September 16, 2025
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Joanie Desilets (Instructional Paraprofessional) shared “Sixteen 8th graders, led by Dylan McKay, Cecilia Andrus, and Colin Desilets, came together in a powerful act of remembrance, placing 442 flags in honor of those lost on 9/11. Each flag represents a life taken too soon—441 for the first responders and military members who made the ultimate sacrifice that day, and one for Carol Flyzik, a Georgetown alum who tragically lost her life on American Airlines Flight 11. Their dedication reminds us to never forget the heroes and loved ones we lost.”
I am so appreciative of a moment like this. It is a reminder to all of us of the goodness that permeates from the Georgetown Community.
- Caitlin Kenny (community member) is acknowledging Ms. Peterson (Kindergarten Paraprofessional) “On multiple days Ms. Peterson assisted my son to go inside the school building as he was afraid (he wouldn’t go for anyone else including me). She was instrumental in making him feel safe and comfortable to enter the building and into his classroom while he navigated the tricky transition from Pre-K to Kindergarten. Thank you!”
- Jackie Connors (Penn Brook Teacher) is shouting out Jacob Bailes (Tech Support) – “After weeks of no luck in connecting equipment to the new TV screens, Jacob came in and effortlessly solved the problem with technology that was interfering with effective instruction and my sanity. I am so grateful!! Jacob is AMAZING!”
- Krissy McCoy, Food Service Coordinator, wants to share “Our cafeteria staff have been putting in extra effort washing and sanitizing our new stainless steel trays, all while keeping meal service running smoothly for our students. And our custodial team has been right there supporting, making sure everything stays clean and running efficiently. Thank you for going the extra mile every single day! We appreciate you!”
UPDATES:
- Recognition: We are pleased to share that our staff has been recognized by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for our commitment to pursuing leadership education and training.
Georgetown Public Schools was recognized in the DESE’s August newsletter for attending the Instructional Leadership Institute, a three-day immersive professional learning, networking, and planning experience designed to help leaders drive instructional change. This year was the third year we attended, and our experiences at the ILI have been instrumental in sharpening our instructional priorities and driving our strategic action plan.
- ELECTRIC BIKE Procedure at the Middle High School: The safety of our students is always our highest priority. With the growing popularity of electric bikes, we have seen an increase in their use on and around our school grounds. While these bikes provide convenient transportation, they also pose safety concerns in high-traffic areas where students are walking and vehicles are arriving and departing.
Effective immediately, students may not ride ELECTRIC BIKES on school the MHS grounds or driveways during school hours and after school events. For everyone’s safety, students must walk their bikes from the Verizon building and from the start of the path at the Perley building to the school building and park them in the designated bicycle areas.
During baseball season there will be no ELECTRIC BIKES ridden on the Perley School grounds.
If a student is not following the expectation they will be given a warning, and the parent will be called. If there is a second infraction they will lose the privilege to have an electric bike on school grounds for the remainder of the school year. We ask for your cooperation in reinforcing this expectation with your child. By working together, we can help ensure a safe and welcoming environment for all students, staff, and families. – Thank you for your partnership in keeping our school community safe.
- The future of GHS: I have received multiple emails and phone calls concerning the future of the Georgetown School District. Community members are expressing a sense of urgency around this due to the low 9th grade enrollment numbers. I hope to help the community feel a little more at ease with understanding the future planning that has been discussed, researched and pursued over the last 9 months and is outlined in the Strategic Plan’s first Priority “Fortify Our Foundation.” The plan has measurable outcomes embedded in the document, with one being “Reports will be made available from the Superintendent on the process/results of exploring partnering with North Shore Districts for Regionalization”. The following are opportunities for the community to listen and share their perspectives:
- During the September 25, 2025 School Committee meeting, I will be sharing updates from the first 120 days across the plan. This update will include information that has been gathered thus far about the different options being investigated.
- In collaboration with the School Committee and Select Board, I will be holding four Community Listening Sessions called “The Future of GHS – A Community Conversation.” This will be an opportunity for our municipal board members and me to listen to your thoughts, concerns, hopes and dreams you have for the school district. Here is the schedule for the sessions:
September 22, 2025 from 1:00 – 2:00 at the Perley School, 3rd Floor
September 30, 2025 from 7:00am – 8:00am at the Perley School, 3rd Floor
October 15, 2025 from 6:00-7:00 at the GHS Auditorium
October 23, 2025 from 11:00-12:00 at the Perley School, 3rd Floor
- If you would like to share your thoughts in a survey format you can click on this link.
It should go without saying how stressful this topic is for all students, family members as well as our own educators. We all have huge passion and desire to give your children, our students, the best educational experience possible. It is a very complex task to decide if we are continuing to redesign the high school and make it a destination on the North Shore, or fully/partially regionalize or partner with another school to educate our High School Students.
It is very important that we all understand this takes deep research, time, negotiations, and thorough planning with the ability to pivot. It is also important to us that we make decisions in line with the needs and perspectives of our community as best we can, which is why we appreciate your collaboration and feedback. As we move forward, I ask for the community to have grace, and patience, and to use these listening sessions as a place to respectfully advocate your opinions.