Project Update - March 4, 2026

Dedham Public Schools has officially launched its partnership with the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy to lead a data-driven process to examine and update Dedham’s Educational Model. The Educational Model Review will examine how instructional models, grade configurations, program delivery, and physical learning environments work together, with the goal of ensuring that current and future plans for Dedham schools remain aligned with the instructional, social-emotional, and collaborative learning needs of our students.

An official Community Introduction event will be hosted during a public School Committee meeting on Wednesday, March 18, 2026 at 6:30pm.

The meeting will be held at the Dedham Public Safety building.

During the meeting, project leaders from the Rennie Center will present an overview of the project, as well as preliminary findings from the data collection conducted to date. Attendees will also be invited to participate in facilitated listening activities and small-group inclusive discussions to gather stakeholder input and reactions to the findings presented, as well as to share priorities for Dedham’s educational future.

Following the March 18 Community Introduction Meeting, the Rennie Center and Educational Model subcommittee will gather additional input via surveys, along with a series of online and in-person community conversations (dates to be announced shortly), culminating in a Community Visioning Event that will be held in conjunction with the District Art Show on May 21, 2026.

The Rennie Center is a Massachusetts-based education nonprofit, and its team members have begun conducting research and data analysis to understand DPS context. As a part of the Rennie Center’s work, they have also begun visiting all seven Dedham schools to observe the teaching and learning experience in our buildings first-hand.

The work on developing an updated Educational Model for the District is being conducted under the guidance of an appointed Dedham School Committee subcommittee chaired by Chris Polito, along with Josh Langmead, and Anthony Rodriguez, and in close collaboration with the DPS Leadership team.