Belmont Superintendent's Blog

Hello Belmont Community!

Last week, the Belmont community graciously endorsed the fiscal override, ushering in essential funds for the Town. This decision was not made lightly: The override brings much-needed revenue to sustain Belmont’s services, at the same time it imposes a financial impact on residents. In light of this, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to the community for providing the opportunity to invest in our schools in order for us to continue delivering exceptional education for our children.

By prioritizing financial stewardship in our budgeting process, we will continue to seek efficiencies, including ways to leverage our existing resources through reallocations and strategic investments in our school system. We are now at the final stages of our FY25 budgeting process with a Public Hearing at the April 23rd School Committee meeting, followed by a School Committee vote at a subsequent meeting, and culminating at Session B of Town Meeting.

As highlighted in our budget presentations, the allocated funds will support and enhance the services and programming our students enjoy. They will also allow us to begin building in-district programs for our special education students as well as provide high-quality curriculum for all students.

In my March 8 blog post, I wrote about the ways our high school brings innovative learning experiences to our students which I have observed through my class visits. This innovative learning at the secondary level can occur when early learning is firmly established at the elementary level and is fully supported by high-quality curriculum. During my elementary school visits, I have seen students developing early literacy and numeracy skills, which are crucial building blocks for students’ academic success in later grades. These skills are foundational to learning across subjects, including science, social studies, technology, and the arts. For this reason, our strategy is to strengthen our curriculum in order to provide challenging and supported learning experiences. This focus on early learning is critical to ensuring that all students, regardless of their demographic identity or socioeconomic status, are prepared to pursue engaging and challenging academic opportunities throughout their K-12 career and beyond. The focus on early learning also rests on the understanding that the curriculum and instruction in our classrooms are the key levers we have to influence how much all of our students are learning each and every day in our schools. Our work is dedicated to supporting that teaching and learning enterprise.

The focus on curriculum and instruction is what we carry into the final stages of the transition of the grade 4 students as they move up to the Chenery Upper Elementary. This is an exciting time for our students and families, but may also come with some uncertainty about what that will look like. Lucia Sullivan, Assistant Superintendent, has been leading this effort in collaboration with staff and families. Specifically, the staff advisory group has been focused on developing the schedule, the parent advisory group has been providing feedback and input on programming, and the leadership has been working together with staff to shape and build the new CUE culture. Staff is also planning robust transition and orientation activities for students in grades 3 and 4 to ensure a smooth transition to their new school and that important information about the move is shared with families. Indeed, we are transforming the Chenery into an upper elementary that supports the learning of our students at that age group, from designing classroom spaces with an upper elementary frame of mind, to developing practices and procedures that foster a positive, supportive and engaging school environment resulting in high levels of student learning and achievement. I would like to express deep appreciation for everyone’s focus and collaboration throughout this process, and for the dedication to making this a fantastic upper elementary school for our Belmont students.

A key support for our schools is the Foundation for Belmont Education Organization (FBE), which is dedicated to improving educational opportunities for students and teachers. Over the past few weeks, it has been my privilege to partake in a few spring events organized by the FBE. The Outstanding Teacher Award Reveal Day on April 3 was particularly memorable, as we honored exceptional educators in their classrooms, surrounded by their students. This celebration reminds us of the dedication and talent educators bring to our classrooms and underscores the vital role teachers play in enriching our students’ lives. I also had the honor of kicking off the first round of the FBE Spelling Bee on April 6, an event that not only showcased the students’ spelling acumen, but also was a time of joy and excitement. The FBEs grant program, funded through fundraising, supports our educators bringing innovation to classrooms. I am thankful for the FBE leadership, volunteers, and sponsors for their indispensable role in facilitating and funding these important initiatives that enrich our students and our community.

Spring is upon us, bringing many activities and events for our staff, students and families. Check out what's coming up on the BPS calendar.