Watertown schools to promote student caring, literacy in upcoming school year

By Jaclyn Reiss, Town Correspondent

As the five schools in Watertown prepare for the first day of classes on Sept. 6, the district's interim superintendent, Jean Fitzgerald, said she plans to help foster a caring community sense and improve literacy across the town's students in the upcoming school year.

"The high, middle, and elementary schools will all focus on the building and
sustaining of a caring school community," Fitzgerald said in an email. "The high school has created advisory and class meeting structures to support students’ social and
emotional development. Incoming ninth graders who struggle will also have
an additional class to support their success."

The schools will also work with local libraries and participate in reading programs to promote reading and writing proficiency, Fitzgerald said.

"Creating a life long love of reading is also a major focus for the
district," she wrote. "The Watertown Public Library is working in partnership with the
school department to promote reading as an out of school activity."

The middle school will also commit to the "Drop Everything and Read" initiative, a program that encourages literacy in young students.

The district has also joined with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston Children’s Hospital in a study on identifying early markers for reading difficulty, she said.

"The district will also focus on student growth data to make sure that all students are making progress in their learning," Fitzgerald wrote.

For more information on Watertown Public Schools, visit their website here: www.watertown.k12.ma.us.

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To contact Jaclyn Reiss, email her at jaclyn.reiss@gmail.com