Weston's Board of Education is writing down goals for itself, something Chair Deborah Low believes the town's school board has not done before. Under the draft, the board would also evaluate itself against them.
Low brought a first draft to a special meeting Monday, Oct. 5. The board took no vote. A revised draft comes back Monday, Oct. 19, for possible approval.
“I think this is the first time that Weston has considered having Board of Education goals.”
Deborah LowChair, Weston Board of EducationVideo: Weston Public Schools
Six areas, and a self-evaluation
The draft, dated Oct. 1, groups the board's work into six areas:
- academic and program excellence
- a safe, nurturing, personalized school environment
- resources, which it defines as funding, staffing levels and time
- policy
- communication
- measuring how the district is doing
Several areas list 2026–27 items tied to the district improvement plan (the district's plan for the year) or to Superintendent Erica Forti's goals. Under resources, one item commits the board to "advocate for and collaborate with the Town" on the timeline and goals for a new Weston Middle School building. The town's three governing boards are working toward a townwide vote on that building in November 2027.
The last item calls for a calendar for the board to evaluate itself. Low said she pictured a midyear check-in and a fuller self-evaluation at the end of the year or the start of the next one.
She said the goals could help the public see "what exactly does the Board of Ed do?" and could remind the board that it works as a governing board looking at the whole system, not "at the operational level."
Board member Michael Guido suggested folding a line on staffing into the budget item. Low said she had kept it separate on purpose, to treat resources as more than money: "We have time, we have people, we have money."
The superintendent's goals
Forti presented her own goals for 2026–27, one for each of four leadership priorities: belonging and connection; teaching and learning; leadership and talent development; and finances and operations. She said they will be measured against the targets already in the district improvement plan, not a separate set. Among the actions she named:
- Rounding. Fifteen-minute, voluntary one-on-one meetings with any faculty or staff member, a practice she said she borrowed from an outside model. Forti said this is the first year she has done it, the conversations are confidential, and she will share only patterns and themes. She said she hopes to open the meetings to families and students later.
- Testing. The district is taking part in the state Education Department's SCALE initiative (Student Centered Balanced Assessment), in which a district team catalogs the tests given from kindergarten through 12th grade. Her goals document says the aim is to "eliminate redundant testing." Forti cited the improvement plan's targets for this year, including 85% proficiency in math and 88% in English language arts on the state's Smarter Balanced tests for grades 3 through 8, and 92% in science across grades 5, 8 and 11. Low asked, as she had at the board's previous meeting, that the grades 3–8 targets be reported separately for grades 3–5 and 6–8. Forti said the district would.
- The middle school. Her key action on finances and operations is the Weston Middle School building project. "I want everyone to know it has my full attention and time," she said.
Diplomas and the fees policy
The board approved four finance policies 5-0, covering budget planning, the fiscal year, budget adoption and transfers between budget categories. It sent the fees policy and its regulation back to its Policy Committee.
The version in the board's packet still said the principal "is authorized to withhold grades, transcripts, diplomas or report cards until payment is received or material is returned" when students lose or damage books and materials. Guido said the committee had meant to change that: "We couldn't withhold a diploma, for example." District staff said the word "diploma" had already been taken out of a newer draft than the one in the packet.
Board member Nicole Wallach questioned wording in the newer draft, which offered copies of a "public student record." "A student record is not a public record," she said.
The Policy Committee took the policy up the next morning. Its newer draft replaces diplomas with participation in a graduation ceremony. Members agreed to drop the "student record" wording, return to the model policy's "public records" language, and add a line barring release of records that are confidential or protected by FERPA, the federal student-privacy law. The policy is to return to the full board as a second read.
Members present Oct. 5 were Low, Vice Chair David Felton, Guido, board member Lisa Luft and Wallach. Board member Peter Gordon was absent, according to the draft minutes. The board meets Monday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m. at the Weston Middle School Library Learning Commons.