By AUBREY HAWKE
Waltham Times Contributing Writer
Waltham’s new superintendent, Marisa Mendonsa, wants to build a strong line of communication between school leadership and the Waltham community. She recently took steps to create those links with a series of community forums.
These forums, she said, give her an opportunity to share her ideas with community members and “to be able to share how I am orienting myself to the district and really learning about the district in order to make decisions for our future.”
They also provide an opportunity for community members “to bring questions, wonderings or ideas to the process.”
She added: “Just to be present in the community I think is an important role of the superintendent.”
The Waltham Times attended one of these forums and later interviewed Mendonsa one on one to understand her plans for the Waltham Public Schools. Here are the highlights:
Student success
Mendonsa said a large piece of her work this year will be understanding both the district’s strengths and trouble areas.
“My goal is that each of our schools are supporting a relentless pursuit of academic excellence for every student that attends a Waltham public school,” Mendonsa told The Waltham Times.
The goal is well timed. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education this month released its newest analysis of all the state’s public schools and found that Waltham High School ranks in the lowest 10% of public high schools.
She said this data can help pinpoint areas of strength and areas in need of support and focus.
“Clearly there are areas that we have to grow in and we have to do better,” she said, explaining that the district can use such data points to determine next steps and to build out its district and school improvement plans.
Addressing the high school specifically, Mendonsa said she wants to first ensure all stakeholders are aligned with the school’s strategy.
She used a metaphor to explain: “It’s an incredibly beautiful sport when you see the crew boats just gliding across the Charles River. But to get to that point is an incredible amount of work behind the scenes. And when those oars are off from one another, …if we are out of sync with our oars, then the boat is not moving and you’re spinning.”
Mendonsa said she is making frequent visits to each school in the district, explaining that twice a month she and her executive team embark on “district learning walks,” that is, formal observational school visits. Mendonsa also makes classroom visits each week with the goal of understanding the effectiveness of existing school improvement plans.
‘Safe and supportive learning environments’
One of the pillars of the 2023-2027 Waltham Public Schools District Strategic Plan is ensuring a “safe and supportive learning environment.”
To help build that environment, Mendonsa is having WPS undergo an equity audit conducted by The Leadership Academy. In 2019, before Mendonsa’s involvement with WPS, the district intended to undergo an equity audit but postponed its completion because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Leadership Academy’s website explains that its “equity audit process enables school systems to diagnose the current state of equity (including examining the impact of COVID-19) and identify focal points and recommended strategies for making improvements.”
Another priority for Mendonsa is increasing diversity in the district’s workforce.
“I want the staff of our schools to be reflective of the students that we have. I think that’s really important. There is a lot of research that supports that students often do better when they have educators that are reflective of their own culture, ethnicity or race,” Mendonsa told The Waltham Times.
Facility management is also high on her focus list. Mendonsa and her team will study possible uses of the old high school at 617 Lexington St. and the safety and security measures of all Waltham schools.
‘Connected Community’
Mendonsa said another priority is repairing and creating necessary systems in the school system: fiscal systems, academic systems, human resources systems and communications systems, which she sees as necessary for a successful school district.
“I think with some transitions over the past several years in major offices within the school department, some of the systems that had once existed began to break down and in some cases there might not have been systems,” said Mendonsa.
She acknowledged the importance of the role she has stepped into, but said she is excited to continue her work supporting Waltham.
“I think it’s just a deep appreciation to the community for welcoming me in, for hiring me, for entrusting me with the education of our students. I don’t take this task lightly,” said Mendonsa.