New Framingham High Principal Tweets With Students, Parents

Communication has not been a strengthen of the Framingham Public Schools administration lately.

But the new Framingham High School principal showed Wednesday night he plans to make sure students (and parents) can reach him and get answers.

Framingham High Principal Adam Goldberg held a Q&A Tweet chat for 90 minutes on Twitter. Parents and students could tweet questions and Goldberg provided answers, to most questions, in minutes.

Goldberg was hired in June to replace Michael Welch, who accepted a position as Superintendent of the Dedham Public Schools.

Welch published a weekly principal’s newsletter. Goldberg said he plans to continue with the newsletter, except it will be published on Fridays. He said it would give parents the weekend ”to digest information.”

Social media use will increase with Goldberg, as the head of Framingham High,

For example, Goldberg tweeted out about the error in the school start time, less than an hour after Framingham Patch published Saturday, Aug. 9, that there was an error with the schedules sent out to Framingham High students. The school start time was listed at 6 a.m. not 7:25 a.m.

Goldberg tweeted just after 1 p.m. on Saturday “Hey @FHS... The posted 6:00am start is an error... We’re working on the solution. Keep tweets positive! #respect”

Goldberg said he expects Framingham High students will follow him on Twitter.

“Some students found me very quickly,” said Goldberg sitting in his office Wednesday. His Twitter name is @Adamgoldberg1

Goldberg, however, will not follow students on Twitter.

But, he said students should be very aware of their “digital footprint.”

Goldberg plans to expand Framingham High’s digital footprint by launching a Framingham High School Twitter page in English, Spanish and Portuguese later this year.

And while he plans to Tweet, he does not have a Facebook page.

Editor’s Note: I have found based on when Framingham Patch posts no school on snow days, that parents are more on Facebook and students are more on Twitter and other social platforms.

Goldberg said for parents, he plans to host monthly social media workshops.

The new principal also plans to form a committee comprised of administrators, students and staff to look at current Facebook pages, with connections to Framingham High.

Goldberg said he plans to change how information is communicate to staff and educators. And he plans to make changes to the high school’s council. He wants the council to focus on the school improvement plan, school policies, the student handbook, etc.

Goldberg was the Associate Principal at Lexington High School, before being hired in June to become Framingham High’s principal.

(Framingham Superintendent of Schools Stacy Scott announced earlier this summer he plans to hire an Associate Principal for Framingham High. The person has been named, but not released by Scott. Goldberg said an announcement should come this week.)

Goldberg worked as a guidance counselor in Longmeadow, before he and his wife made the decision to move back to Eastern Massachusetts.

A Newton South graduate, he received both his Bachelor’s Degree in psychology and his Master’s Degree in student development from UMass Amherst.

Back in Eastern Massachusetts and living in Framingham, he worked as a guidance counselor at Weston High School for three years before being promoted to Director of Guidance at Weston High. After 6 years as director. he moved into school administration. He was an assistant principal at Westford Academy for five years before being hired as Associate Principal at Lexington High.

Goldberg’s wife is employed as a teacher at Cameron Middle School in Framingham. The couple’s children are enrolled at Barbieri Elementary.

Goldberg said he has always wanted to be principal of the high school where he lives.

He said the idea that his children will attend Framingham High has its pros and cons.

He said, when his kids eventually arrive at Framingham HIgh, his wife will make the calls to teachers.

He said having his children at Framingham High will give him the opportunity to be more involved in their lives.

”I will see them, be around them and know what is going on in their lives,” said Goldberg. He also realizes it will come with some negatives for them, but it can “keep them on the straight and narrow.”

Goldberg understands being principal in the community he resides in will make him a “public figure.”

He said it comes with “great responsibility.”

He said he took the position because he wants to ”make a commitment to better his hometown.” He said he has put in a lot of hours to invest in other community’s kids and now he wants to invest in Framingham’s kids.

“I want to create great educational opportunities for all kids in town,” said Goldberg.

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Editor’s Note: Framingham Patch discussed challenges facing Framingham High with the new principal. A report from that interview will publish next week.