Wayland School Committee hires new finance director, backs Wayfinder SEL curriculum

WAYLAND -- April 30, 2025, Wayland hires Kirsten Patterson as finance director and moves to adopt Wayfinder K-5 SEL curriculum. The School Committee on April 30 unanimously appointed Patterson, currently the finance and operations director at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, to succeed departing Director Susan Bottan effective July 1. Superintendent David Fleischman called Patterson's interview presentation on enrollment projections "exactly what we want and expect." The committee also heard a recommendation from Assistant Superintendent Betsy Gavron and a 17-member pilot team to replace Open Circle with Wayfinder after a unanimous vote of pilot teachers, including those who taught the competing Second Step program. Members separately voted to request a $150,000 reserve fund transfer to ease special education tuition pressure; Bottan said the district is on track to "break even" for fiscal 2025 with a conservative $220,000 Extraordinary Relief estimate built in against the $312,000 for which Wayland qualifies.