Letter to Parents from Superintendent Jeffrey Young

September, 2002

Dear Parents, Guardians and Students,

Welcome to the new school year. I hope the summer was a peaceful, relaxing and rejuvenating time for you and that like our faculty and staff, you are ready for an excellent year. This year, like all the others, brings a number of changes to our school system.

First, as you probably already know, we have several new school leaders in place. Judith Malone-Neville is now Assistant Superintendent, working in the central office. John Jordan is the new principal at Brown Middle School, and Sandra Delaney is the acting principal at Countryside Elementary. Last spring I appointed Cindy Marchand to the principalship at Franklin, Pamela Appleton as the new principal at Angier, and Hank Van Putten as acting principal at Williams. Newton continues to be an attractive place for educators as we received over 4,600 applications for teaching positions last spring and appointed approximately 115 new teachers citywide. As you meet these individuals, please welcome them to their new roles and to our community.

Last December, the School Committee voted to install seat belts on the yellow school buses as part of a revised, comprehensive transportation policy. Lap belts are factory-installed on all buses used for daily transportation. The policy recommends that all students wear seat belts. The bus drivers are not responsible for ensuring that the students fasten their belts. Parents are not allowed on buses for liability reasons. Therefore, we are asking parents to speak with their children about using the seat belts, as there is no practical way we can require or confirm that every child is buckled up every day. Please help us in communicating this important message.

Our policy on safety extends to the school buildings as well. We are working closely with City officials to develop a comprehensive security policy and will encourage public input into the policymaking process later this fall. For now, we will continue the “one door open” policy at the elementary schools. At the secondary schools, where there are many more access points, check with your school principal about which entrances will be open at particular times of day. Again, we ask visitors to the schools to wear visitor badges, which are available in the main office in each building. We are committed to striking the right balance between the ostensibly competing objectives of keeping our schools safe and secure and maintaining their open, inviting atmosphere.

Connected to building security, of course, is the entire matter of the one-year anniversary of September 11. This year, on that date, all staff and students in all schools will pause for a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. Our intent is to acknowledge the meaning of this date and to pay respect to those who died or suffered a year ago. There are many events taking place around the city on this date. In the schools, we will proceed with our regular program, although teachers and students will certainly be able to discuss their thoughts and feelings one year after the tragedy.

Another important date: on December 2, the Monday after Thanksgiving, there will be no classes for students; we are conducting a full-day professional development program for all K-12 staff. I’ll tell you more about this outstanding event in my next mailing. Otherwise, construction at Newton South High School proceeds, and we are beginning to make plans for commencing the work at Newton North. The Newton School Committee meets on the second and fourth Monday of each month; you can follow the planning and construction processes through the local media. Also, let me point you to the School Committee’s website www.newtonpublicschools.com as an excellent vehicle for keeping apprised of important school-related information. Finally, on the subject of communication, the City is installing a new telephone system. Listed below [click here for Ed Center phone list] are some of the key NPS phone numbers you will want to have at your disposal.

All of us in the schools are anticipating a terrific year. We are going to focus on the academic achievement of our 11,250 students, and we hope you will become actively engaged both in helping your own child(ren) succeed in school and in participating in the life of your school, either through the PTO or the numerous other opportunities that exist. On behalf of the staff, I say thank you to the community for supporting our schools last spring. Personally, I look forward to meeting and working with many of you on the variety of issues, challenges, and exciting ventures that will come our way in 2002/03. With all best wishes for a happy, productive year . . .

Sincerely,

Jeffrey M. Young

Superintendent of Schools