Framingham Educator Nominated For Commonwealth Heroine Award

FRAMINGHAM, MA — The leaders of the Framingham Public Schools arts department is up for an award that honors women in Massachusetts who have made a difference in their home communities.

Donna Wresinski, chair of the Framingham schools fine and performing arts department, was nominated for the Commonwealth Heroines award by state Rep. Jack Lewis.

Here's more from a press release from Lewis:

Commonwealth Heroines are women who have made an outstanding difference in their communities and organizations. These women are community leaders who do not always make the news but often bring their communities together.

“Framingham’s thriving arts programs puts our city on the map,” Lewis said. “Donna makes every Framingham High School Drama Company performance feel like a Broadway show, and my anticipation of the company's season is comparable to a child on Christmas morning. The Arts are integral to our students' education, they aren’t a disposable add-on. Our community is made stronger because of Donna’s passion."

"I am honored and humbled by this recognition,” Wresinski said. “I am one of the fortunate women who lives her dream. Framingham has given me the opportunity to use my art to build community and to enhance the lives of students and adults through the arts. I am grateful every day to live and work in such an arts-vibrant city. Thank you Representative Lewis and thank you Framingham.

Wresinski taught in Ashland for 12 years before accepting a position to teach theater in Framingham in 2001. After many years of dedicated teaching, she was appointed the head of Framingham High School’s Fine and Performing Arts department and later became the director of Fine and Performing Arts for all of Framingham Public Schools. Wresinski is also a past director of the M.E.T.G (Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild) Council and currently serves on the board of directors for the M.E.T.G.

"Donna has been a mentor to me for so long," noted Teri Shea, drama teacher at Cameron Middle
School. "I watched her build a theater program in Ashland from nothing and then start again in
Framingham. She has the amazing ability to get people to share their talents and grow as artists and teachers under her leadership. In Framingham she has been able to create amazing arts for tens of thousands of people."

"If one were to choose a single word to describe Donna Wresinski, it would be tenacity,” Sheron Doucette, Theatre Director at Walsh Middle School, added. "She is a tenacious advocate for the Arts in our community. The canvas she personally paints on is Theatre; however, she is dedicated to, has an appreciation for, and mission to promote all the Arts in Framingham. She has high standards for her staff, for the students, and for administrators, with a higher standard for herself to elevate the learning environment for the Arts in our city. This comes from knowing that the Arts are not a luxury but a necessity for the well-being and development of all students."

Wresinski’s leadership is also acknowledged by the greater community, including Dr. Robert Tremblay, Superintendent of Framingham Public Schools.

"More than a Director of our Fine & Performing Arts Program, Donna Wresinski is a tireless champion of students and advocate for student voice in the Framingham Public Schools,” Tremblay noted. “Our acclaimed theater program is just one of many platforms where student voice can be heard and where our students shine. Through her engagement with students and staff in our theater, music, dance, and visual arts programs, Donna continues to be an inspiration to anyone in her company — and I don't just mean the drama company. Donna has a special bond with educator colleagues, families, community members, and state professional associations where she is well-respected as an educator and leader. I am so proud to be on a team with Donna and to celebrate our common love for the arts in a community that also shares those same values and recognizes the importance of the arts in developing the whole person. Long before social-emotional learning was named, the arts have had a long and important history of filling that important part of a complete learning experience where student expression can be realized in so many creative and meaningful ways. Donna understands the importance of student voice and agency has led an impassioned career doing this selfless work that continues to make an impactful difference in the lives of our students, their families, and our community.”