Stoneham School Committee Approves Bullying Plan, District Goals at May Meeting

STONEHAM -- May 28, 2026, Stoneham School Committee approves bullying plan, district goals, and names new high school principal. The committee voted unanimously at its May 28 meeting to approve an updated bullying prevention and intervention plan, the first substantial revision in a decade, and four overarching district improvement goals covering teaching and learning, culture and climate, communication systems and structures, and facilities and finances. Superintendent Dr. Catherine De Francisco announced that Dr. Stephen Burnham of the Reading Public Schools has been selected as the next Stoneham High School principal, pending contract negotiations, succeeding Brian Lombardi. The meeting also featured a detailed presentation of YRBS student health survey results by substance prevention coordinator Rebecca Lewis, who reported high school alcohol use fell from 32 percent to 19 percent and vaping from 16 percent to 9 percent between 2023 and 2025, though committee members flagged an urgent funding question: the $125,000 Drug-Free Communities grant backing Lewis's position and the district's youth action team is in its ninth and penultimate year and cannot be renewed.