Mid July Worcester Public Schools update

 

Don't forget the summer reading!
Image from Mo Willems

Taken in part from Dr. Monárrez's weekly updates to the Worcester School Committee

• On Thursday, the Worcester School Committee completed Dr. Monárrez's first evaluation. The composite evaluation--which takes all seven of our evaluations and creates a single document--is the official evaluation. That, along with the seven individual evaluations, I have shared here (they will be going up on the district website once they are converted to something that can be read by screen readers). Note that the School Committee did go into executive session following the evaluation to consider her contract. 
  
  
• Please don't miss that we have an updated 2023-34 school year calendar. As a result of the agreed-upon teachers' contract, we now have an additional professional development day for staff. We are using this opportunity to shift them to the November (7th) and March (5th) election days (March is the presidential primary, believe it or not). Those are NON SCHOOL DAYS FOR STUDENTS, so please mark your calendars!
  Staff starts the year on Thursday, August 24th.
  Grades 1-12 start on Monday, August 28.
  Preschool and kindergarten start on Thursday, August 31.
  
  
• Families of ALL WPS students, please note that there will be a summer P-EBT payment of $120 this Tuesday, July 25. If your family receives EBT, it will appear on your card; for all others it will be on your child's P-EBT card. If you no longer have that, you can contact the Department of Transitional Assistance for a new one. 
  As always, if you don't feel your family needs it, spend it on food and donate an equivalent amount of money (always money!) to a local food bank. Also, don't forget the free meals for kids across Massachusetts. 
  
  
• On Thursday, we also celebrated Dr. Helen Friel, our School Committee clerk, who is retiring after FORTY years as Clerk, and 57 in the district! 

Congratulations to Dr. Helen Friel on her retirement after 57 years of service to the Worcester Public Schools! Today is Dr. Friel’s last School Committee Meeting as Assistant to the Superintendent and Clerk of the School Committee. Before working in these roles for nearly forty… pic.twitter.com/yhNOxU2AZo

— Joe Petty (@MayorJoePetty) July 20, 2023

•  As a result, on Thursday, we also had an item to consider how the School Committee office is organized with a draft position description. Most notably, Dr. Friel's position was "assistant to the superintendent," and thus that position did not work directly for the Committee. Part of the proposal is to change that. 
  This item was held, to give Committee members a chance to fully review it, and the Committee will have a special meeting early next month to decide on that position description so that it might be posted. Mayor Petty also made a motion to refer the process to Governance, to have them act as the preliminary screening committee, and bring forward finalists to the Committee.
  
  
• We have a new Chief Equity Officer! Dr. Kimberlee Henry is coming to us from the Watertown Public Schools, where she served in a similar position. Prior to that, she was a principal in Lowell. The office will also have a second Director of Cultivation and Recruitment (rather than what were to be coaching positions) in Caleb Encarnacion-Rivera, who has been serving in a similar position in the King Philip Regional School District (and is a Worcester Public Schools alum!). 
  
  
• On the 13th, the Committee was informed of Director of Special Education Kay Seale's resignation (it appears she is going to Boston). There is strength in the district to continue on an interim basis, but this is obviously an important position that the district will be moving forward to fill quickly. Parents and community members will be involved in first round interviews (stay tuned for that). And note that this is an advise and consent position, so the School Committee votes the position. 
  
  
• Carmen Melendez-Quintero, who has been the Director of Multilingual Learning, will be moving to Director of Guidance. The district is now seeking a replacement director. Note that parents and community members will be involved in the first round of these interviews, as well. 
  
  
• On principals: Matthew Morse, who was the principal at Forest Grove Middle, has taken the district School Safety position (recall that this is a facilities-involved, not student-involved, position). Shannon Conley, who was the principal at Sullivan Middle, has taken the position of Director of Alternative Schools. As a result, there will be a full search for a new principal at Forest Grove and at Sullivan. 
  
  

And, yes, summertime is usually when there are staffing changes for schools!