Superintendent Anna Nolin has started her third school year at the helm of Newton Public Schools, and she and her leadership team marked the new chapter with a visit from Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Pedro Martinez at the Education Center on Wednesday afternoon.

Nolin started her remarks talking about the district’s Portrait of a Learner initiative—a comprehensive guide for shaping a student’s education that includes empathy, the ability to adapt and critical thinking—the result of hundreds of hours of work and collaboration.

And then she spoke about another new collaborative effort: the Family Engagement Center, a system of support involving the central administration office working in conjunction with each school, which she described it as “a hub designed to make Newton Public Schools more accessible, welcoming and connected.”

“And in just the first few weeks of its opening, we have already served over 100 families with enrollment, with attendance, access to community resources and language translation services,” Nolin said. “It’s a shining example of how we are not only educating children but working with the whole family.”

The Family Engagement center is one of multiple ways in which the district is preparing students for life in the schools and beyond, Nolin emphasized.

“From new breakfast programs to expanded METCO supports, from modernized facilities to new leadership in the schools, we are prepared for today and for the tests for tomorrow and challenges that our students do not yet know about,” she said.

The Family Engagement Center is led by Christina Maryland, the director of communications and family engagement at NPS.

Maryland said the administration is still working out “the dance moves” of the Family Engagement Center when it comes to logistics.

“What we’re trying to instruct the schools on is that the Family Engagement Center is not meant to supplant the relationships that we want people to build at the schools,” she said. “We’re here to a support and, especially, the first landing spot for folks coming into the district.”

The center oversees things like enrollment, attendance and communications, and the goal is to have a support system that intertwines these things and more for families navigating NPS, to keep families more informed and updated on their child’s education.

“And also, we try to serve as the place where, if you don’t know the answer of who to ask, we can help you and give you that information and have a warm handoff for those folks,” Maryland said.

Massachusetts DESE Commissioner Pedro Martinez speaks at the Newton Education Center on Sept. 10, 2025. Photo by Bryan McGonigle

Nolin said the district will also have a Parent Academy series, in which parents can get workshops and other information on how to monitor their kids’ progress, what the curriculum is like, what competency means and more.

Martinez, who started as DESE commissioner this summer, praised NPS and Nolin for her leadership and said Newton’s comprehensive learning strategies, including Portrait of a Learner and the Family Outreach Center, should be seen as a model for districts across the commonwealth.

“We talk about strategies for academics. We talk about strategies to support our students, and many times, what we don’t emphasize enough is the role of family, friends and community,” Martinez said.