New Technology to Greet Students on First Day
By BARRY SMITH
Back to SCHOOL
COHASSET – A new Deer Hill School principal, new custodians and upgraded technology are among the changes to the Cohasset public schools.
School Superintendent Denise Walsh said “a lot of new technology” has been installed in recent months.
Some of the summer was spent installing equipment and providing training, she said.
“It’s really district-wide technology support for students and staff,” Walsh said, crediting the Cohasset Education Foundation with providing grants that helped make improvements possible.
An upgraded computer lab at the Joseph Osgood School, with updated hardware and software, was unveiled around March 1 thanks to a $25,000 foundation gift. The foundation approved $14,000 for technology improvements at the other schools.
Four new custodians working evenings – two at the Joseph Osgood School and two at the Deer Hill School – will do the work formerly done by a cleaning contractor, Walsh said.
The school department employees will be able to perform preventative maintenance as well as routine maintenance and foster building security, she said.
“We take pride in the upkeep and maintenance of the buildings,” Walsh said.
Deer Hill students returning to school on Tuesday will find a new principal, Jennifer deChiara.
“People have been welcoming, and the program that’s in place is very good,” said deChiara, a former school principal in Canton. “It’s been a wonderful transition.”
She said her predecessor, former Principal Keith Gauley, “left me in very, very good shape. He’d done all the purchasing, he’d done all the scheduling.”
Janet Sheehan and Joel Antolini return as principals at the Osgood School and the middle school/high school, respectively.
A new assistant principal at the middle school-high school is Kerri Sandler. Walsh said Sandler’s primary responsibility will be the middle school.
Sandler succeeds Beth McCoy, who took an assistant headmaster job in the Boston public schools.
Fifteen new teachers, including two school psychologists, have been hired.
School enrollments are not known yet, but Walsh said there will be fewer kindergartners than there were last year.
As of Aug. 23, the kindergarten figure was 106, which is 32 fewer children than were in kindergarten last year, she said.
Barry Smith may be reached at bsmith@ledger.com.
Originally published by By BARRY SMITH, The Patriot Ledger.
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