Watertown presents detailed middle- and high-school improvement plans emphasizing transitions, SEL and grading alignment

Watertown Public Schools presented comprehensive 2025–26 school improvement plans for Watertown Middle School and Watertown High School at the May 19 School Committee meeting, focusing on social-emotional learning, smoother transitions between grade levels and clearer grading and instructional alignment.

The plans restate the district's strategic objectives and add school-level practices meant to increase student belonging and academic rigor. Watertown Middle School will implement a restructured "Win" block split approximately in half between SOAR (social-emotional/skills instruction) and academics, add weekly math and literacy lessons in that block, expand restorative circles and adopt an upgraded I‑Ready Pro platform for differentiated instruction. Watertown High School's plan emphasizes expanded peer tutoring, student-led restorative justice, a push to increase representative participation in honors and AP courses, monthly course‑alike teacher check-ins to align grading and a Freshman Academy of common lessons to support ninth‑grade transition.

Why it matters: Committee members said the changes address longstanding gaps in transitions (fifth→sixth and eighth→ninth), student supports and grading consistency. The plans include operational steps — staff training, schedule tweaks and data collection — intended to be monitored during the year rather than enacted only as aspirational goals.

Key details and committee questions - The middle school Win block will be a daily block (44 minutes currently) split so that the first half is SOAR curriculum and the second half rotates by day (ELA, math, collaborative problem solving, independent/extended reading). Teachers will keep students with the same Win teacher all year except performance‑music students who rotate. The district will pilot heterogeneous groupings at the start of the year and adjust as needed. (presentation) - The district expects district‑wide rollout of the new I‑Ready Pro platform; administrators said the vendor's new release is scheduled July 1 and that it will provide age‑appropriate diagnostics and lessons beyond prior limits. - Restorative practice training is planned as Tier 1 (estimated >50% staff trained) and Tier 2 (roughly 25% initially), with expansion signups for summer professional development. - High school grading alignment will require teachers of the same course number to adopt shared grading expectations, retake/recovery policies and syllabi statements; monthly peer check‑ins and time for teacher consensus are included. - The Freshman Academy will provide a bank of common lessons for ninth‑grade teachers teaching study skills, email etiquette, how to approach teachers about missed work and similar topics.

Discussion vs. decisions: The committee did not take formal votes on the improvement plans at the meeting; school leaders presented the plans and committee members asked for clarifications (implementation sequencing, assessment of I‑Ready use, supports for advanced learners and protections for staff workload). Several committee members urged follow‑up reports on attendance team findings, restorative practice uptake and the grading alignment implementation.

Implementation risks and next steps: Administrators noted some actions depend on vendor timelines (I‑Ready) and staff capacity; committee members urged sensitivity to staff workload and recommended staged implementation with ongoing evaluation. The administration agreed to continue reporting progress and to present data and outcomes to the School Committee during the 2025–26 year.

Ending: Committee members praised the level of detail and asked for additional follow‑up presentations (attendance team results, evaluations of Win block outcomes and ongoing updates on grading alignment).