On Wednesday, Oct. 22, the Wayland School Committee held a meeting at the Wayland Town Building to discuss updates on the Spanish Immersion Program and the Facilities Master Plan. The Committee also conducted a vote to approve the superintendent’s goals for the 2025-2026 school year.
Takeaway One: Spanish Immersion
Wayland High School Spanish Teacher and World Language Department Head Alaina Ghetti and Spanish Immersion Program (SIP) Curriculum coordinator Liliana Smith started the meeting by presenting information about the SIP cohort that reached Wayland Middle School (WMS) last year. SIP, which started at Loker Elementary School in 2018, now includes seventh graders at WMS.
“A second language really is a superpower,” Ghetti said. “It can take you out of your school walls, and it can help you connect to society as a global citizen.”
The SIP is a 90% Spanish, 10% English alternative as opposed to an all English curriculum. Administrators are working to develop the next steps forward as they get closer to the high school.
Ghetti said that the high school curriculum plan will incorporate 24 credits of Spanish classes across all four years of high school. One of the goals of the SIP leaders is to have all members of the SIP graduate with 725 hours of Spanish in high school.
“Our route includes four years of Spanish Language Arts, which is a combination of pre-existing World Language courses and new courses that we will create to meet the needs of our emergent students,” Ghetti said. “We’re really hoping to really extend beyond the walls of WHS, in the summer and in the community and hopefully in the world, perhaps in New York.”
SIP teachers are planning on implementing additional courses in Spanish, including a freshman to sophomore level Spanish Cultural Studies course that will count for two credits. All additional courses offered in the SIP will have summer intensive options.
Curriculum designers also intend on adding a senior level, community-service oriented Capstone project also worth two credits.The SIP curriculum will also include an option for dual enrollment at Syracuse University and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
“We wanted [the program] to be an authentic exploration of language and culture,” Ghetti said.
SIP will use two books to shape the program’s framework and faculty: “Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education” and “Fulfilling the Promise of Biliteracy.” Using these resources, SIP curriculum designers are aiming to ensure the program is sustainable and that it includes all components necessary for a complete bilingual Spanish education.
“We thought about how we could take the learning [students have done] in the middle school, partnering between Spanish Language Arts and Social Studies,” Ghetti said. “[Our goal is] to continue delivering a robust, well-rounded curriculum that connects [students] with the community around us and globally.”
Curriculum designers are hoping the SIP will enable students to pursue their classes in a culturally rich manner. SIP’s mission is to empower students to become bilingual, biliterate and globally-minded citizens.
“I’m incredibly impressed with where this program has come,” School Committee member Erin Mueller said. “I think we’ve all seen it start at the beginning, and to see it grow throughout high school is pretty amazing.”
Takeaway Two: Master Plan Advisory Group discusses next steps with HMFH Architects
Superintendent David Fleishman briefed the School Committee on the next steps of working with HMFH Architects on the Facilities Master Plan (FMP), which aims to address rising building maintenance costs and renovate learning spaces for students in grades Pre-K to 8.
“Four of our existing school buildings in Wayland were built during the 1950s and 60s and in need of significant work,” Fleishman said. “Each of these buildings and their aging systems are increasingly costly to maintain.”
The School Committee had voted unanimously to award HMFH Architects the FMP contract on Sept. 24. Now, Fleishman says the Master Plan Advisory Group (MPAG) is working with HMFH Architects to plan for the school’s capital projects. Moving forward, HMFH Architects will evaluate the conditions of town buildings and develop a long-term outline of what needs to be renovated or rebuilt in the district.
“HMFH and their engineers are doing an assessment of our buildings,” Fleishman said. “They’ll be in our buildings because we need to know what are the conditions of our buildings, and what are some of the challenges that we’re going to face in the near term to keep these buildings functional.”
With the Wayland’s Council on Aging opening on June 5, Fleishman noted it would be useful to speak with members and employees about the experience of a new building. Moreover, since WHS is in its 13th year as a renovated building, Fleishman added that it could be helpful to speak with administrators about their experiences.
“There’s always trade-offs when we make decisions about planning, but we’re really excited about the process,” Fleishman said. “It takes buying in from an entire community in order to support either the rebuilding or renovation.”
Takeaway Three: School Committee Approves Superintendent David Fleishman’s Goals
The School Committee approved Fleishman’s goals for the 2025-2026 school year in a unanimous vote. The decision passed through School Committee Chair Erin Gibbons and School Committee members Mueller and Betsy Cullen. Members Christina Rodrigo and Kate Sambuco were absent.
The approved goals include the improvement of current support structures for Wayland school leaders and developing a stronger partnership between Wayland Public Schools Administration and the School Committee. Fleishman aims to achieve these goals through strong communication and leadership throughout the school district. Moreover, Fleishman hopes to work with town officials on developing “ambitious, timely and relevant” goals to address district and school issues.
Another section of Fleishman’s approved goals include “[strengthening] instructional systems, practices and curriculum as we innovate to meet the diverse needs of all learners.” One of the strategic action steps that follow include analyzing what the “most important skills and [experiences are] for students.” Within this proposed goal, Fleishman stated that he hopes to complete a recommendation for the next steps for a Pre-K to 5 reading curriculum by June of 2026 with the input of educators and findings from their own analysis.
Additionally, Fleishman’s approved goals involve addressing and making progress on operational goals in the district related to facilities and finance. Some of the steps Fleishman intends on taking entail working with the Facilities Advisory Committee on a Pre-K to 8 Master Facilities Plan and engaging in future fiscal planning with town partners.
