Stoneham School Committee Hears Forest School Pitch, Approves Superintendent's First-Year Evaluation

STONEHAM — June 11, 2026 — Stoneham School Committee gave Superintendent Dr. Kristen de Francisco a broadly positive first-year review and heard an informational pitch from a nature-based private school seeking accreditation to operate at Whip Hill conservation land. Committee member Corey summarized the evaluation as highlighting de Francisco's high visibility, proactive leadership, and culture-building while identifying growth areas around formalizing feedback systems and expanding multilingual family engagement. The committee approved a $302,574.43 warrant, accepted three gifts totaling a $75 gift card, a second gift card, and a food discount from donors to a multilingual learner family night, and moved through a sweeping Section I policy review in partnership with the Massey consulting firm, retaining the district's 1978 homework policy — which Massey called one of the best it had seen. Mary Germano Saba, founder of Mulberry Forest Montessori, presented a plan for a movable tent-classroom school on conservation land, currently enrolling 11 students in Reading, with 70 percent neurodivergent and 64 percent on scholarship; no vote was taken and multiple agency approvals remain outstanding.