What's New In Natick Public Schools For 2019-20?

NATICK, MA — It's the most wonderful time of the year — for parents at least, kids may want a little extra time for summer. As the school year gears up, many parents are looking forward to the daily routine coming back to the kids lives, but plenty of changes have been made while they were away. Here are some of the big ones to keep in mind:

Kennedy Middle School Building Project

Natick Public Schools have moved forward in building a new Kennedy Middle School, breaking ground on the project in March. The new middle school will be more spacious to accommodate 1,000 students — Kennedy currently holds more than 600 students but the district anticipates enrollment will increase. The new school will include a turf field, landscaping and parking refinements and is projected to open in February 2021.

In the meantime, the construction will affect the morning routines on the Brown Elementary School and Kennedy campuses. A large part of the drop off/pick up process will be adjusting to the normal "new school" procedures, the district asks parents to add 20 minutes to morning routines as the school year starts to get familiar with the changes. If you can, walk your child to school to minimize the traffic between Kennedy and Brown.

Natick High Goes Green With Solar Panels

Natick High School is doing it's part to help the environment and to save the district money by installing solar panels in the high school parking lot. The energy efficient project has been four years in the making and could save the district money on it's utility bill. Natick's Sustainability Coordinator, Jillian Wilson-Martin, estimates approximately $20,000 in annual utility cost savings to the district.

While it's a nice chunk of savings, the money wouldn't go right into the district's pocket, it would be used as credit toward the district's electric bill. In the Natick, the photovoltaic solar panels will be installed on canopies over the parking lot. In total there are 1,450 panels being installed with a system size of 630 kW DC. The panels will generate more than 600,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean power in addition to the 250,000 kWh of power the building's existing rooftop solar arrays generate.

New Interim Lilja School Principal

Some personnel changes were made in the district and schools over the summer. One of the biggest was the departure of Lilja School principal Anne Carothers, who left the district to become a curriculum specialist at a charter school. Taking over as interim principal for the year will be Robin Welch, a long-time elementary and middle school principal who has served as principal in Brookline, Wayland, Milton and Framingham Schools.

the district's nursing department also experienced personnel changes with the resignation of Karen Rufo, long-time nurse leader. The district said, for many reasons, Rufo decided to take on the same role in the Lexington Public Schools. A new nurse leader role has been crafted by the nurses and their feedback as a department.

Bennett-Hemenway Playground Closed

The Bennett-Hemenway playground was closed this summer and will be torn down by the Department of Public Works in the near future, according to the district. The playground was deemed"no longer operational" and the district cited "safety considerations" but did not specify what considerations were made.

Between back to school shopping and keeping up with the changes in the district, it can be hard to remember those important dates on the school calendar. Don't worry, Patch has you covered with the key dates for the school year and a look at the Natick Public School calendar.