WILMINGTON, MA — Wilmington Superintendent Dr. Glenn Brand addressed one of the elephants in the room at Wednesday night’s School Committee Meeting — a graduation ceremony for the WHS Class of 2020.
“I know something that is a growing area of interest and concern is end-of-year activities, in particular around our seniors,” began Brand.
“I had a nice conversation with [Principal] Peters earlier this week,” revealed Brand. “She has been having many conversations with members of her team on how best to honor our seniors, as our districts everywhere.”
“My sense is people are getting a little antsy about this — what will graduation look like? When might it take place?,” acknowledged Brand. “As difficult as it is, patience is really needed. There’s thinking happening, but the reality is we need to wait for guidance from local and state health officials over what will be possible.”
“No final decisions have been made yet. A lot of thinking is taking place,” stressed Brand. “Anyone who knows Ms. Peters can be that if there’s a way to honor our students, it would be she who will figure out a way to do that. She’s most committed to doing something. It’s what that something looks like that still needs to be figured out.”
Also on Wednesday night, Dr. Brand also announced he’s putting together a committee on developing a plan on how to re-open schools in the fall. The group will consist of representatives from both the school district and town government, including Town Manager Jeff Hull, Public Buildings Superintendent George Hooper, and Health Director Shelly Newhouse.
This Reopening Committee would also look at some more near-term issues, including figuring out a safe way to get teachers into the schools before the end of the school year to retrieve belongings. The in-person school year ended abruptly, and classrooms need to be organized. Student belongings also need to be retrieved.
Also at the meeting, as expected, the School Committee unanimously approved the continuation of payments of regular compensation & benefits to its salaried & hourly employees through last day of school (June 15, 2020).
Absent from the vote, however, were stipends. As a result, it is currently unclear if spring sports coaches will receive their stipends — in part or in full.
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