Newton Public Schools is a school district in Newton, Massachusetts, United States. The district features four middle schools that lead into two high schools.

Newton Public Schools
Location
100 Walnut Street,
Newton, MA 02460
United States
District information
TypePublic
GradesK–12
SuperintendentDavid A. Fleishman[1]
Schools22
Budget$240,496,480 total
$18,778 per pupil
(2016)[2]
Students and staff
Students12,674[3]
Teachers1,013[4]
Student–teacher ratio12.4 to 1[4]
Other information
Average
SAT scores
622 verbal
636 math
1258 total (2017–2018)[5]
WebsiteNewton Public Schools

Schools

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The Newton Public Schools are organized into an elementary school (K–5), middle school (6–8), and high school (9–12) arrangement. There was a projected enrollment of 11,237 students for FY06.

Level Number of schools Student avg. Student: teacher goal[6]
Elementary 15 333 27:1
Middle 4 633 17:1
High 2 1,858 16.1:1

Primary schools

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  • Angier Elementary School
  • Bowen Elementary School
  • Burr Elementary School
  • Cabot Elementary School
  • Countryside Elementary School
  • Franklin Elementary School
  • Horace Mann Elementary School
  • Lincoln-Eliot Elementary School
  • Mason-Rice Elementary School
  • Memorial Spaulding Elementary School
  • Peirce Elementary School
  • Underwood Elementary School
  • Ward Elementary School
  • Williams Elementary School
  • Frank Zervas Elementary School

Middle schools

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  • Charles E. Brown
  • Oak Hill
  • Bigelow
  • F.A. Day

High schools

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Textbook controversy

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In October 2011, a controversy occurred over the content of a textbook used in World History classes throughout the district which contained content that was allegedly anti-Semitic.[7] The textbook was later removed from the curriculum.[8]

Superintendent plagiarism

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In July 2014, The Lion's Roar, the student newspaper of Newton South High School, accused Superintendent David Fleishman of using parts of a speech by Governor Deval Patrick without credit. The accusations were levied by two members of the class of 2014. After admitting that he had failed to cite the governor, the Newton School Committee fined Fleishman one week's pay of his $250,000 salary.[9]

On December 19, 2014 the Massachusetts Attorney General found that the Newton Public Schools and School Committee Chair Matthew Hills had committed eight violations of the state's Open Meeting Law in June and July 2014.[10] The violations occurred in connection with the plagiarism by Newton Superintendent David Fleishman. No sanctions were imposed on Hills other than reviewing the law.

Newton Teacher's Association Strike

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On January 18, 2024, the Newton Teacher's Association announced that 98% of its membership had voted in favor of going on strike the following day.[11] This comes after the roughly 2,000 members have been working without a new contract since August 2023.[12] The strike started on January 19, 2024 and lasted until February 2, 2024, with students missing 11 days of school.

References

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  1. ^ "Central Administration". newton.k12.ma.us. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  2. ^ "Per Pupil Expenditures, All Funds". mass.edu. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  3. ^ "Enrollment Data (2013-14) - Newton (02070000)". mass.edu. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Teacher Data (2013-14) - Newton (02070000)". mass.edu. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  5. ^ "2017-18 SAT Performance Statewide Report". mass.edu. September 20, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  6. ^ The pupil-teacher ratio goals were established by the School Committee of the Newton Public Schools.
  7. ^ "Parent: Newton South Material Defames Israeli Forces". Newton Tab. October 7, 2011.
  8. ^ "School Committee in 60 Seconds". Newton Tab. November 15, 2011. Archived from the original on October 27, 2013.
  9. ^ "Newton Schools Chief Fined for Use of Patrick's Words". Boston Globe. July 24, 2014.
  10. ^ "AG Rules School Committee Violated Open Meeting Laws". Newton Tab. December 23, 2014. Archived from the original on June 5, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  11. ^ "Newton Teachers Strike Extended: Mayor Ruthanne Fuller Joins Negotiations Late Tuesday". Newton, MA Patch. January 31, 2024. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  12. ^ "Nine days of no school: Newton community hopes for teacher strike resolution". www.wbur.org. January 31, 2024. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
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