our protocol with WPS staff.

As part of Wellesley Public Schools’ ongoing work to ensure that we are fully compliant with the digital accessibility requirements by April 2028, we want to share two draft resources that are now available for your reference. First, we have gathered a variety of materials on our WPS Digital Accessibility website, which will continue to be updated over time. Additionally, a Digital Accessibility Checklist is available to use as a handy reference when creating or updating documents, slide decks, and webpages. This checklist is a quick way to help verify that your materials feature properly formatted headings, alternative text for images, and are fully screen-readable for all students and families.

On April 28, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) unanimously approved a new alternative pathway for educator licensure. This change allows qualified candidates to waive the Communication and Literacy Skills test (CLST) if they meet specific criteria, such as holding an advanced degree, completing a state-approved prep program, possessing a comparable out-of-state license, or having two years of documented instructional experience.

This milestone is a testament to our collective advocacy, including AFT and the MTA, as well as Leader Alice Peisch, Senator and the MA Black and Latino Caucus, for their essential testimony and letters of support.

For a full list of eligibility requirements and FAQs, please visit the DESE website.

Graduate credit courses offered through the Albion Center at Idaho State University will no longer be accepted for credit by Wellesley Public Schools. This decision follows a recent message from the Massachusetts School Superintendents’ Association indicating that the program is under review due to concerns about the rigor of its coursework. While Idaho State University courses may still be applied toward professional development points (PDPs), they will no longer count as graduate-level credit within WPS for lane changes. Please reach out to Sandy Trach, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, with any questions.

As we look toward the next school year, the district will be transitioning from Zoom to Google Meet as our primary video conferencing platform for general staff use. This shift, which will take effect this summer, allows us to be more fiscally responsible by fully utilizing our Google Education Plus license. In addition, Google Meet now offers several helpful new features, including Adaptive Audio, which eliminates echo when multiple staff members join a meeting from the same room, live translated captions in over 65 languages, and a picture-in-picture mode that allows the user to view the Meet and relevant documents at the same time.

This change won’t happen until this summer, which will give everyone the remainder of the school year to explore the platform and receive assistance from the Tech Dept. Please visit the Tech Dept. contact page to submit a Help Desk ticket or to find a member of the department assigned to your building.

In August 2026, there will be a three-week gap between pay periods. This occurs periodically due to how the school and payroll calendars align.

 

To help ensure a smooth transition through this period, we are sharing this notice well in advance so that all employees can plan accordingly. Staff may wish to set aside funds during the year to help cover personal expenses during this short gap.

 

Below is a summary of the upcoming schedule for the 2025–2026 school year:

 

No paychecks will be issued between August 17 and September 8, 2026.

 

If you have any questions about your individual pay schedule, please contact the Payroll Office for assistance.

The MTRS has many members who do not have a beneficiary on file. This Spring, these members will receive either an email or a mailed letter (if no email address on file) asking them to designate a beneficiary.

To designate or change a beneficiary, members must sign and mail the Beneficiary Designation Form to our Main Office.

If MTRS members have questions, please email annstmt@trb.state.ma.us.

The Town of Wellesley offers an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to support employees and their families.  Effective July 1, 2025, CMG Associates is the new EAP provider (see announcement). Employees may want to access the EAP because of emotional difficulties, life stress, family difficulties, concerns about substance abuse or other addictive behavior, legal or financial problems, or other personal issues. The EAP is completely free, confidential, and available at all times (day or night, weekdays, weekends, and holidays). Employees may call CMG Associates at 888-851-7032, or they may visit www.cmgassociates.com, click on the link entitled EAP Log-In, and use the User ID: WELL.

SMART Plan (457 Voluntary Retirement Savings) 

May make changes throughout the year through the company.

Work directly through US Omni and the SMART Plan.

Email AskHR@Wellesleyps.org. The Human Resources Department is happy to assist you.  

For all Internal Job Postings, please go to “Internal Job Postings” under the Faculty tab of the District’s website. How to Apply for WPS Internal Job Postings as a New Internal Applicant