Hingham School Committee Reorganizes, Launches Process to Name Track After Coach Jewett

HINGHAM -- May 11, 2026, Hingham School Committee reorganizes, moves to honor late track coach Fred Jewett, and hears special education caseload has grown nearly four percentage points in four years. Jennifer Benham was re-elected chair for a second one-year term at the May 11 meeting, joined by newly elected Vice Chair Allison Anderson and Secretary Carrie Nee, all by unanimous roll-call vote; new member Nina Villanova was welcomed to the board. The committee began the formal public-notice process required before voting to name the Hingham High School track at Michelson Field after the late Fred Jewett, a retired English teacher and longtime track coach, with a formal vote expected May 18; resident Rich Chamberlain proposed the designation "the Fred Jewett Track at Michelson Field" to preserve the historic Michelson name. Director of Student Services Dr. Christine Panarisi reported that students with disabilities now represent 19.1 percent of district enrollment, up from 15.5 percent in 2022, while special education teacher ratios have declined from 8.7 to 8.3 FTEs per 100 students and paraprofessional ratios from 19.6 to 13.6 over the same period; a state Tiered Focus Monitoring review identified multiple compliance gaps that a new IEP management platform is expected to address. The committee also recognized the Hingham High School robotics team, the Hammerheads, who ranked 34th in the world out of more than 3,700 teams at the FIRST Robotics World Championship in Houston.