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Woburn Memorial High School new leadership reports high early marks in student safety and engagement
Summary
New principal and associate principal described start‑of‑year improvements at Woburn Memorial High School: student surveys show most families and students report a positive start and feeling safe; administrators emphasized expectations, advisory time and respect initiatives.
Woburn Memorial High School’s new leadership team told the School Committee the opening weeks have shown strong early results in staff and student feedback, with administrators emphasizing clear expectations, a focus on respect and investments in alignment and common planning time.
Why it matters: High‑school climate affects thousands of students and can shape attendance, achievement and safety outcomes across the district. The new principal said early survey results indicate a positive direction but also identified areas to monitor.
Principal Tom Coirley and Associate Principal Karee Gulak reported staff feedback that hallways have fewer students wandering, discipline expectations are clearer and cellphone use has decreased under a stricter enforcement approach. Coirley said parent survey responses show about 89% rated their child’s start to the year as good or excellent and more than 90% of parents and students said the child has at least one trusted adult to approach; the administration said it will continue outreach to the roughly 10% who did not report a trusted adult.
The administration noted student concerns about bathrooms and the workload in certain advanced classes; they said the district is monitoring those items. Coirley provided an attendance figure from last year—90.7%—and described targeted interventions for chronic absenteeism. The leadership team also described a schoolwide “respect” campaign and gave staff time for common planning and collaborative work.
On safety, Coirley said the district is upgrading camera coverage and that he is making himself available for student drop‑ins and staff are emphasizing transparency in communications to parents. Several committee members praised the focus on measurable goals and asked administration to repeat the survey midyear to track progress.
Discussion versus decision: The presentation was informational. Committee members requested a spring or midyear follow‑up survey and additional detail on student groups not reporting a trusted adult.
Ending: The committee welcomed the new leaders and asked administration to provide periodic survey updates and plans for addressing the bathroom schedule and AP‑class workload issues.
