School leadership, performance get City Council committee’s attention

The high turnover of principals in Waltham schools and the high school’s low score on a state education report card dominated discussion at the City Council’s Committee of the Whole meeting Monday night.

Superintendent Marisa Mendonsa gave committee members an update on the city’s School Department, stressing that she’s working to tackle the key challenges facing the department.

She acknowledged the challenges the city has had in retaining principals, especially at Waltham High. John Barnes, who has served as Waltham High School’s principal-in-residence since July, submitted his resignation in March. He will leave at the end of the school year. He will be the fourth principal to leave WHS since 2020. 

Mendoza said the role is “the hardest in the district,” because WHS is the biggest school in the district with many flagship programs, including the Career and Technical Education program. She also emphasized the unique range of cultures and backgrounds making up the student body. 

The district is looking to interview principal candidates for WHS next week and plans to hire a veteran principal for the role. She also aims to provide additional support, including more administrators and a stronger professional development plan. 

As for WHS’s low performance, which falls in the bottom 10% statewide, Mendonsa said she recently met with teachers to develop a response plan around graduation and retention rates.  

“A diploma is the strongest piece of paper we can deliver in the city of Waltham,” she said. 

Mendonsa said one of the challenges is that teachers are not seeing their students regularly, which she aims to fix. Teachers are spending 15 to 20 minutes of class time to reteach students past material, due to having core classes only an average of three days a week, she said. 

“Our teachers do not have enough time with our students,” she said. “Children cannot learn if they are not with their teachers on a regular basis, we have to fix that.” 

Despite speculation in the community, Mendonsa said the low test scores are not because of the high percentage of English-language learners in the school. 

“That ninth percentile means that the great majority of students are not achieving,” she said. 

Motion to rename Northeast Elementary is tabled

In other school-related City Council action, the council’s Licenses and Franchises Committee discussed a request to rename Northeast Elementary School. 

The request came from Margaret Cannon, a former Waltham school district employee. Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy read a letter from Cannon to the committee, advocating for the school to be named after former Superintendent John Daddona, a lifelong Waltham resident who died in February. 

McCarthy emphasized Daddona’s legacy as one of the longest serving superintendents. Daddona was “strong when he had to be and kind when he ought to be,” McCarthy said. 

City Councilor Robert Logan moved for the resolution to be sent to the School Committee for a recommendation. Logan said although only the Licenses and Franchises Committee has the power to rename schools, he wants to hear the School Committee’s opinion. 

City Councilor-at-Large Emma Tzioumis objected to the motion, saying her discussions with the Northeast community members showed “no desire” for the school to be renamed. 

“I want to make sure the council does its due diligence to ensure the community has a part in this,” she added. 

Tzioumis said the current Northeast community has no ties to Daddona. McCarthy, however, emphasized Waltham’s tradition of naming schools after influential figures, including superintendents who had districtwide impacts. 

“Either it is a war hero, president or a superintendent,” McCarthy said. “That’s the standard.” 

The Licenses and Franchises Committee motioned to table the matter.