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<p>February 2, 2021</p> <p>Governor Charles Baker <br />Massachusetts State House <br />24 Beacon Street, Room 280 <br />Boston, MA 02133</p> <p>Dear Governor Baker,</p> <p>We hope this letter finds you well. Thank you for your ongoing efforts to keep Massachusetts residents safe and healthy during this global pandemic.</p> <p>When we wrote to you in November, we requested that schools be the last places to close and the first to open as part of a comprehensive statewide pandemic response strategy. </p> <p>Today, <strong>we write to urge you to expedite vaccines for all classroom, food services, custodial, school transportation and school-based staff</strong> in the Commonwealth, moving these critical workers to the top of the Commonwealth's second phase (aligning with CDC phase 1b), which began February 1. The sooner school personnel are vaccinated the sooner we will be able to welcome more students back into our school buildings.</p> <p>We are concerned about the mental health and the academic growth of our young people. We are also concerned about the health of the dedicated professionals who serve our children, and the families of staff and students. Across our communities, young people are struggling with mental health crises either brought on by the pandemic or exacerbated by it. Many of our students struggle with remote learning, and many need more social interaction with their peers than we are able to provide at a distance. Furthermore, many families (including teachers) struggle to simultaneously care for children who are learning remotely while doing the work they must to support their families and communities.</p> <p>The Cambridge Public Schools are slated to begin a limited expansion of in-person learning on March 1. Ideally, all in-person educators and staff would have the opportunity to receive both vaccine doses before then. At the very least, we plead with you to ensure that they are invited to obtain their first dose by then. The Cambridge Public Schools and our partners in the Cambridge Public Health Department stand ready to support the logistics of this effort as soon as vaccines are made available to us.</p> <p>We thank you for your consideration and welcome any conversation you may wish to have with us.</p> <p>Sincerely,</p> <p>The Cambridge School Committee</p> <p>Cc: Commissioner of Public Health Dr. Monica Bharel <br />Commissioner of Education Mr. Jeffrey Riley <br />Secretary of Education James Peyser Legislative Delegation</p>