Waltham School Committee Gives Provisional Approval to Revised High School Course Catalog

WALTHAM — March 4, 2026 — Waltham School Committee provisionally approves revised high school program of studies, 6-0. The committee voted unanimously at its March 4 meeting to move forward with the 2026-2027 Waltham High School course catalog, with amendments preserving the show choir program's co-curricular structure after substantial public pushback from parents and students who argued that stripping mandatory after-school rehearsals from the credit-bearing Music Unlimited and Music Express courses would undermine competitive performance quality. Superintendent Dr. Mendoza disclosed that Waltham High has been placed in DESE's new Accelerated Achievement Initiative, reserved for schools in the bottom 10th percentile statewide that are also achieving less than expected progress toward targets — one of 292 schools selected out of 1,800 across the Commonwealth — requiring the district to submit a school improvement plan and attend a two-day state retreat this spring. Separate unanimous votes directed the administration to retain screenwriting, LGBTQ+ Voices, and civics in the program of studies even if no sections run next year, and to study how American Sign Language — currently taught by a single unlicensed retiree to 18 combined students — could continue through dual enrollment at Framingham State. A 4-2 vote required the administration to track the transition of English language learner students out of now-discontinued Sheltered English Immersion courses and to monitor class sizes under the district's 30-student policy threshold.