From the Office of the Executive Secretary to the School Committee
School Committee - Regular Meeting December 4, 2018
A G E N D A
1. Public Comment (3 Minutes):
2. Student School Committee Report:
3. Presentation of the Records for Approval:
• Special Meeting, Learning & Professional Time & Length of the School Day Roundtable November 13, 2018
4. Reconsiderations:
By Mr. Alfred B. Fantini, of the vote taken at the Regular Meeting of November 20, 2018, that adopted the motion: VOTED:
#18-326 Motion by Mr. Kimbrough, whereas Cambridge Public Schools has a strategic outcome of connecting students with adults who work in CPS, and
Whereas; over 170 students at CRLS are currently not eligible to participate in athletics because we have a higher standard of eligibility, and
Whereas; the CRLS Athletic Department is in the process of creating a new eligibility policy for athletics that the School Committee will eventually need to approve. And that the Athletic Department wants to have a policy in place for the 2019 season,
Be it Resolved; that beginning in the Winter and Spring seasons of 18-19 that students who have a GPA between 60-70 will be allowed to participate in athletics through the current guidelines of athletic probation.
By Ms. Manikka L. Bowman, of the vote taken at the Regular Meeting of November 20, 2018, that adopted the motion: VOTED:
#18-326 Motion by Mr. Kimbrough, whereas Cambridge Public Schools has a strategic outcome of connecting students with adults who work in CPS, and
Whereas; over 170 students at CRLS are currently not eligible to participate in athletics because we have a higher standard of eligibility, and
Whereas; the CRLS Athletic Department is in the process of creating a new eligibility policy for athletics that the School Committee will eventually need to approve. And that the Athletic Department wants to have a policy in place for the 2019 season,
Be it Resolved; that beginning in the Winter and Spring seasons of 18-19 that students who have a GPA between 60-70 will be allowed to participate in athletics through the current guidelines of athletic probation.
5. Unfinished Business/Calendar:
#18-315, Recommendation, Approval of Revisions to Homework Policy
(First Reading) C18-391, 11/20/18 (Fantini)
#18-327 Joint Motion by Mr. Kimbrough and Mayor McGovern, whereas in the Spring of 2018, the School Committee approved a proposal for a protocol for CRLS students and families to report instances of all forms of oppression to the school district; and
Whereas the School Department is working on creating a system to report forms of oppression experienced by students in Cambridge Public Schools; and
Whereas; CPS vision promotes equity and access to vital information and processes as well as engagement; now therefore be it resolved that
CPS will investigate the creation of a system where CPS educators and staff can report their experiences with oppression with the district without fear of retribution; and
CPS will inquire how BPS has created an app for students and families to report instances of oppression; and that CPS admin will report back to the school committee with an approximate process and timeline for creation and implementation of a ‘know your rights’ app by spring 2019; and
CPS will further explore how to engage Friends of/PTO groups as well as school liaisons in ways to promote their capacity to assist families in accessing processes and reporting micro-aggressions as well as other concerns to the district.
For reference please see:
http://www.bostonstudentrights.org/ C18-403, (11/20/18 Bowman)
#18-329 Joint Motion by Ms. Nolan and Vice Chair Kelly, that whereas the Trump administration has published a change to the public charge ruling, and
Whereas the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), Health Care For All and Health Law Advocates have joined together as part of the national Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) campaign to fight back against this regulation here in Massachusetts, and
Whereas the proposed rule change would fundamentally change the government's approach to immigration, making family income and potential use of certain health care, nutrition or housing programs a central consideration in whether or not to offer people an opportunity to make their lives in this country, and
Whereas the proposed rule may lead to people dropping or not seeking out benefits they need, the School Committee directs and authorizes the Mayor and Vice Chair to submit a statement on behalf of the entire Committee against the rule change. C18-405, (11/20/18 Bowman)
#18-330 Joint Motion by Ms. Nolan and Vice Chair Kelly, that whereas the district has a commitment to equity and a goal of proficiency for all our students by grade 3, and
Whereas there are models of effective high quality summer programs that are successful in addressing the needs of students who require additional support and close the literacy gap K-2, including Camp Summit in Texas, and
Whereas the district is working on options for programs for next summer, that the Curriculum and Achievement Sub-Committee is directed to work with the administration and review the status of plans and explore ways to significantly improve CPS’ offerings, by the end of January, so that any recommendations can be included in budget discussions. C18-406 (11/20/18 Bowman)
#18-332 Joint Motion by Ms. Bowman and Mr. Fantini, whereas the Cambridge Public School District is committed to providing an equitable approach to staffing to increase opportunities and achievement for all students, and
Whereas, leveraging additional education supports such as internships and mandatory practicum hours has been a tool to extend support to educators throughout the district, and
Whereas those placements often depend on informal relationships between individual teachers and school leadership rather than a systematic approach to allocating additional support within the district which equates to an imbalanced distribution of interns and practitioners amongst schools,
Therefore be it resolved that the Administration identify an individual from the Administrative Team by December 2018 to review the district’s approach to leveraging interns and practitioners in collaboration with Fletcher Maynard Academy educators who are working to create a database to centralize practicum and internship opportunity. C18-408 (11/20/18 Bowman)
#18-337 Motion by Ms. Nolan, that whereas Breakthrough Greater Boston leader Elissa Spellman has been honored as an outstanding young leader by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and City Awake, and whereas Breakthrough Greater Boston started in Cambridge and has been working effectively to close opportunity and achievement gaps for all students and to develop a pipeline of diverse excellent teachers, that the School Committee send a letter thanking Elissa Spellman for her efforts and congratulating her and BTGB for the their work on behalf of Cambridge students. C18-413 (11/20/18 Bowman)
#18-338 Motion by Mr. Fantini, that the School Committee congratulate Thomas McGaffigan, an A+ student who is a Junior at CRLS for the video he submitted to the MIAA Sportsmanship Essay/Multimedia Contest and won first place. He is the Captain of the CRLS Hockey Team and a member of the Varsity Baseball Team, and;
Whereas: Thomas acknowledges and thanks his parents for their guidance. They taught him to be an “animal on the ice and a gentleman off” and;
Whereas: Thomas gives 100% while remembering it is not about winning or losing, and;
Whereas: Thomas exemplifies good sportsmanship and is an unselfish teammate who is always respectful to the opposing team; and
Further: Thomas believes in always giving back by being a role model for younger kids by coaching hockey and T-ball,
Be it Resolved that the Secretary to the School Committee send a letter to congratulate him on winning the award. C18-414 (11/20/18 Bowman)
#18-339 Motion by Committee Member Emily Dexter, that the School Committee commends the CPS Superintendent for inviting teachers to participate in the Roundtable on Elementary Staffing, thereby expressing respect for the professional judgment of CPS teachers. The Committee also expresses its appreciation to the Cambridge Education Association and to the educators and administrators who contributed to the Roundtable. The Committee is particularly appreciative of the time educators spent describing their own classroom experience, surveying their peers, and generating recommendations for ways to improve elementary staffing in order to improve student learning and socio-emotional growth. C18-415 (11/20/18 Bowman)
6. Awaiting Reports:
#18-114 Joint Motion by Mr. Kimbrough and Ms. Nolan, whereas the CPS has included in its district plan a goal to address equity and access and
Whereas a walkout in 2016 on the uncomfortable environment at CRLS as documented by students led to a number of changes and an action plan to address issues of sexual harassment, and
Whereas CPS district outcomes look to measure student/family comfort levels in our schools and meaningful relationships with teachers, and
Whereas female, LGBTQ+ students at CRLS have written in the register forum on multiple occasions to express their concerns regarding discomfort as a female, LGBTQ+ students at CRLS
be it resolved that the Superintendent will by the Summer meeting:
1) update the School Committee on the status of work on addressing issues in CRLS and district wide,
2) update the School Committee on our districts professional development regarding supporting our teachers to support our female, LGBTQ+ scholars
3) share specific details about the current work in the district with our male students that addresses hyper
masculinity and creating anti-sexist spaces for female, LGBTQ+. (5-1-18 C18-137)
#18-143, Joint Motion by Ms. Nolan and Mr. Fantini, that whereas the district has a longstanding goal of program evaluation being used to direct initiatives and whereas the Compass summer program has been in operation for many years with a goal of supporting students, that the district provide a report on any past evaluations of the program effectiveness by the last meeting in June and further that the district ensure that this summer pre and post achievement assessment data for each student enrolled be provided in a report by the first meeting in September.
#18-306 Joint Motion by Committee Member Dexter, Mr. Kimbrough and Mr. Fantini, that whereas it is critical for high school students to arrive to school on time; and
Whereas expensive instructional resources, teacher time in particular, are wasted when students are late to class; and
Whereas MBTA buses from some Cambridge neighborhoods are unreliable, resulting in some students being frequently late to school;
The School Committee requests from the administration an estimate of the cost of providing morning school buses for CRLS students: 1) from all neighborhoods, and 2) from specific neighborhoods poorly served by MBTA buses. This estimate is requested by December 1, 2018.
7. Superintendent’s Agenda:
7a. Presentations:
Nellie Mae Foundation:
Building Equity Bridges..............
Dr. Carolyn L Turk, Deputy Superintendent of Schools
Khari Milner, Co-Director, Cambridge Agenda for children
Dan Monahan, President, Cambridge Education Association
Tessa Bridge, Nellie Mae Building Equity Bridges Grant Coordinator
7b. CPS District Plan:
7c. Consent Agenda:
#18-340 Approval of Revisions to Cambridge Public Schools
Uniform Grievance Procedures Policy (Second Reading)
#18-341 Approval of Revisions to Cambridge Public Schools
Non-Discrimination Policy & Prohibition Against Sexual Harassment
(Second Reading)
#18-342 Approval of Revisions to Cambridge Public Schools
Advisory Committee-Affirmative Action Policy (Second Reading)
#18-343 Approval of Revisions to Cambridge Public Schools Head Lice Policy (Second Reading)
#18-344 Approval of the Agreement between the Cambridge
School Committee & the Cambridge Education Association, Units A & B
#18-345 Day & Residential Program Services not available
From the Cambridge School Department
#18-346 Contract Award: North East Educations & Development
Supports Center: Special Education Services
#18-347 Gifts/Miscellaneous Receipts
#18-348 Gifts/Miscellaneous Receipts
#18-349 Grant Award: FY18 Title 1 Distributions (SC18604)
Prior Year Grant Increase
#18-350 Grant Award: FY18 Title 11A Distributions (SC18604)
Prior Year Grant Increase
#18-351 Grant Award: Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard
(SC19153)
8. Non-Consent Agenda:
9. School Committee Agenda (Policy Matters/Notifications/Requests for Information):
#18-352, Motion by Committee Member Dexter, whereas Cambridge strives to create an educational program in which all students can succeed; and
Whereas 9th grade is a critical year for high school success; and
Whereas data from the state's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education indicate that a concerning percentage of CPS 9th graders do not pass all of their 9th grade classes, including a disproportionate percentage of Black/African American and Latino students, economically disadvantaged students, and students with disabilities;
The School Committee requests that the administration provide the Committee with data on which 9th grade courses students are passing and not passing (i.e. student data disaggregated by subject matter), in order to determine which subjects are the most difficult for students in their first year of high school and therefore where the most targeted supports are needed.
#18-353, Joint Motion by Mr. Fantini and Vice Chair Kelly, that the School Committee authorize the Superintendent to apply to the Department of Education’s Early College Initiative that would enable Cambridge to receive support for the creation of such initiates.
Such an initiative would allow Cambridge to work with our State’s colleges to create high quality early college partnerships. Such partnerships will be aimed at giving Cambridge students, especially first-generation college goers access to college completion and career success. See Early College Initiative. See
http://www.mass.edu/strategic/ec_home.asp.
#18-354, Joint Motion by Ms. Nolan and Mr. Kimbrough, that the attached homework policy for CRLS developed by students and staff over the last two years be adopted.
#18-355, Joint Motion by Vice Chair Kelly and Mr. Kimbrough, whereas the Cambridge Public Schools understands the importance of social emotional learning for our students, the the district implement an appropriate social emotional learning curriculum for our educators, which assists our educators in creating a safe and supportive classroom and school environment.
#18-356, Joint Motion by Vice-Chair Kelly and Mr. Kimbrough, whereas the Cambridge Public Schools supports safe and supportive learning environments for all students, that educators recognize and use student's chosen name, gender identity, and pronouns.
10. Resolutions (letters of congratulations, letters of condolence):
#18-357, Joint Motion by Ms. Bowman, Committee Member Dexter and Vice Chair Kelly, the Cambridge School Committee expresses its deep appreciation to the students and faculty advisor of the Black Student Union (BSU) at CRLS for raising awareness about racism in our schools, and for cogently and passionately describing, at the recent School Committee Roundtable, their personal experiences of harm. The Committee is alarmed and outraged by their stories, and will strive to do everything in our power to ensure that our schools are anti-racist environments in which all students, educators, administrators, and staff of color feel appreciated and respected. We take particular note of the students' messages, "Talk to us!" and "Treat us right!"
11. Announcements:
12. Late Orders:
13. Communications and Reports from City Officers: