SPS Weekly Newsletter

This week's featured photo: The Stoughton High School Marching Black Knights are pictured here after performing at the MICCA State Finals last Sunday in Quincy. The band, percussion, and color guard received 5 out of 5 stars in all categories with a nearly perfect score. Overall, the band received a Gold Medal! This Saturday, November 1, Stoughton will be competing in the USBands State Finals, which is being held right here at Stoughton High! More details further down in this newsletter.

From being present for classroom lessons, learning new material, interacting with peers, and participating in extracurricular activities, being in school each day is an important key to student success. It’s why we place such an emphasis on having good attendance.

Our District’s goal is for 95% of students to be present in all of our schools every day - and for each individual student to have a personal attendance rate of at least 95%. Over the course of the 180 day school year, that is being absent for no more than 9 days.

Last year, our District had a cumulative daily attendance rate of 94.2%. 37.3% of students were absent for 10 or more days. 15.4% of students were chronically absent, missing at least 10% of days, which is at least 18 over the course of the year. And, 3.8% of students were chronically absent, missing at least 20% of days, which is at least 36 over the course of the year. These numbers are similar to what we saw in 2023-2024 and are an improvement over numbers from 2022-2023, but there is still work to be done. Along these lines, we have an attendance working group made up of building principals, district administration, and community partners to discuss ways to improve our attendance across the board.

Of course there are valid reasons to miss school, including illness and unfortunate circumstances such as the loss of a family member. Otherwise, coming to school each day is imperative. So far this year, our average daily attendance rate is 96.2%. We track attendance at each of our schools and you can find that data below. This dashboard includes weekly averages and includes data through last Friday (October 24).

Let’s all make an effort to be at school every day. If your child is having trouble with attendance, please reach out to their school.

Switching gears, I want to thank Town Meeting for its support this week. At the first night of the special fall Town Meeting on Monday, Town Meeting members approved the acquisition of Fano Drive and three adjacent lots of land. Acquiring this land will allow for better access to the new elementary school’s property than had originally been planned. I wrote more about this topic last week and its positive impact on the new elementary school building project. On Wednesday, Town Meeting members approved funding to address some safety concerns, namely putting protective fencing around new HVAC systems at the Dawe and Gibbons and fencing to enclose the Dawe School playground (the one that is set back on the property and used by grades 1-5).

Have a great weekend. For those of you celebrating, be safe trick-or-treating and have fun.

Sincerely,

Joseph F. Baeta, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Stoughton Public Schools

Thursday morning was the induction ceremony for the Stoughton High School Hall of Fame for Extraordinary Achievement. We were pleased to welcome back Frederick Richard, Class of 2022, as well as the family of William J. Coulter, Class of 1969, who was being posthumously inducted. SHS students and invited guests gathered in the SHS Auditorium to celebrate both inductees and hear more about their exceptional accomplishments and contributions. (The Richard and Coulter families are pictured above in front of the display of Hall of Fame plaques at SHS.)

Coulter served on the Massachusetts State Police for 45 years, achieving the rank of Detective Lieutenant. He served as chairman for Cops for Kids with Cancer, a charitable organization that helps financially support families of children with cancer. He also ran more than 150 marathons, including Boston 36 times, and completed more than 20 Ironman Triathlons.

Richard is an Olympic gymnast, winning a bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris with the US Men's Gymnastics team. He also won the All-Around title at the NCAA Men's Gymnastics championship in 2025 and was part of the National Champion winning Michigan Men's Gymnastics team. He is the author of a new picture book titled "Fred Flips!".

Coulter and Richard are the 43rd and 44th members of the Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame is a partnership between the Stoughton Public Schools and the Stoughton Historical Society. It was established in 2004 through the efforts of Joanne McEvoy Blomstrom to honor Stoughton High School graduates who have achieved notable success, whether through an extraordinary accomplishment, a career of exceptional achievement, or a significant contribution to society. The Hall of Fame was also founded with the idea of inspiring current students with the extraordinary achievements of the graduates who came before them.

From left to right: Azalea Torres and Julius McCann, who sang the National Anthem; National Honor Society officers Laila Bernard and Nifemi Fenwa; Hall of Fame inductee Frederick Richard; Nancy Puckett, sister of William Coulter; National Honor Society officers Anna O'Connell and Mickaelle Pierre.

From left to right: Dan Mark and Dwight MacKerron of the Stoughton Historical Society; Nancy Puckett, sister of William Coulter; Retired Superintendent of Schools Anthony Sarno; Hall of Fame inductee Frederick Richard; Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph Baeta.

From left to right: Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph Baeta; Nancy Puckett, sister of William Coulter; Hall of Fame inductee Frederick Richard; State Representative Ted Philips, who presented citations from the State House.

Watch a replay of the induction ceremony below (the ceremony starts at the 14:26 mark):

View the slideshow below for a sampling of the fun costumes our students and staff wore to school for Halloween or to trunk-or-treat events. The photos change every few seconds. Check the Stoughton Public Schools Facebook page for more photos.

The Stoughton High field hockey team is pictured here following their playoff win Wednesday night at home. The Black Knights defeated West Springfield 2-1 in overtime of the preliminary round of the MIAA Division 2 State Tournament - the team's first playoff appearance since 2016 and their first playoff win in 20 years! SHS will now travel to face Nashoba Regional in the next round of the tournament (Friday, October 31 at 5pm). Let's go Black Knights!

On Wednesday, 25 members of the OMS Cross Country Team competed at the South Shore Middle School Championship meet. Many runners achieved personal best times and did a fantastic job representing Stoughton at the meet, coach Juli Crowley said. 7th grader Desmond DelTufo placed 13th in the boy's championship race and won a medal.

Winter sports registration is now open for both Stoughton High School and O'Donnell Middle School teams. Click here to register and for more information.

For more updates about the Black Knights this fall season, follow the Stoughton High School Athletics Facebook page.

The O'Donnell Middle School's annual Veterans Day Assembly is one of the most anticipated events of the school year. 8th grade students interview local veterans and then honor them by presenting their service story with the 8th grade class at the assembly. This year's assembly takes place Thursday, November 6, 2025 (brunch at 8am, followed by the assembly at 9:30am). The OMS is currently looking for local veterans to participate in this tradition. If you are interested in participating, please contact Caitlin Valair, OMS Social Studies Teacher, by November 1 at c_valair@stoughtonschools.org or 781-344-7002.

Matthew Colantonio, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources & Wellness, will be representing Stoughton Public Schools at the Massachusetts Partnership for Diversity in Education's upcoming Building Bridges Conference. Stoughton is a MPDE member district. MPDE is committed to recruiting and assisting in producing career opportunities for educators and administrators from diverse backgrounds, and forming collaborative relationships that will enhance staff diversity within MPDE member school districts.

Did you know that Stoughton Public Schools has partnered with Care Solace to support the well-being of students, staff, and their family members? Care Solace is a complimentary and confidential care coordination service that can help you quickly find mental health, social services, or substance use treatment options matched to your needs, regardless of circumstance.

• Call: 888-515-0595 (available 24/7/365 with multilingual support)
• Visit: caresolace.com/stoughtonschools to search or click “Book Appointment”.

With the school year underway, we want to make sure that the info we have on file for your student is accurate. Having accurate information on file ensures you can receive district/school updates, important alerts, and other public information, and makes it easier for your school to contact you in the case of an emergency.

There are two documents that contain contact/health information that we ask for you to review. These documents can be found in the Forms section of the PowerSchool Parent Portal:

• 2025.2026 Current Student Health Information

• 2025.2026 Student Information/Emergency Form
  
  

Further instructions for accessing and filling out these forms can be found by clicking here.

If you have not already opted in to receive text messages from the District and your school, text "YES" to 79041 at any time. By doing this, you can receive important District/school updates, emergency alerts, and other public information.

For updates throughout the week, be sure to follow Stoughton Public Schools on social media: