The Swellesley Report

Since 2005: More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

Indigenous Peoples Day 2026 Wellesley—what’s open and closed, nearby events

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Indigenous Peoples Day will be observed in Wellesley on Monday, Oct. 12. The holiday celebrates and honors Indigenous American peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures.

All municipal buildings and offices are closed on Monday, October 12 for the Indigenous Peoples Day holiday. Regular operations resume on Tuesday, October 13.

Wellesley Indigenous Peoples Day closures on Oct. 12

  • Public schools
  • Town offices
  • Recycling and Disposal Facility
  • Wellesley Free Libraries
  • Regular business hours resume on Tuesday, October 13
EVENT: 6th Annual Indigenous Peoples Day Ceremonial Celebration, “Medicines of the Lands: Healing Through Ancestral Plants”
DATE: Monday, Oct. 12, 2026
TIME: 11am–5pm
LOCATION: Albemarle Field, 250 Albemarle Rd., Newton, MA
DESCRIPTION: All are welcome to this free, outdoor, family-friendly, Indigenous-led, volunteer-run event to enjoy great music, check out cultural dances and presentations, support local Indigenous vendors and non-profits, and eat delicious food. Rain or shine.

EVENT: 6th Annual Indigenous Peoples Day event
DATE: Monday, Oct. 12
TIME: noon-2pm
LOCATION: Camps of Edwards Church, 39 Edwards St., Framingham
DESCRIPTION: Edwards Church, UCC is hosting Framingham’s 6th Annual Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration. We honor the historical presence of the Nipmuc people on this hill, hundreds of years ago, and we celebrate the rich cultural traditions the Nipmuc people bring to our communities today.  The event features a talk and participatory presentation by Maria and Shani Turner.

Maria is  Chairwoman of the Natick Nipmuc Tribe and Sonskq (Chief) of the Nipmuc Nation Confederacy, holds a master’s degree in Education and Counseling. She recently retired from the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families and currently serves as Director of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) program for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

Shani Turner, Medicine Woman for the Natick Nipmuc Tribe, is active in her community and has organized several Wampanoag Week celebrations for Mashpee schools. She also performs traditional blanket dances with the Eastern Woodland Dancers.

All are invited.

EVENT: Indigenous People’s Day story time and craft celebration at Ten Trees Books in Natick
TIME: 11am
LOCATION: Ten Trees Books, 29 Main St., Natick
AUDIENCE: Fun for all ages!
Register to join: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2002081461546?aff=oddtdtcreator

Don’t see your event here? Contact theswellesleyreport@gmail.com for inclusion.

     

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Olive Tree Medical, Wellesley
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MIT Museum, Cambridge

Wellesley Hills branch library reopens after interior refresh

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After a four-month closure, the Wellesley Hills Branch library officially reopened to the public on Oct 6, refreshed and ready to receive the books-loving public.

Located at 210 Washington Street, the historic Georgian Revival building has served as a library continuously since its opening on March 20, 1928. As it approaches its 100th anniversary, Hills, as the branch is affectionately known, is ready to receive admirers, readers, scholars, and history buffs.

Wellesley Hills branch library, new sign
Wellesley Hills branch library, new sign

Not too long ago, he library’s very presence took a precarious turn. Severe fiscal constraints forced the branch to shut its doors in 2005. Refusing to let their neighborhood branch vanish, dedicated library lovers rallied across town. Private donations breathed new life into the building, leading to its triumphant reopening in 2008.

Perhaps that happy ending isn’t altogether unsurprising, since the Hills branch from the start has been a community endeavor. According to a 1928 news report from the Wellesley Townsman, Isaac Sprague (the namesake of Sprague Elementary School, and Sprague Clocktower Park) donated the land on which the library is sited; the Wellesley Hills Women’s Club donated furniture for the Children’s Room; and taxpayers appropriated $50k to the endeavor.

Wellesley Hills Library renovation
View of the Reading Room area from the mezzanine level. Chairs to accompany the round tables coming soon.

Today the branch is supported by a blend of mostly taxpayer dollars alongside private philanthropy. But for today’s refresh, additional support was needed, and the community rallied once more. Seed money and major financial backing for the renovation were spearheaded by Nancy Lee. While initial reports kept her contribution quiet, a permanent plaque on the library wall now acknowledges her generosity, alongside a grand grandfather clock she gifted to the branch. The transformation was further powered by significant contributions from Keith Higgins, the Wellesley Free Library Foundation, and numerous private donors.

Wellesley Free Library Director Jamie Jurgensen and interior designer Richard Eustice of Atlantic House, Ltd. showed me around the restored space. For Eustice, working on the nearly century-old building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was special. “I felt really excited about reclaiming this beautiful space,” said Eustice. “You just don’t see architectural details like this in your normal daily life anymore. Libraries are one of the few places this kind of detail still exists.”

Wellesley Hills Library renovation
The new Children’s Room mural was painted by  artist Jason Sawtelle of BlackBeak Studios

Eustice says every design choice was made to honor the building’s heritage while enhancing comfort. The original plaster friezes, which had been painted pink at some point over the decades, have been brought back to their original crisp white, allowing the relief work to pop dramatically against the walls. The main room’s original reading tables remain, anchored by a new carpet featuring a tile pattern in the nature-inspired hues of the Arts and Crafts movement. Directly underneath the carpet lie the library’s original 16×16 cork flooring tiles from 1928.

New overhead lighting fixtures hand-cast in bronze and alabaster by a Milwaukee firm specializing in period fixtures are artisanal objects in their own right, “not just mass-manufactured stuff,” says Eustice.

The children’s section now features new hardwood flooring, soon to be topped with a large braided rug for cozy story time sessions. Spanning the wall is a storybook mural by artist Jason Sawtelle of BlackBeak Studios, known locally for his 2018 murals at the Fells Branch Library.

Wellesley Hills Library renovation

Patrons can still access the upper level, equipped with a utilitarian table and several folding chairs. Even the bathroom got  some attention, with new flooring, tile, and a fresh coat of paint.

“The goal was to create a more welcoming environment for study and reading while preserving the building’s history,” Jurgensen said.

With that goal met, looks like the Wellesley Hills branch library is official ready to inspire readers for its next 100 years.

 

Page Waterman, Natick
London Harness, Wellesley
Dedham Country Day School

Business Buzz: Pinnacle Group joins Gibson Sotheby’s; Take Wellesley Square improvement survey; Save date for Marketplace; McGovern Nissan rolls in

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The latest Wellesley, Mass. business news:

Wellesley’s The Pinnacle Group Joins Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty

The Pinnacle Group, Wellesley, Elaine Bannigan
Elaine Bannigan

Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty has come to a meeting of the minds with The Pinnacle Group, the well-known Wellesley-based real estate team led by veteran broker Elaine Bannigan. Pinnacle has affiliated with Gibson Sotheby’s to team up and serve buyers and sellers across Boston’s MetroWest communities, with a focus on Wellesley, Weston, Needham, Dover, Natick and Newton.

The Pinnacle Group includes Bannigan, Erin Abraham, Susan Bevilacqua, Danielle Comella, Alyson Karpowicz, Dede Long, Elyse Marsh, and Cece Yan, and was established by Bannigan. The team has established a leading presence in the MetroWest region, with a record of success across some of the region’s most competitive residential markets.

“We have respected Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty for many years, and the strength of its marketing, technology and global network made this a natural next step for our team,” said Bannigan. “We see tremendous opportunity to build on what we have established while bringing even greater reach and resources to our clients.”

The Pinnacle Group was most recently affiliated with Douglas Elliman, which it joined in 2023.

Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty is led by Chairman and Founder Larry Rideout, Principal and Founder Paul McGann,
Chief Executive Officer Colleen Barry, and President Nicole Rideout Hartwick. The firm reported $4 billion in sales volume in 2025, ranking as the #1 Massachusetts-based real estate firm by sales volume.

 

Wellesley Square Improvement Project meetings have started

The Town of Wellesley is making moves toward revitalizing Wellesley Square by making the popular shopping district more welcoming, accessible, safer and greener.

The Wellesley Square Improvement Project area consists of the Central Street and Washington Street Corridor from Weston Road intersection to Wellesley Avenue/Rt 135 intersection, portions of Weston Road and Crest Road to the railroad bridges, Washington Street to Wiswall Circle, Grove Street from the Post Office to approximately 51 Grove Street and the entirety of Church Street.

Before we all get too excited, just know a start date hasn’t been set yet. The project website estimates that a request for funding, projected to be about $6m, will happen at a Town Meeting in 2027 or 2028.

But meetings have started, with merchants chiming in through a recent Zoom meeting, and via a business survey.

The public will get its chance to speak up as well during a series of meetings. Save the dates (details to follow):

  • Public Meeting #1 — October 14, 2026 — Existing conditions, challenges, and opportunities
  • Public Meeting #2 — November 18, 2026 — Refined design alternatives
  • Public Meeting #3 — January 20, 2027 — Preferred design concept
  • Public Meeting #4 — Spring of 2027

Why wait for the meetings to start? Take the public survey.

 

Wellesley Marketplace to return—200+ artisans, holiday shopping galore

Wellesley Marketplace
Photo by WHJWC

Kick off your holiday shopping while championing the region’s vibrant small business community at Wellesley Marketplace,  Saturday, November 21, at Wellesley High School, 50 Rice St. This beloved, one-day-only holiday tradition brings together over 200 local entrepreneurs and artisans, offering an curated selection of fine jewelry, handcrafted home goods, boutique apparel, custom paper goods, and gourmet culinary treats. Eager shoppers can snag a VIP Ticket for exclusive early entry at 9am—perfect for beating the crowds (and taking home a special gift and reusable tote). General admission runs 10am-4pm, featuring local food trucks to refuel on site and traditional holiday raffle baskets packed with regional items. Best of all, 100% of event proceeds directly fund local college scholarships and community grants, ensuring every dollar spent nurtures local talent and neighborhood programs. Tickets go on sale Oct. 14.

McGovern Nissan rolls in

McGovern Nissan of Wellesley is the new name of the dealership at 962 Worcester St. (Rte. 9 east). This was formerly home to Independence Nissan of Wellesley.

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Wellesley Arts Roundup—October 2026 edition

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Wellesley is fortunate to have a lively arts scene, with various opportunities to engage with or make art at any given time. Check out a concert, theater performance, or art reception this month. Here are just a few events happening soon, here and beyond Wellesley.

Don’t see your free or low-cost arts event listed? Email us at theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Peter and the Wolfe, Wellesley Hills CongregationalSaturdays at 4 Series: Children’s Concert: Peter & the Wolf!

DATE/TIME: October 10, 4pm-5:30pm
LOCATION: Wellesley Hills Congregational Church, 207 Washington St.
DESCRIPTION: Join us for this free Children’s Concert featuring Prokofiev’s beloved Peter & the Wolf! With the professional Puppeteering Group, “Really Inventive Stuff” and Woodwind Quintet, this promises to be fun for the whole family.
REGISTRATION here

Wellesley Society of Artists presents “Eyes Open to Color”

EVENT: Artist talk
DATE/TIME:

Natick Open Studios

Natick Open Studios, artists
Photo by Natick Art Association

DATES/TIME: Saturday, Oct. 17 & Sunday, Oct.  18, 11am-5pm
LOCATION: All Around Natick—participants and locations coming soon here.
DESCRIPTION: Meet and visit in informal settings with over 100 artists living or working in Natick to learn about their art and to purchase unique creations. Painters, printmakers, sculptors, potters, mosaic artists, jewelers, fiber artists, photographers, and mixed media artists. Some artists will offer live demonstrations during the open studio weekend which also include refreshments and live bands.

Wellesley Theatre Project presents “Peter and the Starcatcher”

Wellesley Theatre Project, Peter

Wellesley High School Choral Department concert, “Acatober”

DATES/TIME: Friday, Oct. 23 & Saturday, 24
TIME: TBA
LOCATION: Wellesley High School, 50 Rice St., Katherine L. Babson Jr., Auditorium
TICKETS: Available soon
DESCRIPTION: Acatober will feature the WHS Keynote Singers, Concert Choir, and the Rice Street Singers, directed by WHS Director of Choral Programs, Dr. Kevin McDonald, as well as special guest groups. This annual concert is always a must-attend event.

The Wellesley Society of Artists presents “The Breaking Sea”

Wellesley Society of Artists, Don Demers
Don Demers

EVENT: Painting demonstration
DATE/TIME: Sunday, Nov. 8, 1:30pm
LOCATION: Wellesley Free Library, 530 Washington St.
DESCRIPTION: The demonstration by artist Don Demers will include the presentation of a small sketch from which he will work into a 16”x 24” oil painting. The scene will portray waves breaking on a shoreline. Don will narrate throughout and explain that he typically does not work from photographs, but from sketches and studies he does on location. This is a unique opportunity to see Don Demers at work. He is a master at painting the elusive nature of the ocean. Presented in partnership with the Wellesley Free Library.

Beyond Wellesley

Boston Lyric Opera, outdoors

EVENT: Street Stage at Titus Sparrow Park
DATE/TIME: Saturday, October 3, 4pm-5pm
LOCATION: Titus Sparrow Park, 75 West Rutland Square Boston, MA 02118
COST: Free

DESCRIPTION: BLO’s Street Stage rolls into Boston’s South End. This delightful concert program showcases everything from opera classics to musical theatre, all performed by extraordinary professional musicians. Enjoy gorgeous views of Boston from the scenic amphitheater lawn, explore the newly renovated playgrounds and basketball courts, and admire the historic architecture and gardens surrounding this treasured urban green space. In partnership with The Friends of Titus Sparrow Park and The Southwest Corridor Park Conservancy 

Danforth Art Museum and School at Framingham State University

EVENT: Drop Into Art
DATE/TIME: Sunday, Oct. 11, 1pm-4pm
LOCATION: 14 Vernon Place on the Framingham Town Common
COST: Free

DESCRIPTION: This popular, ongoing event encourages creativity for adults and kids alike. A variety of materials are provided. It’s free and no pre-registration is required. Just drop in!

Boston Book Festival

DATE/TIME: Saturday, Oct. 17, 10am-5pm
LOCATION: Copley Square, Boylston St. @ Dartmouth St. in Boston’s Back Bay
COST: Free

New England’s largest literary event brings 25,000 people from across the region to Copley Square for an outdoor marketplace of ideas, great stories, author visits and much more. This annual event culminates a year-round celebration of writers and the written word.

Vivo Performing Arts presents “Gravity & Other Myths”

DATES/TIMES: Friday, Oct. 23, 8pm; Saturday, Oct. 24, 2pm & 8pm
LOCATION: Boston Arts Academy, 174 Ipswich St., in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood
COST: $44-$98 including fees

The old saw that one must spend 10,000 hours to achieve greatness in a particular gets put to the test when Australian contemporary circus group GRAVITY & OTHER MYTHS brings its jaw-dropping human agility into a tale of impassioned dedication. Eight acrobats and one musician investigate physical skill—how it’s obtained and perfected, and how it transforms lives. Set to a driving musical score using live percussion/drums, Ten Thousand Hours is a love letter to human bodies and the amazing things they do.

Not that we’re being dramatic, but we simply cannot survive without your help.

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Filed Under: Art

Wellesley Symphony Orchestra
Wellesley Marketplace 2026

Wellesley College Davis Museum throws open its doors for fall opening reception—two new exhibits on view

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The Davis Museum at Wellesley College held its annual fall exhibition opening and reception to welcome the public back after the museum’s summer hiatus. Light snacks, followed by the chance to be the first to view two new exhibitions was plenty motivation to draw a crowd of about 150 students, College faculty and staff, and local residents. Catering set up the bar outside this time—pro move, given the lobby of the Davis is always packed shoulder-to-shoulder for this event. As visitors moved about with plates of nibbles and glass in hand, students stood sentry at the gallery entrance. Nobody gets to see the art without first listening to opening remarks. The event was free, but not that free.

Wellesley College, Davis Museum, fall reception
Davis Museum, fall opening reception

The showpiece exhibit, “Excavating Antioch: the Archaeology of an Ancient City,” located in the lower level galleries, explores the ancient city of Antioch-on-the-Orontes (modern Antakya, Türkiye) and the legacy of its 1930s excavation. Drawing on artifacts, archival photographs, field notes, and film footage from the original dig, the exhibit reunites objects from five museums and uncovers the complexities of excavation, collection, and preservation.

“Excavating Antioch” was curated by Dr. Nicole Berlin and developed with Dr. Elizabeth Molacek as part of a multi-year research project with Wellesley College students and archaeological partners Dr. Banu Özdilek and Dr. Onur Tıbıkoğlu.

The other major exhibit is “Shi: Stories in Stone,” a display of rocks, minerals, and fossils, valued for their unusual forms. The shape of 石 shi, the Chinese character meaning “stone” or “rock,” mimics a small stone falling from a high cliff. Many of the stones are part of the Davis Museum’s permanent collection, a generous gift from Alan Helms, Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the University of Paris. The exhibit was curated by Yuhua Ding, Kemper Assistant Curator of Collections and Academic Affairs.

Wellesley College, Davis Museum, fall reception
Z-shaped Red River stone from China, late 20th century. Photo by Swellesley.

In addition to the new exhibits, the entire 5-floor museum was open to the crowd. If you haven’t been to the Davis in a while, stop by.  They rotate their collection of 16,000 artworks in and out of storage, so you’ll be sure to see something new. Plus, the Davis is a great low-stakes museum visit for the kids, because it’s free and it’s local. If the littles get squirmy, you can self-eject the family with little fuss. The Davis will still be there, and you can try, try again until proper museum behavior becomes ingrained.

You’ll have plenty of time to catch both exhibits. They are on display through May 30, 2027.

The Davis Museum will be doing curatorial tours of these new exhibits as well as drop-in public tours across different themes throughout the museum. You can visit the Davis Museum website to find more information.

Parking for the Davis Museum is free and available in the Visitor Parking facility located directly off of the Route 135/Central Street entrance to the College.

If the great outdoors is more your family’s scene, you might check out the town’s varied outdoor art.

Take a look at Swellesley’s October Arts Roundup story for cultural outings in town and slightly beyond.

Not that we’re being dramatic, but we simply cannot survive without your help.

Filed Under: Art

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Business Buzz: Discover Wellesley event Oct. 2-3; Village Bank ribbon cutting on tap; Jennifer Aniston in Wellesley… on storefront

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The latest Wellesley, Mass. business news:

Discover Wellesley event Oct. 2-3

Mums Washington Street Wellesley SquareSpend two days exploring the shops, restaurants, people, stories, and experiences that make Wellesley such a distinctive destination.

Participating Wellesley businesses will bring Discover Wellesley to life in their own ways. New businesses such as My Gym (Parents’ Night Out on Oct. 2 from 5-8pm) and Clarendon Fine Art (Oct. 3, 5-7pm gallery show, talk on the greatest art heists, and some sparkling beverages) will introduce themselves. Longtime favorites like Isabel Harvey (15% off cards featuring fun facts about the retailer) and A.M. DePrisco (20 welcome gift bags, with one featuring fine jewelry inside) will be among the others getting in on the shopping fun.

Enjoy 2-hour free parking at bagged meters in Wellesley commercial areas on Oct. 2 and 3.

Learn More

 

The Village Bank to celebrate arrival with open house, ribbon cutting

The Village Bank

The Village Bank, which earlier this month opened its first Wellesley branch at 579 Washington St., will make things formal with a ribbon cutting and open house on Oct. 7 from 9-11am (RSVP to Amy Werner by Oct. 5, 617-467-6101 or awerner@village-bank.com if you’d like to check out that action).

The Village Bank and Shop teams

The Village BankWe stopped by ahead of the Sept. 16 opening to get a preview of the 4,300 sq. ft. space, which includes a 24-hour ATM, with bank leadership and staff.

The fact that The Village Bank is occupying the site that served as retailer E.A. Davis’s home for 120 years isn’t lost on the bank officials. Their nods to that history include displays of the former E.A. Davis sign and a cash register in the storefront, plus historical photos on the walls.

We also had a chance to meet Yvonne Piper, whose Piper&Cloth children’s clothing retailer was selected to be the first pop-up shop within the bank’s Village Shop through the holiday season. The bank is working with an outfit called UpNext to match small businesses with the space here (they’ll each stay four-to-six months, rent-free) and in future Village Shops within Village Bank branches in Needham and Newtonville. More than 45 applications have been submitted, and UpNext’s Allison Yee said concepts have ranged from nonprofits to apothecary products to home goods to candy.

Yee is excited about the Village Bank partnership on behalf of small businesses like Piper&Cloth. “There’s a lot that goes into launching a retail shop, and if you have to make long-term commitments and major dollar investments up front before you really get proof of concept, it’s not the best way to go about it. That’s where pop-ups come in,” she said.

Piper said she didn’t even know what a pop-up was when first hearing about this opportunity to set up shop with her natural and sustainable clothing in Wellesley. She has been operating online since 2022, so having a physical shop in Church Square is a brand new opportunity.

“I have a lot of ideas,” Piper said, when asked how she might go about displaying the many offerings she makes available online. “My style is a bit season-less. So even if I have something like a pinafore that is sleeveless, there’s a lot of layering that can happen with it. ”

Piper never attended fashion school and taught herself to sew. Before long she was sewing for herself, family, and friends, and was attracted to the idea of creating children’s clothing that was soft and comfortable. Piper’s still got some of her original designs in her inventory, and intends to include a section of archives in her pop-up.

“It’s like your own vintage shop, it’s coming back,” I said, encouragingly.

“It’s never gone away,” Piper exclaimed.

Piper&Cloth
Yvonne Piper of Piper&Cloth

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Jennifer Aniston visits Wellesley… storefront

As we reported over the summer, a new fitness studio called Pvolve is headed to 251 Washington St. in Wellesley Hills this winter. As we also noted, they tout their relationship with actress Jennifer Aniston, and the former Friends star is now plastered all over the windows. Will Aniston be there for you in person at some point? We’ll see…

Pvolve
Photo by Hans Fischmann

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Wellesley Educators union renews negotiations; School Committee to vote on superintendent contract

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At a Wellesley Educators Association (WEA) meeting on Sept. 16, the union renewed contract negotiations with the School Committee’s bargaining team, advocating for a proposal that included a request to restructure the elementary school schedule to increase instructional time on Wednesdays and increase teachers’ planning time, developmentally appropriate class times, and expanded learning opportunities for elementary students.

WEA contracts expired as of June 30, 2026. The union is currently negotiating with the Wellesley School Committee over wages, working conditions, elementary schedules and other issues affecting educators and educational support professionals across Wellesley Public Schools.

We asked to sit in on the meeting, but were told by School Committee Chair Niki Ofenloch that previously agreed-upon ground rules stated that such a request had to be vetted by both the WEA and the School Committee. The WEA said they were fine with media sitting in, but the School Committee cited short notice and a lack of time to discuss such a request among the bargaining team. Two WEA-appointed community members serving as WEA silent bargaining representatives also were not permitted to attend the meeting, a move the WEA said did nothing to “increase transparency.”

One of the silent bargaining representatives was Christina Horner, a Wellesley resident and former School Committee member, who commented, “How can we profess a commitment to community engagement and intentionally practice exclusionary practices that are designed to silence the voices of our educators, and lack both honesty, transparency, showing a blatant disregard to the stakeholders of this community?”

The other representative was a Brockton Public School teacher, who echoed Horner’s disappointment.

In an email to us, Niki Ofenloch said, “the School Committee’s position is that inclusion of members of the public was not agreed upon when the parties established the ground rules for the current round of negotiations in November. We do not agree with the WEA’s position that the current negotiations are open bargaining. We also reject the WEA’s alternative position that members of the public are somehow part of the WEA’s bargaining team.”

The School Committee has opened a collective bargaining public website , to share information related to the status of negotiations. The site includes an updated global settlement proposal that the School Committee shared with the WEA during the Sept. 16 bargaining session.

Separately, the Wellesley School Committee met for a retreat on Sept. 11. An Executive Session portion of the retreat was set aside “to hear and discuss a complaint brought against superintendent; and to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with nonunion personnel regarding the Superintendent’s contract.”

Executive Session portions of meetings aren’t open to the general public and aren’t live streamed or recorded for public viewing. Minutes of such meetings are eventually released, often with redactions.

We don’t know what the complaint part was all about, but there are any number of parties who might file such a complaint. The WEA has had a longtime deeply adversarial relationship with the superintendent—nearly three years ago, during the previous round of Collective Bargaining for the 2023-2026, WEA membership voted 94% “No Confidence” in Lussier. In addition, some community members have expressed deep concern about issues such as the high rate of families that opt to send their kids to private schools, and a continued slip in national rankings for the high school.

The proposed contract part of Executive Session is straightforward enough. The School Committee on Sept. 22 will either vote up or down the contract negotiated with the superintendent. Included is an extension of Lussier’s contract though SY2029, at an annual salary of $300K+, with provisions for cost-of-living updates. The contract also lays out time off, benefits, duties, what-if scenarios (what if Lussier resigns? What about termination?), and more.

Here’s a link to the Sept. 22, 6:30pm agenda for the School Committee remote online meeting. The agenda includes a live stream link.

MORE: Wellesley School Committee votes 3-2 in June 2026 to enter negotiations for extending Supt. Lussier’s contract

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Wellesley Council on Aging welcomes new faces

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The Wellesley Council on Aging (COA) hosted a meet and greet to welcome all its newbies—Director of Senior Services, Volunteer Coordinator, and three board members. If you’re a regular at the Tolles Parsons Center, you’ll likely recognize some of the faces. They’re roles may be be new to them, but most have served in many capacities at the COA and on town committees and boards.

Welcome all.

Wellesley Council on Aging

New director of senior services Sehar Kiani (center, green dress); new Volunteer Coordinator Jennifer Yuan (left and slightly behind Sahar); and new Board members Susan Clapham (blue dress); and Renee Spencer (second from right). They are joined by other COA Board members, and Select Board Chair Marjorie Freiman and Select Board Vice Chair Tom Ulfelder. Not pictured: new COA Board member Ann Raider.