More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.
The Linden Square Courtyard was the site of a socially distanced autumn event as members of the Wellesley Mothers Forum brought their kids to the shopping area to decorate pumpkins and pose for selfies in the seasonal pumpkin patch. Here are a few pics:
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Children learn who they are as diverse individuals and how to be part of something bigger. Acceptance is a given, and children find encouragement in every connection they make. It’s a community that nurtures, nudges, and gives. That’s how DCD grows “whole” children—and, ultimately, adults who will thrive with the intellectual and emotional capacity to contribute to their world and enjoy meaningful lives.
While DCD’s campus and classrooms may look a bit different this year, reconfigured to maintain the health and safety of its community, DCD’s ability to deliver an education that is challenging, inclusive, and engaging, reflective of its mission, remains unchanged. From Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 8, DCD students tackle hands-on projects, collaborate, take risks, solve problems and, most of all, engage deeply in their experience.
Explore DCD through a series of virtual admissions events and personal connections with the school’s admissions staff this fall. The first Learning Spotlight for Pre-K and Kindergarten is on October 20. Visit www.dedhamcountryday.org for details and
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Basketball is among the sports that is taking COVID-19 the hardest. Deemed a “high risk” sport, basketball basically just isn’t allowed so far under pandemic rules. Wellesley Youth Basketball is readying for the sport’s return as rules allow, but in an environment where the usual school and town gyms won’t be options.
That brings us to outside courts with coverings.
The possibility of temporarily or permanently covering the basketball courts outside of the high school near the track was discussed in some depth at a Playing Fields Task Force meeting earlier this month, and has come up at other town meetings as well (School Committee and Natural Resources Commission among them). The town’s Health Department and Wetlands Committee would also have a say in such matters.
As the Wellesley Public Schools system has learned, tents are hard to come by and expensive. The types of coverings being explored for protecting basketball courts and players would likely be more elaborate and pricey, especially if you rent them (think about the covering at the RDF’s give-and-take area).
Purchasing could be an option, but we’re talking tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, and questions arise about how often they’d be used down the road, where they could be stored, what permits would be required, etc. One possible benefit, beyond basketball, is that the courts could be used for other activities, both athletic and academic.
Other ideas floated have been seeking other surfaces, such as tennis courts or parking lots, that could be temporarily converted into basketball courts.
Shorter term, Wellesley Youth Basketball is looking to hold programs uncovered on an outdoor court near the high school even without coverings, and the NRC has approved that use.
If you have any other brilliant ideas for how to salvage Wellesley Youth Basketball this fall and winter, let the organization know.
Thanks to LINX sponsoring our weekly round-up of the latest Wellesley, Mass., business news. In this unprecedented time LINX has built outdoor classrooms and is using Elm Bank Reservation fields so that children can continue to have the in-person learning experiences they need and want, while staying safe. True to its mission of providing the best classes experience for each member of every family, LINX has created new classes for remote school students, pandemic pods, micro-schools, and temporary homeschools!
Fall is the most picturesque season of year, and the perfect time to share the beauty of Wellesley and neighboring towns. Join in on the fun! Simply SNAP & SHARE your best fall photos, use #FavoritePlaceWellesley, and tag @LindenSquareWellesley for a chance to be featured on Linden Square’s Instagram and Facebook pages.
Out of those who participate, one lucky winner will be randomly selected to receive a $50 gift card to a Linden Square store or restaurant of your choice.
We’ll miss seeing Wellesley Dental Group‘s giant mountain of candy that it annually collects from local schools and residents to donate to the troops. But in light of the pandemic, the business this year is instead launching a Healthcare Heroes Appreciation Drive to distribute to local healthcare workers.
Wellesley Dental is encouraging students to write letters or make cards to thank healthcare workers. The practice will donate 25 cents for each card or letter and turn the funds over to the Massachusetts Nurses Association, which will use the money to purchase personal protective gear for workers.
Drop off cards or letters (contactless) or mail them to Wellesley Dental Group at 5 Seaward Rd., Wellesley 02481 by Nov. 9
Babson College student Charlotte Bradley reached out to promote a Wellesley t-shirt she designed for her internship spotlighting some key businesses in town. The shirts cost about $22, which includes shipping.
At a Sept. 29 School Committee (SC) meeting, the agenda-item subject of homeschooling came up right away during the public comments part of the meeting. Homeschooling parent Robert Scott said that he took over the education of his son in 2019 because he felt the local elementary school was failing to meet his child’s needs. Scott noted that right now his family is in close contact with the school and that his child may attend specials with his peers (such as music, gym, art).
Scott’s concern is that Wellesley is considering updates to its homeschooling policies that will put in place mandates beyond what is legally required at the State level. According to Scott, the School Committee is seeking to “control, limit, and deter,” homeschooling, as well as limit access of public school educational resources access to home schoolers.
The Wellesley Public Schools currently have two home schooling policies listed as under review. (Those policies may be accessed at this link. They are near the bottom of the page.) In Draft IHBG—Homeschooling, the one-page policy hews closely to what the Massachusetts General Law requires. For example, state law says families “must submit written notification of establishment of the home-based program to the appropriate administrator 14 days before the program is established and resubmit notification on an annual basis as long as the child or children are being educated in a home-based environment.”
Wellesley’s home schooling page includes a link to a two-page application for families who wish to homeschool their students.
In an email to The Swellesley Report from a parent who asked to remain anonymous, that parent estimated that the number of homeschooling families has gone from the dozen last year reported by Wellesley to the State to over 30 families this year.
He voiced concerns that “Because of the funding worries, a lot of towns are putting policies together that go FAR beyond the requirements for homeschooling laid out in case law. Some cities are downright threatening people and demanding interviews and home visits. A local homeschooling group is tracking overreach and providing supports. For those of us who plan to homeschool beyond this year, it’s a worry that unnecessary requirements will be put in place. Personally, I don’t mind sharing educational information with the town. I want them to have a vested interested in my son’s success. However, other families don’t want burdensome requirements for testing or limits on what type of curriculum they use.”
Although case law has been clear that districts may not demand home visits, families who don’t want to run their choice of textbooks and other details of their educational plans by local public school officials may be out of luck. That’s because State policy also says that the Superintendent or SC has broad discretion to approve a homeschool program or not based on four guidelines: the proposed curriculum and the number of hours of instruction in each of the proposed subjects; the competency of the parents to teach the children; the textbooks, workbooks and other instructional aids to be used; and periodic standardized testing of the children to ensure educational progress and the attainment of minimum standards.
Beyond the Superintendent’s discretion in approving a homeschool program, what also causes some angst among families is the part of the policy that states, “A student being educated in a home-based program within the District may have access to public school activities of either a curricular or extracurricular nature upon approval of the Superintendent.”
We’ve heard some voice concerns that there is a movement afoot to limit the access to homeschooled kids to specials and sports. “The timing and optics are terrible for creating new and exclusionary policies, when the status quo has not proven to be a drain on resources, resources that are provided by all our taxes,” Scott said.
Wellesley reports data to the State at the end of October on where the town’s students are being schooled. That information will in turn be included in the State’s yearly “Numbers of School Attending Children Report”. Once the data is reported to the State, the Superintendent’s office will publicly present those numbers to the School Committee. The report will include information on how many students in Wellesley attend public schools including those who are homeschooled (12 in last year’s report), attend private or parochial schools (that was 1,185) or are placed in collaboratives; charter schools; out of district public schools; or vocational technical regional schools. The numbers will ultimately determine how much State funding towns get for next year.
The SC at the meeting chose to defer action on the Homeschooling policies. They will revisit the matter at the Oct. 7, 3:30pm Policy Subcommittee meeting.
Thanks to LINX for sponsoring our latest Wellesley, Mass., education news. In this unprecedented time LINX has built outdoor classrooms and is using Elm Bank Reservation fields so that children can continue to have the in-person learning experiences they need and want, while staying safe. True to its mission of providing the best classes experience for each member of every family, LINX has created new classes for remote school students, pandemic pods, micro-schools, and temporary home schools!
Welcome back to in-person learning, Wellesley. Today is the day when students, teachers, and staff will at last re-enter school buildings. It’s been a long time coming. Wellesley went to a remote-learning style of education back in mid-March, when schools were closed due to COVID-19 concerns.
It’s been seven months since the double doors clanged shut, but now that the hybrid model is kicking in, students in grades 2 – 12 will start in-school learning for two out of five days per week. Pre-K through grade 1 students will have four days of in-class learning. Wednesdays will be half-day remote learning for all. Approximately 500 students across the board have opted to enroll in Wellesley’s new Remote Learning School.
We’ve taken a different approach to marking the return of students to bricks-and-mortar education this year, since showing up at school drop-off points to take a few pics seemed like a bad idea. Instead, we met recently with Wellesley’s newest school principal, Grant Smith, to get an outdoor tour and find out how the head of Hardy School is settling in.
Smith comes to Wellesley by way of Winchester’s Vinson-Owen Elementary School, where he served as principal for nine years. Before that he worked for the Lexington school system, a post he took to be closer to family after teaching 3rd and 4th grade in Chicago for many years. Smith grew up in Swampscott and after graduation attended Calvin College (now Calvin University), a private Christian college in Michigan of about 4,000 undergraduates. He earned his master’s degree in school administration through Cambridge College in Boston.
When Smith accepted the Hardy job, he knew the town was in the middle of a big decision process about moving from seven elementary schools to six, and that Hardy might potentially close. He was undaunted by the prospect. “I knew a big decision was coming. But I also knew it would be a matter of years before the decision would have a direct effect on the Hardy building.” (As it turns out, on Sept. 4 the School Building Committee voted 7-6 to build a new elementary school at the Hardy site over Upham.)
Smith says he was more concerned about what the pandemic would mean for the school community. “All of us knew this would be a unique start to the school year,” he said, “but in spite of the chaos, it was possible for me to ease into my start in Wellesley.” Smith’s July 1st start date meant that he entered a work-in-progress when it came to figuring out how the recommendations and requirements of the State and the local Board of Health would be implemented as the academic year grew closer.
“It’s been done with the support of the larger administration team, the PTO, the teachers,” he said. “It’s definitely been the busiest summer. The logistical elements of a return have been challenging, and we’re continually revising and updating what we do.”
The big issues that Smith says he and the team have grappled with are how they can make school feel as normal as possible; how they can meet the needs of the kids when they are engaged in in-person learning at Hardy; and how they can meet the needs of kids when they are out of the school building.
For now, this son of an elementary classroom teacher is focused on creating a school year that moves to a new rhythm of learning. He’s been getting to know kids and families by sharing his love of children’s literature. As students engaged in remote learning, Smith dropped into each classroom via Zoom to introduce himself and do read-alouds of his favorite books. “This is providing a great way for me to start to get to know the Hardy students and providing the chance for students to get to know me as a caring adult in the community.”
Welcome to Wellesley, Principal Grant.
The Wellesley Mothers Forum has been helping local moms learn from and support each other for more than 25 years. but perhaps it has never been needed as much as during the pandemic.
“Without normal in-person methods of meeting other families, the Wellesley Mothers Forum is more important than ever to help families share resources and form important personal connections with children of similar ages,” the forum says.
While COVID-19 is putting the kibosh on high profile in-person events, like the annual Fall Carnival, the nearly 300-plus member group is adapting to an increasingly virtual and social distanced world by adhering to state and local guidelines with its programming. This includes everything from online lectures on topics such as creating a greener home and minimalist parenting, to contactless delivery of welcome packages to new members. Co-Presidents Lillian Lau and Julie Byrne and team recently kicked off the 2020-21 membership year with an online board meeting.
Many years removed from our own babies, we wondered how the heck young parents are dealing with infant socialization during the pandemic. The forum says it offers a variety of opportunities for young children to socialize, from virtual playgroups to backyard playdates to online music classes and storytelling sessions.
While playgrounds in and around Wellesley are now mainly open, members have varied feelings about taking their kids there. Forum members share information through a members-only Facebook group and other methods on topics such as playground locations, busyness of playgrounds at different times of the day, amount of sun exposure, and mask compliance. This has helped members discover new playgrounds and decide on which are right for them.
The forum understands that Zoom fatigue is real, especially for working parents. It offers online information sessions but also small socially distanced outdoor gatherings where appropriate to help members learn and connect.
While the group won’t have its usual Halloween costume party due to gathering restrictions, it does plan for a family-friendly Halloween scavenger hunt along the Morses Pond trail. Members and the general public can take part at their leisure during the last week of October.
New members and renewals receive 20% off before Oct. 1.
