Dear Watertown Public Schools Community,

Happy Halloween! Here’s to a fun (and not too frightful) evening for all of our trick-or-treaters. October has been an exciting month for our community as we continue to settle into our school routines.

For me, this month brought two especially powerful experiences that elevated student voice and leadership. The first was our grant-funded learning excursion to Washington, D.C., as part of the Next Generation Learning Challenge (NGLC). This three-day institute focused on how schools can design systems that foster belonging, engagement, and equitable access for all students, particularly our multilingual learners.

Our Watertown team of eight — Yensi Giron and Danilo Carvalho (Grade 12 students), ESL teacher James Tarveinan, chemistry teacher Liz Mundy, guidance counselor Craig Surdam, Director of ESL Kate Phillipson, Dr. Lianna Pizzo of UMass Boston, and myself — joined colleagues from Everett, Chelsea, Brockton, Worcester, Taunton, Central Falls (RI), Phoenix Charter, and the Boston International Newcomer Academy. Together we formed a learning community committed to reimagining what school can be for multilingual learners. I returned from this experience both inspired and hopeful. The schools we visited modeled what is possible when we lead with empathy, structure, and a steadfast belief in the brilliance of every learner.

The second event that brought me tremendous pride and joy was the First Annual Summit for Youth and the Future — a fully student-led gathering that brought together civic leaders, community organizations, and school staff to engage in meaningful conversations about belonging, equity, and youth leadership.

As we continue to refine our own systems here in Watertown, I am reminded that belonging undergirds all of our efforts and success. When every student feels seen, challenged, and supported, we create the conditions that allow every learner to thrive.

Best,

Dede Galdston, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Watertown's Human Services Department, with support from the Watertown Community Foundation, are hosting a Food Drive in Watertown, starting November 4 and continuing through December 2025.

We are asking those who are able to donate nonperishable food items at one of the several food donation locations found around Watertown starting on November 4, 2025. All food donations will support the food pantries in Watertown and families who are in need.

Food drop-off locations include:

You can also find donation bins located at ALL polling locations in Watertown on November 4, 2025! See all the voting locations.

 

There are also ways to contribute toward the food pantries before the start of the food drive on November 4 - learn how

Thank you to everyone who made Wednesday's Summit for Youth and the Future an amazing success.

This first-ever event was headlined by a series of student-led discussions on how we, as a community, can best support young people in Watertown. Working collaboratively to increase youth engagement and finding ways to amplify student voices were among the many themes that emerged from these discussions.

The evening also featured a delicious spread of food prepared by our very own WHS culinary arts students, along with performances by the WHS Advanced Jazz Band and string orchestra. Dinner was prepared by our amazing School Nutrition department.

We look forward to holding more events such as this in the future, elevating student voice and creating community connections.

Watertown High School has earned strong marks from U.S. News & World Report in their latest rankings of public high schools in the United States.

WHS was named as a “Best High School” in this year’s rankings. To earn this status, a school must rank in the top 40 percent nationally. U.S. News & World Report listed Watertown High School as number 2,087 in the nation, or in the top 12 percent of high schools nationwide.

In total, nearly 18,000 public high schools in the United States were judged on a criteria that includes student performance on state-mandated tests, graduation rates, and college preparation measures. In particular, Watertown scored highly on college readiness (1,992 nationally) and state assessment performances (2,114 nationally, 42 in Massachusetts).

We are excited to share that major progress has been made in setting up the WPS Freight Farm.

The Freight Farm is a converted shipping container outfitted to grow food year-round. The 40-foot container, located behind the Phillips building, allows for food and crops to be grown in a controlled, self-contained environment by utilizing vertical farming techniques and a closed-loop system.

The Freight Farm will be used to expand course offerings at Watertown High School while also increasing food production for Watertown’s school cafeterias. The new WHS High-Tech Farming course will teach students about the environment, several important plant processes, the physics of light, energy consumption, and the chemistry necessary to grow crops effectively through managing two eight-week growing cycles in the freight farm.

More updates to come!

Music and arts classes are in full swing across the district as we get ready for fall concerts and art shows.

As always, instrument pick-up was a highlight, kicking off a year of creativity and learning.

Our 6th grade chorus recently delivered a joyful in-class performance of the Cat Stevens classic If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out. As the song and our students remind us, there's a million things to be.

Meanwhile, outstanding watercolor work was also on display from our students.

Fall playoffs are underway. Raiders field hockey began their title defense with a 5-0 win over Swampscott at Victory Field on Wednesday night.

Football and soccer tournament brackets will be released by the MIAA this weekend. Congratulations to boys soccer coach Frank Cacia, who earned his 250th career win this season!

Good luck, Raiders!

It's been a busy start to the year for our career and technical education classes.

Construction Technology Students unloaded and inventoried more than 700 board feet of lumber to meet the needs of this semester alone.

First-year students leveraged their knowledge of Legos in a challenging competition emphasizing the importance of communication and collaboration in design and construction projects. Each student within groups of four took on the roles of the project owner, architect, builder, and quality control. The team's builder had to construct the vision of the project owner through the eyes and verbal communication of the architect, while the quality control engineer observed.

Meanwhile, Construction Technology IV students have been learning how to properly set up, level, and use an optical builder's level for precise layout work. A builder's level is an essential tool that is part of surveying and the layout of foundations, walls, and other structures on a construction project.