The following is a letter to parents, caregivers and students from Adam Deleidi, the city’s first-year superintendent of schools.
I hope you all have had a wonderful summer. It has been an exciting summer as we prepare for the opening of schools. Personally, I am thrilled to be serving this community and am eager for the school year to begin. As we approach the start of the 2024-2025 school year, I wanted to share some brief information that you might find helpful.
Over the next few weeks, I will be reaching out with information on how to provide your voice as part of my entry planning. My entry plan can be found here or at https://tinyurl.com/y5nytj79. Please be on the lookout for upcoming survey links and options for participating in community conversations with both virtual and in-person options.
Over the summer, DPW and custodial staff have been very busy preparing for the return to school. They will also be freshening up fields, play spaces, and crosswalks in advance of the first day. Custodial staff have worked extremely hard to ensure our school buildings are ready for the opening of school. Besides the usual deep cleaning of all schools, the following capital work has been completed or will be completed very soon:
Franklin School
● Asbestos abatement of ceiling and floor tiles and replacement with new tiles
● Room 26 partial renovation
● LED lighting upgrades throughout the building
● Door hardware upgrades
Hoover School
● LED lighting upgrades throughout the building
● Entry matting improvements
Horace Mann School
● Asbestos abatement of floor tiles and replacement with new tiles
Winthrop School
● Asbestos abatement of floor tiles and replacement with new tiles
● Window repairs on 45 windows
● Ceiling repairs and painting
● Entry matting improvements
Roosevelt School
● HVAC controls upgrades
● Entry matting improvements
● Water fountain upgrades
Lincoln School
● Water fountain upgrades
Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School
● Building envelope repairs
● LED lighting upgrades
● Door hardware upgrades
● Water fountain upgrades
● Kitchen equipment upgrades in coordination with Food Services
Melrose High School
● Rooms 112 and 113 new ceilings and LED lights
● Entry matting improvements
● Door and hardware upgrades
● Kitchen equipment upgrades in coordination with Food Services
Our IT staff have also done extensive work preparing our schools and infrastructure. The following capital work has been completed or will be completed very soon:
● Updating all Access Points in all buildings
● Finishing switch upgrades at all of the elementary schools and MHS
● Collecting, inventorying, updating, and returning all staff devices
● Preparing Chromebook carts for use at all schools
● Preparing 1:1 Chromebooks for incoming 6th grade students at MVMMS
● General repair and troubleshooting for hardware across the district
● Data clean up in Aspen
We are very thankful to the City of Melrose, IT, DPW, and our custodial staff for these major improvements to our schools and their commitment to making sure our schools are ready for the first day of school.
Our principals, assistant principals, directors, central office personnel & administrative assistants have worked tirelessly with our city partners to provide for a smooth opening. I applaud their efforts and thank them for their dedication to Melrose.
The first day of school for most students will be Wednesday, August 28th, 2024 (Kindergarten will begin on Tuesday, September 3rd). There is no school on Friday, August 30th. School will resume after the Labor Day holiday, on Tuesday, September 3rd.
I look forward to continuing to get to know this community. I wish you all an outstanding school year!
