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A Great Start to the School Year!

What a wonderful start to the 2026–2027 school year! This week, we welcomed our students in Grades 1–5 back to Stapleton, and we are off to a great start. We saw lots of smiles throughout the building as students reconnected with friends, met new classmates and teachers, and began learning their new classroom routines.

As we continue settling into the school year, we appreciate your patience and partnership. It takes a little time for everyone to learn new routines, but each day things are already becoming more familiar!

A few important reminders for this week: There is no school on Tuesday, September 1, as our staff will participate in a Professional Development Day. On Wednesday, September 2, we are very excited to welcome our Kindergarten students for their first day of school! We can't wait to have all of our students together!

Thank you for helping us start the year with such positive energy. We are looking forward to another wonderful week of learning, growing, and building our Stapleton community!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Lisa DiDonato, Principal (ldidonato@framingham.k12.ma.us)

Jackie Carrasquillo, Vice Principal (jcarrasquillo@framingham.k12.ma.us)

Address: 25 Elm Street

School Hours: 8:50 AM Doors open. The bell rings and classes start at 9:05. We begin dismissal procedures at 3:20 PM.

School Phone Number: 508-626-9144

Nurse's Phone Number: 508-782-6602

Stapleton Website

August 31st: Kindergarten screenings

September 1st: No School, Staff Professional Development

September 2nd: First day for Kindergarten

September 7th: No School

September 16th: K-5 Open House at 6PM

Dear Stapleton Elementary Families,

My name is Michael Bortolussi, and I am honored to introduce myself as your new Special Education Team Evaluation Coordinator (TEC) for the 2026-2027 school year.

I bring over ten years of experience in special education, having served as a Special Educator and Coordinator of Special Education in Springfield and Boston Public Schools. While this is my first year in Framingham, it is my third year as a Team Evaluation Coordinator, and I'm excited to bring that experience to Stapleton.

Over the past three years as a Team Chair, I have had the privilege of facilitating annual reviews, re-evaluations, and initial evaluations for many students and families. I understand how important — and sometimes overwhelming — this process can feel, and I am committed to making sure every family feels informed, respected, and included every step of the way.

As TEC, my role is to help coordinate your child's special education evaluation process and Team meetings, ensuring that assessments are completed in a timely manner, that Team meetings run smoothly, and that your voice as a parent or guardian is heard and valued throughout. I will work closely with your child's teachers, related service providers, and school administrators to make sure your child's educational plan reflects their strengths and supports their individual needs.

I know that trust is built over time, and I look forward to getting to know each of you and your children in the coming months. Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions, concerns, or simply to introduce yourselves — I want Stapleton families to feel that my door (and inbox) is always open.

You can reach me at mbortolussi@framingham.k12.ma.us

I am excited for the year ahead and grateful for the opportunity to be part of the Stapleton Elementary community.

Warmly,

Michael Bortolussi

On Friday, we held our first fire drill of the school year. We typically conduct 3–4 scheduled fire drills throughout the year to ensure that students and staff are familiar with our safety procedures.

Many teachers and staff members commented on how amazing our students were during the drill! Students remained quiet, followed directions, and safely exited the building with their teachers.

The picture below shows our students re-entering the building just as quietly and safely as they exited. We are so proud of how seriously they took the drill and how well they demonstrated our school expectations.

Drop-off / Pick-up

• If your child is a car pick-up at dismissal, families must notify the office, noting the first and last name of the person picking the child up. It is helpful if you provide the full names of any adult allowed to pick up your student.

• Caregivers must remain in their car during the arrival/dismissal process and drive to the back of the building.

• It is helpful if caregivers place a piece of paper in your car window with the student's name and grade.

• Caregivers will have their ID available so staff can cross-check the dismissal list prior to students being escorted to the appropriate car.

#4: Location for parents/guardians who are in a car, driving to pick up their students, entering the back of the school from Maplewood Street. Parents will stay in their car and have their ID ready. Please turn onto Maplewood Street where the yellow arrow inside a green circle is indicated on the map above, then follow the yellow arrows around to the back of the school until you arrive at the student dropoff / pickup area labeled with the #4 on the map above.

If your child is walking to and from school:

The walkers' arrival / pickup area is marked as #1 in the map above. Please also see the pictures below.

• Arrival: Caregivers may drop students off at door #15 (facing Elm Street - the door is labeled with #15 on it). Staff will be present to greet you.

• Dismissal: A staff member will walk students out door #15 to awaiting caregivers. Staff will check ID’s and crosscheck them from the list from the office.

Safety First: Please Use the Crosswalk
For everyone’s safety, please remember that there is a crossing guard on duty at both arrival and dismissal.

We kindly ask that all students, families, and staff use the designated crosswalk—even if it takes a few extra moments. Modeling safe behaviors helps keep everyone protected and teaches our students the importance of following safety rules.

Thank you for doing your part to keep our school community safe!

Here is the link to the school store! This store will stay open year round! 

https://teamlocker.squadlocker.com/stores/stapleton-elementary-school-3091280 

Parent-Teacher Home Visits: These visits provide meaningful opportunities to build relationships, learn more about our students and their families, and strengthen the sense of community that makes Stapleton so special. Last year, we were proud to surpass our goal of 33 home visits, and this year we hope to continue that momentum by visiting and connecting with as many families as possible. If you receive a call inviting you to participate in a home visit, please consider joining us. Thank you for helping us continue to build strong, meaningful connections with our community.

The beginning of the school year often brings warm temperatures, which can make our school building quite warm throughout the day. While most of our classrooms have air conditioning, we want to make sure students are comfortable and prepared for the warmer weather.

Please help your child come to school ready for warm days by:

• Sending a refillable water bottle each day. We are excited to now have two water-filling stations available for students!
• Dressing in lightweight, weather-appropriate clothing so students can remain comfortable throughout the school day.
• Keeping in mind that students will continue to have outdoor recess and other outdoor activities when conditions allow.

We will monitor weather conditions and follow the guidelines below for recess to ensure students can safely enjoy time outside.

Hello and welcome to the new school year! I’m looking forward to working with you and want to share some important information regarding medications and health records.

Medications:

In order for medications to be administered at school, I will need the following:

• Doctor’s orders
• For students who require an EpiPen or inhaler, an up-to-date Allergy/Asthma Action Plan is also needed from the doctor

As always all medications need to be brought in by a parent/guardian and cannot be sent to school with the student.

I will also need up-to-date physical examinations and vaccination records for all students.

All completed forms can be emailed to me at bmurray@framingham.k12.ma.us.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns. I am more than happy to help in any way I can!

Wishing everyone a wonderful start to the school year!

Students are not permitted to use cell phones or smartwatches during the school day. We have included smartwatches in this policy because many models now have the ability to text, call, and take photos, just like cell phones. If a student is found using their phone or smartwatch during the day, they will be asked to put it away. If the issue becomes persistent, the device will be held in the office until the end of the day, and caregivers will be notified.

Thank you for your support in helping us minimize distractions and maintain a focused learning environment.

As we begin a new school year, we will continue our shared focus on our student-centered goal:

“As a Stapleton student, I believe in myself and take an active role in my learning.”

Last year, we worked together to introduce this goal and bring it to life in our classrooms and across our school community. Our students became familiar with these words and began to understand what it means to believe in themselves and take ownership of their learning.

This year, our goal remains the same, but our work will continue to deepen. We will build on the strong foundation we established by creating even more opportunities for students to take academic risks, persevere through challenges, reflect on their progress, and celebrate their growth.

The bus transportation information is now available in Aspen/X2. Please log in to find your specific information. If you do not see any bus information, but you believe your have an eligible rider, which is a child that attends grade K-6 AND lives over 2 miles from your school, please contact the Transportation Office at trans@framingham.k12.ma.us.

As a reminder:

User Name and Log In

Your Aspen/X2 username is your student’s 6 digit student ID. (For newly registered families the student ID was included in your welcome email. )

The original password is your student’s Date of Birth in the format YYYYMMDD.

Please be sure to change the password as soon as you are able to login.

Eligible students that need a bus

If you do not see any bus information, but you believe you requested a bus AND your student is an eligible rider, which is a child that attends grade K-6 AND lives over 2 miles from your school, please contact the Transportation Office at trans@framingham.k12.ma.us 

Ineligible students that need a bus

If you do not see any bus information and your child is ineligible, which is a child in grade K-6 that lives UNDER 2 miles from school or a child in grade 7 -12, at this time we can not offer a seat on a bus. If your child is ineligible and not on a bus please hold off on contacting the bus office because we must, by law and School Committee policy, work with eligible students first. If you have submitted a request for a bus we have your request and are working on placing your child on a bus as soon as possible. 

Need a bus but did not submit a request

If you have not submitted a transportation request and your child needs transportation, please fill out this new request form. Do not submit through Aspen/X2. Please note, since it is past the deadline to request a bus, we will not be able to provide a bus right away. Our office will be in touch with you regarding the request.

Opt Out Form/Student no longer needs a bus
If you did request a bus but now do not need a bus please fill out this opt out form.

To learn more about the bus tracker app, please click here.

Thank you,
Framingham Public Schools