Superintendent Newsletter

-Denise Witmer

Dear Ware Community,

Welcome back! We are thrilled to kick off the 2024-2025 school year and share our strategic plan designed to enhance the quality of education and ensure every student has a voice in their learning journey. Each school has developed a customized approach to meet the specific needs of its students, and principals will soon share their plans with you.

Key Focus Areas This Year:

• Improving Attendance and Achievement: We're aiming for over 95% average daily attendance and reducing chronic absenteeism by 5%. Active engagement in every class will help our students achieve significant academic growth.
• Fostering Academic Discourse: We'll enhance the quality of classroom discussions to promote critical thinking and independent learning.
• Implementing High-Quality Instructional Materials: We’ve successfully adopted and are implementing new math curricula for grades K-12 to ensure consistent and high-quality instruction. Your principals will share more details about this when they communicate with you.
• Maximizing Co-Teaching Benefits: We’re evaluating and refining our co-teaching models to better support diverse student needs.
• Strengthening Parental Involvement: We encourage open communication with families and will regularly share positive updates about your child’s progress.

We are also excited to share that many of the areas we are focusing on, such as attendance, MCAS, i-Ready, student discourse, and the adoption of new high-quality instructional materials for math in grades K-12, have already started to show improvements.

We’re eager to work together to make this school year our best yet. Thank you for your continued support, and let’s make this a transformative year for all our students!

Michael P. Lovato
Superintendent

Below are the bus routes for the 2024-2025 school year.

Please note, times may change due to adjustments in routes.

WJSHS LINK
SMK & WMS LINK

If you have any questions regarding your child(ren)'s route, please contact

First Student Bus Company at 413-323-8316.

Any changes to your child's bus route must be submitted through

the Superintendent's Office using the Bus Change Request Form.

We are delighted to introduce Heather Malin as the Interim Assistant Principal at SMK. A lifelong resident of Ware, Heather is a proud graduate of our local schools and brings with her 25 years of experience as a third-grade teacher at SMK. Her deep roots in the community and dedication to our students are evident in her long-standing commitment to education in Ware.

Heather's journey from student to educator in our district is truly inspiring. She has consistently demonstrated leadership and a passion for fostering a positive learning environment. We are confident that her transition into this new role will be seamless, and she will continue to contribute to the success of our school and students.

Please take a moment to read Heather's personal message, where she shares more about her background and her excitement for this new chapter in her career.

I am excited for the opportunity to continue my career in Ware as the new Assistant Principal of SMK after teaching third grade here for 25 years. Having attended Ware Public Schools as a child, I have fond memories of the great teachers who inspired me. After graduating from Ware High School, I initially pursued a career in business at Westfield State College (now Westfield State University). However, I eventually found my true passion in elementary education and earned a bachelor’s degree with a minor in math, followed by a master’s degree.

My journey in education began with substitute teaching in various area schools before accepting a paraprofessional position in Brookfield. This role soon led to my first job as a third-grade teacher. After two years in Brookfield, I was fortunate enough to return to Ware, where I’ve had the privilege of teaching third grade ever since—hopefully creating lasting memories for my students, just as my teachers did for me.

I’m incredibly grateful for the experiences and students that have shaped my journey, bringing me to this exciting opportunity to serve as the Interim Assistant Principal in a town that I love.

Born and raised in Ware as Heather Danitis, I married my husband, Nelson, in 2003 and moved to Gilbertville, where we still reside. We have two grown children, Erin, and Jason, both proud graduates of Ware schools.

I hope you will welcome me as your Assistant Principal just as you have during my years as a teacher. I am eager to work alongside Mrs. Iwasinski to continue providing an outstanding education at Stanley M. Koziol Elementary School, where students can thrive and develop the same pride in Ware that I have always felt.

Hello WJSHS Parents and Families,

I am thrilled to share a new course offering at the high school this year!!

Through our continued partnership with Holyoke Community College we will be offering a Dual Enrollment opportunity to promote pathways related to the field of Business. This will provide students with the ability to earn college credit by taking college level coursework while attending high school. This year we will offer one course in the fall semester: Introduction to Business and second the spring semester: Business Management. We are extremely excited about this incredible opportunity to enrich the learning opportunities for our students. Ware High School students will gain real world knowledge in an ever-growing competitive field.

Join us for a Dual Enrollment Orientation/Information Night on Tuesday, August 27 at 5:30 in the WJSHS Auditorium.

Yours In Partnership,

Derek Morrison
WJSHS Principal

As your Superintendent, I want to emphasize the critical role that regular school attendance plays in your child's overall success. Recognizing its importance, we worked with a committee over the summer that included input from various stakeholders, including students, to address the attendance challenges we face in our schools. The result is a new attendance policy designed to better support our students’ academic achievements and overall well-being.

Key Points Addressed in the New Policy:

Impact of Attendance:
Research consistently shows that students who attend school regularly are more likely to achieve key milestones such as reading proficiency by 3rd grade, passing 9th grade courses, and graduating on time with their peers. High attendance rates directly correlate with higher academic success, social development, and emotional well-being. In Massachusetts, 96% of students with high attendance in 10th grade graduate on time, compared to only 69% with lower attendance.

Attendance Definitions:

• Present: A student is considered present if they are in school or participating in a school-related activity for at least half of the day.

• Absent: A student is absent if they do not meet the criteria for being present, with absences categorized as excused or unexcused.

• Chronic Absence: Missing 10% or more of school days (e.g., 18 days in a 180-day school year).

• Truancy: A student who willfully misses more than 8 school days in a quarter without an excuse is considered habitually truant.

Parental Responsibilities:

• Ensure your child attends school daily.

• Notify the school of any absences and provide documentation as required.

• Keep your child at home if they are contagious and obtain clearance from a physician before returning them to school.

Consequences of Poor Attendance:

• Loss of Credit: Students who miss more than 5 unexcused days in a semester are at risk of losing academic credit for their courses. This can have serious consequences for their academic progress and may impact their ability to graduate on time.

• Loss of Extracurricular Eligibility: Students with more than 7 unexcused absences in a semester will be ineligible to participate in extracurricular activities, including sports, dances, student government, and other school-sponsored events.

• Review Process: The Attendance Review Committee will evaluate each case individually, considering all relevant circumstances before making a recommendation to the principal. If credit is lost or extracurricular participation is revoked, families have the right to appeal the decision to the Superintendent's office.

Next Steps:

Your partnership is essential in helping us achieve our goal of improving student attendance and ensuring every child’s success. Please review this policy in detail, and feel free to reach out to your school’s administration with any questions. Additionally, your schools will be sending out further information to ensure that all details are clearly communicated.

Thank you for your continued support.

Michael P. Lovato

Superintendent

To enroll your student in Ware Public Schools, begin with our online registration.

If you have any questions regarding the enrollment process, please contact

Cheryl Dauksewich at cdauksewich@ware.k12.ma.us or 413-967-4271, ext. 3710

Join us in cheering on the Ware Indians at their games this season!

The School Committee meets every other Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

School Committee Agenda

School Committee Meeting Link

To ensure you are contacted in the event of an emergency, school closing or delay, please make sure your contact information is updated with your child's school.

In addition to a phone call and email being sent, closures and delays will also be posted on our district website and Facebook pages, along with local news stations Western Mass News and WWLP.

The Ware Public Schools Food Service Department provides a comfortable and encouraging environment in which nutritious and wholesome meals are offered. A well-balanced diet is essential for growing children and teenagers, so we design each meal to include all major food groups. Our meals provide the nutrients students need to focus on academics and to perform their best.

Ware Public Schools participates in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. As part of this program, all schools offer healthy meals every school day at NO COST to the students for the 2024-2025 school year.

Monthly menus can be found on our website at https://www.wareps.org/for_parents/food_services

For your planning, view our 2024-2025 Academic Calendar for important dates.

Central Office: 413-967-4271

Stanley M. Koziol Elementary School: 413-967-6236

Ware Middle School: 413-967-6903

Ware Junior Senior High School: 413-967-6234

Website: www.wareps.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/warepublicschools/