Dear Parents, Guardians and Students:
It is with great enthusiasm I welcome back each of you for the start of the 2016-17 school year. I hope you and your family have had an enjoyable and relaxing summer.
The administrative and year round staff has been working hard throughout the summer to prepare for the start of another school year. My thanks go out to our administrative assistants, custodians, teachers, and administrators who have worked to ensure a smooth start for September.
This year the opening of school brings some updates that are important to share:
- As you know we have several new administrators that were hired prior to the end of the school year. Michael McAllister is now our Chenery Middle School principal, and he is joined by Torrance Lewis, our new Upper School Assistant Principal. We also have a change in leadership at the Butler School as Danielle Betancourt started on July 1, 2016 as the new principal.
- More than 100 teachers and administrators have engaged in Social Emotional Learning (SEL) professional development in June and August. Additionally there was some incredible PD on Executive Functioning in June as well. My thanks to the Foundation for Belmont Education for funding such great professional development opportunities for our teachers!
- Our facilities staff has worked tirelessly this summer getting the schools prepped and ready for the start of the new year. My thanks to all the custodians and maintenance staff for not only their annual cleaning, but also for the extra summer projects added to their list.
- We are adding additional classroom space to our school system at every level in response to our space and enrollment challenges. We have reallocated space at the Burbank School to add a Grade 2 class thus reducing class size; we have added three additional modular classrooms to Belmont High School bringing the total to six, and we have procured six modular classrooms for the Chenery School that will be delivered in October and occupied in November.
What is happening with the Belmont High School building project? The Belmont High School Building Committee (BHS-BC) has been engaged in the planning process for the new Belmont High School building project. We have had several meetings over the summer and have met on two occasions with the representatives from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). This process is beginning to take shape and we will be asking for staff, parent, student, and community feedback and input on this project during the 2016/17 school year. We look forward to holding discussions with our faculty and staff (as well as students and parents) on the subject of what our high school should look like over the next 30 years and beyond.
This is a big question that we will break down into two components; 1) who are we going to teach at this school? (grade configuration), and 2) what will “teaching and learning” look like in the next 30 years, and how can we build a school to fit the district educational goals? (strategic planning).
At first these conversations will be centered on what an appropriate grade configuration should be for our school system. Due to the district’s enrollment increases, the Town is in the position to evaluate whether to use the Belmont High School Building Project as a lever to solve overcrowding at the middle and elementary level. With that said, we have asked the MSBA to consider options to explore that would have the high school serve more than just grades 9-12. We will expect to receive a reply from the MSBA in the next month. There will be a committee of faculty and staff on the planning of this work, and this group will be collaborating with an outside facilitator to help guide the work.
When a grade configuration is chosen, the next phase of the project will be to reconvene this committee of educators together to delve deeply into a discussion about the future of “teaching and learning” in Belmont. These discussions and outcomes will provide the guiding principles that will inform the school design as well as help shape our next Belmont Public School Strategic Plan. This will be a very exciting conversation within our school district and our community.
So what is the Strategic Plan for this year? The district has engaged in developing our capacity in the area of Social Emotional Learning (SEL). This will continue at the classroom level, as well as the building and district level. The Leadership Council has also been analyzing the local achievement gap in our schools with a review of student achievement data, recent research and literature as well as non-academic information such as participation in after school programs etc. When thinking about SEL and engaging all learners to their fullest potential, it makes sense that we also provide scaffolded support for all students. I look forward to working with faculty, staff, and families to ensure that Belmont continues to provide an excellent educational experience for all of our students.
I would like to call your attention to the following dates:
- Wednesday, September 7, - first day for all students in grades 1-12
- Thursday, September 8 and Friday, September 9 - First day for Kindergarten; half day sessions - see notification from your school regarding which day and session your child is assigned to.
- Tuesday, September 13, 2016 at 7:00 pm, - School Committee Meeting (Chenery Middle School Community Room).
The complete 2016-2017 school calendar, as well as other important information, including school hours, can be found on our website.
Have a great remainder of your summer!
Respectfully,
John P. Phelan
Superintendent of Schools
Belmont, Massachusetts