WEYMOUTH — Superintendent Jennifer Curtis-Whipple and School Committee Chair Lisa Belmarsh are pleased to share that Weymouth Public Schools and the Weymouth School Committee have recently taken steps toward making school committee meetings more engaging and accessible for the district’s parents.
At the first school committee meeting of the new year on Thursday, Jan. 2, the committee held its first child care session. Weymouth High School students, with a school staff supervisor, oversaw the children who colored and played games during the meeting.
Child care will continue to be available at future school committee meetings from 6:30-9 p.m. in the back of the Mary Jo Livingstone Humanities Center. Parents are asked to sign their child in when they arrive and sign a waiver. Any child is welcome to be a part of the program.
At a recent public hearing held in Weymouth by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women and at the invitation of State Rep. James Murphy, Chair Belmarsh committed to finding ways to encourage more participation in local government. The school committee hopes that offering childcare will allow more parents to attend meetings, resulting in more parent and community participation and a stronger school district and community as a whole.
“Families have been key players in recent successes for Weymouth, such as the successful debt exclusion vote in Weymouth, approving universal full-day kindergarten in Weymouth and keeping the focus on opposing the compressor station,” Belmarsh said. “Participation is so important for the success of our schools and we hope that by doing things such as making child care available, we can continue to make school committee meetings more welcoming and accessible. We want parents to have the opportunity to share their thoughts and concerns and feel like they are able to be engaged and involved in their child’s learning.”
The committee plans to expand the child care sessions as needed as more parents attend meetings. All parents should feel welcome to attend and can contact Weymouth School Administration with further questions.
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