Category: Newton Schools

Everything you want to know about the Newton Public School System in Newton, MA.

Redistricting Update from David Fleishman
May 22, 2015

Dear Newton Families,

Given that we are coming to a critical juncture for the first phase of student assignment changes, I thought it would be useful to give you an update. The Student Assignment Working Group (SAWG) is working hard to come up with solutions that use the capacity we will soon have available at Angier, Zervas and Cabot to alleviate over-crowding while disrupting the least number of families and neighborhoods.

As the process advances from the scenario development and testing phase to the proposal stage, we are seeking input from a range of stakeholders in the community. This past Monday night, we had a very constructive public forum where a range of issues were discussed.

It is anticipated that the SAWG will recommend a preferred option or proposal before the beginning of the next school year. The goal is to make a decision in a timely fashion so there will be adequate time to communicate with those families who will be impacted.

Below is some important information regarding student assignment decision-making.
1. The Newton School Committee, Superintendent and district administration are committed to minimizing disruption for students and families. Therefore, student assignment policy changes will only effect incoming students in kindergarten through grade 5. The policy changes will not impact students who are already enrolled in Newton Public Schools.
2. Student assignment policy changes will not impact siblings of enrolled elementary students. We do not expect families to have children enrolled at more than one elementary school.
3. Evaluation criteria were developed at the beginning of the process in order to ensure that objective, fair and clear criteria are used in a transparent decision-making process. These criteria will be used to evaluate which scenarios are most viable and could become preferred options.
Please understand that we will be addressing one other aspect of student assignment prior to the proposal and this involves expanding the elementary school buffer zones. A buffer zone is a defined area for which individual addresses may be assigned to more than one elementary school. Families living within a buffer zone can request a school for their newly registered student but the final assignment decision is made by the district and is dependent upon available space.

The use of buffer zones as a tool to both manage enrollment and achieve equitable class sizes at schools has been critical in times of rising enrollment and capacity issues at schools. This year, 15% of Newton Public School elementary students live in buffer zones.

On May 27^th, the School Committee will be reviewing the proposal to create additional buffer zones to ensure that we will have equitable class sizes and reasonable school capacity in the next several years. Given that the practice of our system has been to notify families of their child’s school assignment by June 1^st, the School Committee is likely to vote on this proposal that same night.

Attached is a Frequently Asked Questions document, which provides important information on the student assignment process and buffer zones. We will be certain to keep you well informed as this process continues.

Student Assignment Review FAQ

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

(from David Fleishman, Superintendent)
May 22, 2015
Walk to North Update

Hello Neighbors —

Steve Siegel and Ruth Goldman wanted to answer the questions that were posed in the 4/29 Walk to North Update. Their answers appear below, please take the time to read them as they are helpful.

The SAWG met this afternoon and the short-term plans that were referenced at Tuesday’s meeting focus primarily on relieving the acute crowding issues Mason-Rice and Horace Mann are facing for next year. The kindergarten class they mentioned will NOT involve Peirce children. They are currently developing a set of new scenarios to be presented at the May 11th meeting that they think will please the Peirce areas. It appears that the final redistricting recommendation will come from one of these new scenarios.

They have extremely busy developing these new scenarios in preparation for the May 11th meeting and they have heard our concerns clearly. They asked us to share that they “are working to solve a complex problem and at the same time be as supportive and respectful of families and neighborhoods as possible. Please, give us the benefit of the doubt when we tell you we are working with you. The membership can keep sending emails if they must but they have already reached us.” You all have done a great job! They would appreciate if we give them the time and space to focus on the next set of scenarios.

We hope you all find this information helpful. Please mark your calendars to attend the May 11th School Committee meeting @ 7pm! It will be an important one. As of this morning, the Public Hearing on redistricting has been rescheduled for Monday, May 18th at 7pm.

Answers provided by Steve to 4/29 Update:

“1. The K class that could possibly move into Zervas is from Mason-Rice, from parts of that district that are expected to be reassigned to Zervas in every scenario we have discussed over the preceding months. It has nothing to do with Peirce. This is about dealing with an anticipated overcrowding issue at Mason-Rice as there is a question about whether they will have enough K space in the fall, depending upon how enrollment moves. This move is noteworthy only because of the timing, as it may come a year before most of the other moves associated with citywide student assignment. And it is an example of the specific value that an expanded Zervas offers as our citywide enrollment continues to grow.

2. “Capacity”. It was not well stated at the SC meeting but the basic concept is this: take the number of full-sized classrooms and multiply them by the targeted average class size. For example take a school with 16 full sized classrooms and say our average class size is 20. The “capacity” of this school would be considered to be 320 students.

The capacity number is not a hard and fast planning tool but is being used by the working group to get a feel for the relative crowding of each of our elementary schools. To me what ultimately matters is whether space constraints compromise the teaching and learning that can take place in a building. In some cases this is obvious, like at my children’s own home school of Zervas, where until the last two modulars were installed special ed teaching and instruction for ELL students were delivered from desks out in the hallways where the setting made effective student support difficult. The situation at Zervas was unreasonable. The experiences of parents regarding Peirce as well as those of the principal, teachers and aides are all valuable to us as we work on the analysis.

3. Grandfathering of siblings. This is absolutely our intent, to prevent a family from having kids in two elementary schools at the same time. In terms of giving weight to the criteria, this is the highest priority of many in the working group though for the time being, while we are continuing to develop useful metrics, the working group has not ranked them. To the suggestion that this question was hedged at the SC meeting, I hope you can appreciate that we told you what we as a group know and have agreed upon, and nothing more. This is a process, and we are in the middle of it.

4. I understand that a question was posed to our Ward 3 Colleague Angela Pitter-Wright about the size of Zervas and the challenge to fill it. The central goal of our long range planning is to address citywide enrollment growth, to fix our deteriorated and undersized elementary schools, and to add capacity, especially in central locations, to deal with growth we know is coming. Zervas is positioned to directly help Mason-Rice, Bowen, and Countryside, and along with Angier can help Peirce, Williams, and Burr as well. We will need this capacity very soon, even if we don’t need every bit of it in the next two years. ”

— Walk to North

May 9, 2015
21st Century Education Book Signing Event

You’re invited to a very special reception hosted by EdLeader21 CEO Ken Kay,

and FableVision CEO Paul Reynolds, including a special screening and book signing!

FRIDAY, MAY 15

6-8 PM EST
___

FABLEVISION Studios

308 CONGRESS ST.
BOSTON, MA

(Located on the Top floor of

Boston’s Children Museum)

What does it take to ensure your school district is embracing critical 21st century skills?

EdLeader21 and FableVision are hosting an open house and reception for 21st century education leaders. Come join the dialog as Ken and Paul lead conversation around the 4C’s: collaboration,communication, critical thinking, and creativity.

There will be a special screening of Above and Beyond, the short animated film about the 4C’s created by FableVision, which was the inspiration for the Going Places storybook by Paul & Peter H. Reynolds. Ken will share insights from his book The Leader’s Guide to 21st Century Education, after which he and Paul will sign and personalize their respective books.

Space is limited, so save your space early here.

To learn more about EdLeader21 visit its website, visit EdLeader21.com,

and to learn more about FableVision, visit FableVisionStudios.com.

May 6, 2015
Walk to North Mobilizes
Hi Neighbors —

First, we want to thank those of you who attended the School Committee meeting last night. There were about 20-25 people there and it was great to have support. Two people spoke about our specific concerns during the open-comment time at the beginning of the meeting – Karin Beecher and Greg Pachus – thank you for presenting our concerns, again, to the School Committee!

Second, we want to give you a summary of what happened last night. Unfortunately, the SAWG did not present any new scenarios. Instead, they used scenario A.1 as an example to discuss data tables that contain much, if not all, of the information that was on the March 26^th maps but is easier to read. The three major revelations really were the following from the Student Assignment Working Group’s (SAWG’s) presentation:
1. The SAWG is considering moving an entire Kindergarten class to Zervas this fall for the 2015-2016 school year. Where this class of children is coming from, they did not say but we certainly don’t want it to be from the Peirce areas.
2. A question was asked, more than once, on how the SAWG calculated school capacity – a clear answer was not given last night but we will try to find out how they determined that Peirce is currently at 111% of capacity. It involves the number of classrooms plus space for art, music, and “several” spaces for special education. They didn’t know if a cafeteria was in the calculation or not. We need to understand how many spaces for special ed are required for their formula and whether a cafeteria is included in the calculation as well.
3. The SAWG also hedged on the question of whether they would keep siblings at the same school . . . this is worrisome.
Honestly, we had hoped to see more and learn more after so many weeks (it’s been almost five weeks since the SAWG presented its preliminary scenarios on March 26^th). For those of you who would like to watch the meeting, it will be posted again on the “District Initiatives” page of the City website where the last one was (http://www.newton.k12.ma.us/Page/2315). As of this morning it wasn’t up yet but keep checking.

The next meeting is still scheduled for May 11^th and this will be a big one because the revised scenarios will be presented. This is also supposed to be the Public Hearing date which will put us at a disadvantage if we have to hear brand new information and then have to be prepared to speak intelligently on that new information – with only 3 minutes per person – at the end of the same meeting. We will really need to have lots of you turn out for that May 11^th meeting.

WHAT DO WE STILL NEED TO DO?

The SAWG is still trying to meet its deadline of the end of June to present a redistricting recommendation to the School Committee for a vote. Since we have had no indication that the Peirce areas are off the table, we need everyone to come together, stay focused and make sure we’re heard. So, if you haven’t written a letter yet, please do so right away. Here’s our “to do” list:
1. Mark your calendars for next Wednesday, May 6^th at 9:15am. Ward 3 Alderperson and School Committee member Angela Pitter-Wright will be coming to meet with us at Karin Beecher’s house at 42 Howland Road. Although she represents Ward 3, all are welcome!
2. Mark your calendars for the next School Committee meeting on May 11^th at 7pm at the Education Center(100 Walnut St., Frazier Room #210). NEW scenarios will be presented at this meeting. It may also still be the Public Hearing so we’ll need many of you to prepare something to say. You only get 3 minutes (and they time you) so choose a point to focus on and get ready. We need to be there! It is critical that we come out in force to show our commitment to our position that the Peirce areas should be removed from the redistricting discussion.
3. We need volunteers to spearhead some of our efforts. If you’re committed to our work, Walk to North needs your help! In order to expand our efforts we, simply, need more man power. Please email us atwalktonorth@gmail.com with “I WILL HELP” in the message line and we’ll get back to you quickly.
4. Please continue to encourage your neighbors to write letters to the School Committee and Aldermen and even write another one yourself!
Many thanks,

Walk to North
May 1, 2015
Redistricting Proposal Objections
April 25, 2015

Dear Alder People and Members of the School Committee,

We are writing to express my strong opposition to the proposed plan to redistrict parts of West Newton out of the Peirce and Newton North district. Redistricting plans should not move children from walkable to non-walkable schools.

We live just 0.7 miles from the entrance of Newton North high school, a distance so close to Newton North that we do not even qualify for bus service. Our close proximity to Newton North is further illustrated by the fact that our polling location is at the Newton Senior Center at 345 Walnut Street, just down the street from Newton North.

My older son Kristian is a recent graduate and my daughter Madeleine is a current student at Newton North High School. As did my older son, my daughter walks to and from school frequently and is very glad for the independence and exercise that comes with taking the first and last 10 minutes of her school day walking. Further, as their parents, we like that our children have a set time each day to relax, get some fresh air, and reflect during their walks to and from school. We believe that these walks help to reinforce habits that we try to instill in our children, namely that of physical activity, energy conservation, and stress reduction – each of which have been shown in scientific studies to promote a healthy lifestyle. These “life” benefits are accompanied by an important practical benefit in that the children are able to go to school and come home from school on their own, making our life as a two parent working family much easier.

Our youngest son Connor, who is a student at Day Middle School, will soon be a high school freshman and would like to walk to school at Newton North as well. If he were to go to Newton South instead, Connor would arrive and leave school each weekday by bus or car, which would mean at 40 minute bus trip to and from school, rather than the 10 minute walk to school – adding in total an extra hour to every school day. This not only doesn’t make sense, but it is also harmful – adding significant hardship and reducing the quality of life for him and his family. These changes would have many detrimental effects, including:
- at least a tripling of our son’s commute each weekday
- increased traffic around the schools and across the city
- increased stress and reduced physical activity, where instead of walking outside for 10 minutes each way, my son would sit on a polluted bus for 30-40 minutes each way.
- an inability for Connor to get home on days when he has to stay at school past the late bus, as we are a two-parent working family
- increased parking burdens, resulting in longer commuting times for us and for other Newton residents
We moved to our home so that our kids could walk to school – to the Peirce School as elementary students and to Newton North as high school students. If redistricting is about what makes sense for the elementary schools, please note that in addition to their walking to Newton North, we also frequently walked our kids to Peirce during their elementary years (10 years). Walking our kids to school is a special benefit of living in Newton, helping to instill lifelong healthy habits in our children and helping to create a close-knit community. This is in large what makes Newton such an incredible place to live. Eliminating our walking schools and sense of community is harmful to our children, to our family, to our neighborhood, and to Newton.

We are strongly opposed to redistricting, and we will be vocal and active in our opposition. Please do the right thing and leave us where we are.

Sincerely,

Helen and MacIntosh

1169 Commonwealth Avenue

West Newton
April 28, 2015
Newton Public Schools Buying Aquinas School
April 17, 2015

Dear Newton Community,

As many of you are aware, we are in an exciting time of facilities renovations and expansion within the Newton Public Schools. The Angier School will be completed in December with Zervas and Cabot not far behind.

I want to make you aware of some exciting news related to our facilities planning. The Mayor has signed a letter of intent to acquire the Aquinas School and property on Jackson Street, subject to approval and a vote to fund the purchase from the Board of Aldermen. I believe this would be an incredible asset for our system. Aquinas is a property with a school building that, with some modifications, will be a terrific facility for our district. There is also significant parking and land included in the acquisition.

If this purchase is approved by the Board of Aldermen and School Committee, our plans for facilities renovations and expansion would be updated to include the following:
- The Aquinas School would be renovated and include the addition of an elementary school sized gym. When completed, Lincoln-Eliot will move to Aquinas. We expect this to occur by September 2019. After Lincoln-Eliot moves to Aquinas, the old Lincoln-Eliot would become the swing space for our system.
- The Aquinas property can also accommodate a unified preschool program. The preschool would likely be able to occupy Aquinas as early as September, although this would still need to be confirmed.
- Horace Mann would move into the newly renovated Carr School in September 2019, which is the time that Cabot students will move from Carr into a newly renovated or rebuilt Cabot School. The Horace Mann building would transition to become a community center and location for Parks & Recreation programming in 2019.
Please understand that our Student Assignment Working Group will continue their work while being mindful of these planned changes. We will keep you well informed on the work of that group as well as the progress and timeframe of the exciting changes resulting from the Aquinas purchase, if it is approved by the Board.

I am grateful to Mayor Warren and his team for working with us to address our facilities and capacity issues. Their support is most appreciated and will make a huge difference for generations of Newton students.

I hope you have a wonderful vacation week.

Sincerely,

David Fleishman
Superintendent of Schools
April 18, 2015
Newton South Ranks as Best High School

2015 Niche Rankings ranks high schools in Massachusetts. Niche ranked 14,431 high schools based on dozens of key statistics, as well as opinions from 280,000 parents and students.

How do the high schools in Newton stack up?

Newton North High School clocks in at number 15.

Newton South High School made the list at number 22.

Here are the Top 10:

1. Dover-Sherborn Regional High School

2. Westwood High School

3. Lexington High School

4. Advanced Math & Science Academy Charter School (in Marlborough)

5. Brookline High School

6. Boston Latin School

7. Weston High School

8. Wellesley Senior High School

9. Westford Academy

10. Wayland High School

April 17, 2015
Help Newton Teachers Get Contract

Dear Friends,

I’m writing to request your help. You may be aware that since this past September, all Newton teachers have been working without a contract. This is each and every faculty member, in every single public school throughout Newton. The dispute that our teachers are having with the School Committee is one of compensation and it directly affects all of our children and each of our families.

image from Twitter

Perhaps you noticed the teachers marching yesterday to the Ed Center, demonstrating their concern with the current state of affairs? Or maybe you saw many of them wearing yellow shirts to school in solidarity of their plea? Our teachers, who work in devoted and tireless ways, are requesting a reasonable salary increase.

Sadly, Newton pays its teachers considerably less than do neighboring comparable towns. The School Committee (spearheaded by Matt Hills, the Chairperson) are denying them this opportunity to have salaries that are competitive with towns such as Wellesley, Weston, Needham or Dover. The result is that our teachers are working without a contract and the potential effect of the School Committee’s resistance may be an undermining of teacher morale at best, and at worst, may encourage teacher turnover.

Most of us, my family included, moved to Newton because the schools were touted as excellent. The town’s school reputation rests primarily on the caliber of its faculty members. If the School Committee harms our teachers, then the School Committee unintentionally harms our children. That is certainly all I needed to hear, though someone in the community pointed out that this will in turn present an additional adverse effect on our home property values.

There are over 50 of us on this list. As a friend once said, there is power in numbers. Will you consider doing this relatively easy but important task of voicing concern about the School Committee’s reluctance to resolve their differences with our teachers?

Below is a quick letter I’ve drafted.

Feel free to use it as it is, or modify it to reflect your personal concerns. It is important that we stand up for our teachers, especially now as they need us the most.

I’ve also included Matt’s email as well as the school Committee’s email. If you’re so inclined, you can go onto the school committee webpage and email each School Committee member directly here.

And, if you feel as passionately about this issue as I do, please forward this email to whomever you believe will help us do the right thing in keeping Newton an awesome place to live, work, and grow children. Thanks so much.

Dear Members of the School Committee—
It has been brought to our attention that our teachers city-wide are requesting a reasonable increase in their compensation. As parents, citizens, and taxpayers of this City, we stand behind our teachers and their request. Their concern is our concern and we want to see their dedication and commitment reflected in compensation that is at least commiserate with comparable towns. Anything less devalues their wonderful work and sends the wrong message to these women and men who help make Newton schools as strong as they are.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Email: Matt Hills: matt_hills@newton.k12.ma.us

School Committee:schoolcommittee@newton.k12.ma.us

p.s. Wicked Local showcased an article about the march yesterday. You can read more about it here.

April 16, 2015
NNHS Interim Principal Announced!

April 14, 2015

Dear Newton North Community,

As you are aware, I have decided to name an interim principal for the 2015-16 school year. I am very pleased to let you know that Mark Aronson, who was planning to retire from his position as a housemaster this June, will be staying at North for an additional year to serve as interim principal.

Mark has served with distinction as a housemaster for thirteen years. He is widely respected by all stakeholders in the North community and has wonderful relationships with students, staff and families. Mark is highly respected because he has a capacity for leadership that is thoughtful, collaborative and fair. He is someone to whom faculty and staff turn to when they are in need of wisdom, support and perspective.

I know Newton North students will be happy to have an interim principal who is a familiar presence in the hallways, always greeting students in his warm way, while offering support, advice and encouragement. Regardless of the situation, Mark is calm, measured and focused on finding an outcome that is supportive of students.

Newton North will also benefit from having an interim leader who has a keen understanding of the school and the system. Mark has spent his entire career in the Newton Public Schools and has a clear sense of what it takes to be a successful leader of a large institution. Mark began his career as a math teacher at Day Middle School and taught there for thirteen years. He then transitioned to North as a math teacher before becoming the assistant housemaster and then a housemaster.

I have spoken with Jennifer Price about Mark’s appointment and she has great confidence that he is well positioned to lead the school next year. Mark and Jen have a terrific working relationship and I am confident that the transition will be seamless.

Sincerely,

David Fleishman
Superintendent of Schools

April 14, 2015
New School District Lines Being Drawn

March 24, 2015

Dear Families,

As many of you are aware, this is an exciting time of elementary school facilities renovation and expansion in the Newton Public Schools. Because the new schools will have expanded capacity to address our enrollment growth, and we currently have elementary schools that are overcrowded, we have a Student Assignment Working Group that is examining elementary school boundary lines.

Over the past few months, the Student Assignment Working Group has developed a process to evaluate various student assignment scenarios. At the School Committee meeting this Thursday, March 26, beginning at 5:00pm and held in the Education Center (room 210), the Student Assignment Working Group (SAWG) will share some of the scenarios being considered for the first time. We expect a recommendation will be made to the School Committee regarding a change in elementary school district boundary lines by the end of the school year.

The public is invited to attend Thursday’s meeting as we are committed to engaging the community on this important decision. The presentation will also be available to view on NewTV and the Newton Public Schools website in the following days.

We will continue to keep you informed as the Student Assignment Working Group proceeds with its work.

Sincerely,

David Fleishman
Superintendent of Schools

April 14, 2015