February 28, 2025
Dear Cohasset Public Schools Community,
On Tuesday, March 4, our district will kick off the process for designing a new strategic plan. Building this new plan will require us to both reflect on what we do well and what progress has been made since the last strategic plan and to envision what is possible for the Cohasset Public Schools in the next three to five years. Reflecting on the last two strategic plans, one loud theme is present ~ the desire for our students to engage in meaningful and authentic project-based learning experiences. And, since that was first breathed into existence in Cohasset, experiential and deeper learning has spread. To continue to build upon these successes and provide more opportunities to our students to do this work in ways that are both connected to our community and to experts in the field, we are asking for your help. Please take a moment and read the excerpt below from your Cohasset School Committee and to fill out the Google Form, letting us know how your expertise could support our students' learning.
Warmly,
Sarah
Cohasset is a community comprised of experts in a wide variety of fields. In order to deliver more authentic, hands-on, project-based learning experiences to students, the Cohasset School Committee, in collaboration with district leadership, is working to develop a "Community Resource Guide." This Guide will serve as an invaluable resource to our classroom teachers and school staff, as it will provide them with a comprehensive database of all stakeholders and interested parties who are willing to share their background, experience, and expertise in furtherance of our mission to Empower Students to Improve Communities.
There are many different ways in which one might participate in this endeavor, including classroom presentations, hosting or facilitating field trips, creating shadow or internship opportunities, or assisting with project-based learning experiences.
If you are willing to share your unique talents, passions, interests, and/or expertise, please click this link to fill out a brief interest form. We thank you for your willingness to volunteer your time in order to deliver impactful learning experiences to CPS students.
Onward and Upward,
Your School Committee
On Wednesday, March 5, 2025, the School Committee will, during their regular meeting, have a public discussion regarding potential fee increases and additions for the FY26 school year. If you are interested in this topic, we invite you to attend the school committee meeting in person or watch online via Zoom or the live stream on Facebook. We also invite public comment on this topic. Public comment can be offered in person or via the Zoom chat feature.
On February 5, I introduced the first draft of the FY26 budget for the district. You can view the Power Point presentation here and watch the presentation with commentary here.
On Tuesday, February 25th, we held the third and final community forum to share an update on the Cohasset Middle and High School Feasibility Study. At this forum, Ai3, our architecture firm, shared several conceptual designs for a potential middle/high school project as well as estimated costs associated with each of the potential project options. The designs and cost estimates fell into several categories: code upgrades only, addition/renovation, addition/demolition/renovation, and new construction. We are grateful to those who attended and are providing access to the information shared by Ai3, our architects, via this link.
Following this forum, Ai3 will be providing us with a completed feasibility study report which will be published in this newsletter and on our district website. We will also be revising and resubmitting our Statement of Interest for this building project to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) by the April 11, 2025 deadline. Once submitted, the MBSA goes through a thorough application review process and invited accepted schools to engage in their program in December, 2025.
Keeping up with our Anxious Generation purposeful play and responsible risk taking challenges, I am inviting you to join in on our February activities. This month, our challenges are:
Purposeful Play Challenge
Winter is always hard because we're often stuck indoors. How can you encourage your children to play differently at home this February? Is there a game you haven't played together in a long time? Have a new game you haven't played yet? A family favorite in my house for a long time was Monopoly Deal - a quick, card game version of the real game. I highly recommend it!
Responsible Risk Taking Challenge
Encourage your child to take one new step into independence. This will look different for children of all ages. For an early elementary kiddo, getting their own breakfast might be a new level of independence. For an upper elementary student, trying to do all of their homework on their own might be new. For a middle school student, maybe it's staying home alone. For a high schooler, maybe it's making their own doctor or dentist appointment. Only you will know what's right for your child, but encourage them to try something they've always done with you or that you've done for them, without you.
We are also excited to announce that the Cohasset Public Schools has a new Facebook page. Our District used to rely on Twitter to share news, announcements, and updates, however, we are shifting away from that platform and will now be sharing similar information via Facebook. We invite you to click here to Like and Follow our page to stay on top off all of the latest CPS news.
