Wellesley Education Foundation and Wellesley Public Schools Announce Partnership to Form Superintendent’s Advisory Committees
The Wellesley Education Foundation (WEF) is partnering with Wellesley Public Schools to create four collaborative, high-level committees that will advise and support the implementation of key areas of the school district’s strategic plan.
WEF and the Wellesley Public Schools are seeking qualified and passionate candidates from varied backgrounds and experiences, including private industry, academia and non-profit or civic organizations, to serve on these committees. These “Superintendent’s Advisory Committees” will meet 4-5 times during the 2014-15 school year and then regularly in 2015-16.
The advisory committees will work closely with Wellesley Superintendent David Lussier, administrators and educators on the following areas:
• STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) programs
• K-12 world language programs
• The WPS technology plan
• A “District Scorecard” for assessing the schools’ annual progress in meeting the goals of the strategic plan
Each committee will consist of four educators from the Wellesley Public Schools and a diverse group of six thought leaders from the extended community. One representative from the WEF Board of Directors will sit on each committee and serve as liaison between WEF and the Wellesley Public Schools.
“One of the hallmarks of a world-class organization is to surround itself with innovative thought partners who challenge, inspire, and create new opportunities,” Dr. Lussier said. “I am excited to be partnering once again with WEF to connect WPS with such individuals who will help us further define key elements of our strategic plan.”
Dr. Lussier has established a framework of four directives for each advisory committee:
• Serve in a high-level advisory capacity to the WPS Superintendent and administration related to key areas of program development
• Establish access to targeted community intellectual/financial resources related to the content focus of the group
• Provide a forum for the vetting/assessing of vision, programs, and plans
• Establish and maintain an ongoing partnership structure(s)
“WEF is honored to partner with Dr. Lussier again to build on our initial collaboration in the development of the strategic plan,” said Linda Chow, who along with Carol Morrow is a co-president of WEF. “Our involvement in helping to establish the Superintendent’s Advisory Committees aligns well with WEF’s mission to invest in educational excellence and innovation.”
Those interested in serving on a Superintendent’s Advisory Committee are asked to complete the form available on the home page of the WEF website (wellesleyeducationfoundation.org) by Monday, November 10. For more information, please refer to the brief descriptions of the four Superintendent’s Advisory Committees on the following page and to the “Overview of the Superintendent’s Advisory Committees” found on the WPS website (www.wellesley.k12.ma.us), or else contact WPSadvisory@wellesleyeducationfoundation.org
About Wellesley Education Foundation
Wellesley Education Foundation (WEF) is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to investing in programs that enhance, enrich and maintain educational excellence and foster innovation in the Wellesley Public Schools. Since 1984, residents and businesses of our community have collaborated and supported the Wellesley Public Schools through generous donations to WEF. The town of Wellesley, Mass., has a long tradition of valuing its schools and providing high-quality education to our children. WEF’s Board of Directors consists of volunteers who are committed to enhancing the quality of the Wellesley Public Schools. The funds raised throughout the year from residents and corporate or private enterprises reflect the belief that excellent public schools are essential to the social and economic fabric of our community.
Brief Descriptions of Superintendent’s Advisory Committees
STEAM: As Wellesley Public Schools reworks several aspects of its STEAM-related curriculum, more work is needed to expand programming and engage students in opportunities both inside and outside the schools. WPS is especially looking for outside partnerships that will enhance STEAM programming, both for those students who have a keen interest in STEAM-related subject matter and for the student population at large. For this SAC, we are seeking creative, forward-thinking individuals who are on the forefront of advances in related industries and research. Thought leaders from academia, private industry and non-profit and government agencies are invited to apply.
K-12 World Language: One of the long-term goals of the Wellesley Public Schools is for every child to be fluent in at least two languages by high school graduation. The K-12 World Language SAC will provide guidance to the superintendent regarding how to create a lively, vibrant world language program at the elementary level. One of the biggest challenges for WPS will be integrating a world language program into the current crowded schedule. We are seeking a variety of committee members, including people who are knowledgeable about the impact of early childhood acquisition of a foreign language; those who have experience with scheduling logistics and program management; and those who can bring to the schools further diversity and cultural proficiency.
WPS Technology Plan: Critical to Wellesley Public Schools’ goal of aligning resources with educational needs is a robust technology plan that supports educators and students as well as parents. The Technology Plan SAC will advise the superintendent on how to refresh the schools’ technology infrastructure plan to take advantage of emerging hardware/software and communications options that will be most effective inside the classroom and school buildings, and between the schools and the community. We are seeking committee members who are knowledgeable about the future direction of technology in an educational setting, and the design and implementation of a strategic technical architecture.
WPS District Scorecard: As a community, how will we know if Wellesley Public Schools is making progress against its strategic plan? The District Scorecard SAC will assist the superintendent in determining metrics for assessing progress at regular intervals, and how to measure it. This will involve defining what success looks like for Wellesley, as well as researching metrics in use by other districts. We are seeking committee members with industry, consulting and non-profit backgrounds who are knowledgeable about designing and developing a measurement framework for assessing the progress of strategy implementation.
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