Superintendent Update
December 13, 2024
Dear Bedford Public Schools Community,
At the December 10th school committee meeting, a group of dedicated educators shared about the work of our K-5 staff in developing a social emotional learning curriculum that meets the unique needs of our students. Pictured is part of the lesson in Ms. Srikanth's kindergarten class on "Being Calm" under the self-management standard. Students listened to and followed along to the movement of "The Calm Song" which is inspired by the Little Spot Of..." books, which has them do deep breathing and different movement/yoga poses.
This is a good reminder for us all as the school committee continues its FY26 budget deliberations, which continue on December 17th, with the required public hearing and vote on January 7th. Thank you to those who provided input on potential fees. The committee and I continue to encourage feedback throughout the process as we strive to uphold the high standard of excellence and inclusive access to educational opportunities that the community continues to highly value, while being mindful of fiscal stewardship.
Best,
Cliff Chuang 莊 宏 毅
Superintendent, Bedford Public Schools
P.S. Please remember that Davis and Lane have an early dismissal day on Friday, 12/20/24.
- December 17: School Committee Meeting - Superintendent Budget Listening Session 6-6:45pm
- December 18: International Migrants Day
- December 20: Early Dismissal for Lane & Davis Schools ONLY
- December 23-31: Winter Break - No School
- December 25: Christmas
- December 26*-January 2: Hanukkah (*starts at sundown of December 25th)
- January 1: New Year's Day - No School
- January 2: School Back in Session
- January 6: Epiphany & Día de los Reyes (Three Kings Day)
- January 7: School Committee Meeting - Open FY26 Budget Hearing
- February 13: Early Dismissal for Lane & Davis Schools ONLY
At their December 10th meeting, school committee members ratified the FY25-FY27 teachers contract, heard an update on the district's K-5 SEL curriculum and healthy hours, and continued FY26 budget deliberations, including consideration of two re-aligned central office leadership positions. The meeting on December 17th will focus almost exclusively on the FY26 budget. There will also be a second and final Budget Listening and Information Session from 6-6:45 PM in the Select Board Room at Town Hall (same location as the school committee meetings). If you plan to attend, it would be helpful if you could RSVP here for planning purposes. As always, please feel free to contact Superintendent Chuang and the School Committee with any feedback you wish to share. The full agenda, schedule, and supporting materials can always be found at School Committee - Meeting Schedule & Supporting Documents.
This change impacts riders on JGMS/BHS Buses - #14 (all routes moved) and Bus #5 (Hemlock Ln and Hilltop Road stop only) and has a limited impact on JGMS/BHS Bus #2, #3 #5 and Bus #15. In the afternoon, this will also impact Bus #50 going to Lowell. Please read below if your student(s) rides any of these buses.
As of January 6, 2025, the JGMS/BHS Bus #14 routes are being consolidated on other buses that have excess capacity. This is a mid-year change, so an additional targeted special notice to families living on specific streets will be sent in order to ensure a smooth transition. All riders on Bus #14 (consolidated) and Bus #5 (one stop moved to Bus #3) will receive a special targeted email with more specific information about the new bus your stop is being moved to. Riders who may be minimally impacted on Bus #2, #3, #5 will also receive an additional email. The two buses in the afternoon going to Lowell will be consolidated into one bus and impacted families will receive a special targeted email with more specific information. Please note that this change is separate from any consideration of fees by the School Committee.
The modified bus routes are posted on the Bedford Public Schools Transportation Web Page, as well as a chart that shows consolidated information about the changes. Thank you very much for your attention. If you have any questions, please email BPS TRANSPORTATION.
BHS Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) cadets, Gianna Carrier (Senior), Jairam Voleti (Junior), Verna Bowlan (Junior), Mary Bujalski (Junior), Madison Curlin (Junior) and Eli Tai (Senior) [Pictured Left to Right] have received a scholarship to attend an accredited aviation university participating in a Private Pilot Certificate training program in the summer of 2025. They are among only 194 Air Force Junior ROTC cadets (out of 1200 applicants) from around the world to receive the scholarship. The scholarship covers transportation, room and board, academics and flight hours required to potentially earn a Private Pilot Certificate. The scholarship is valued at approximately $32,500. The AFJROTC Flight Academy Scholarship Program is an Air Force-level initiative in collaboration with the commercial aviation industry to address the national civilian and military pilot shortage. The Flight Academy allows aspiring young aviators to get their Private Pilot’s Certification, at no cost, during an eight-week summer course at partner universities. Those who participate in the program will earn a college credit, but do not incur a military commitment to the Air Force or other branch of service, nor does completing the program guarantee acceptance into one of the military’s commissioning programs. In previous years, Shreyes Shivappa (2024), Selima Chan (2022) and Emmanuel Li (2022) were awarded the Flight Academy Scholarship and received their Private Pilot’s License.