1. Public Comment (3 Minutes):

2. Student School Committee Report:

3. Presentation of the Records for Approval:

·       September 27, 2024, Special Meeting

·       October 1, 2024, Regular Meeting

4. Reconsiderations:
None

5. Unfinished Business/Calendar:
#24-227: 2024 Superintendent Search Timeline | Joint Motion by Member Rojas, Member Weinstein, Member Rachel: Download File
#24-241: Six Minutes Public Comment CEA President | Joint Motion by Member Weinstein, Member Rojas: Download File

WHEREAS: The public comment portion of regular Cambridge School Committee meetings is an important opportunity for speakers to share their views with the School Committee in a format that is accessible to the public; and

WHEREAS: Each speaker is allotted three minutes to speak during public comment, and past practice of the Cambridge School Committee has been to allot six minutes of speaking time to the president of the Cambridge Education Association (CEA); and

WHEREAS: This practice of allotting six minutes to the president of the CEA has not been formally established in the School Committees rules or procedures; and

WHEREAS: The president of the CEA, when speaking in their capacity in that role, is representing 1,500 Cambridge Public Schools educators and is elected to serve as their representative; and

WHEREAS: Hearing the perspectives, priorities, concerns, recommendations and feedback of those educators is valuable to the work of the School Committee; now therefore be it 

RESOLVED: That the president of the CEA is allotted either six minutes of speaking time to deliver public comment at regular Cambridge School Committee meetings when the regular time limit is three minutes or they are allotted four minutes when the time limit is reduced to two minutes by the Chair based on the number of individuals signed up to speak; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the president or similar designated representative of any bargaining unit that has a contract with the Cambridge Public School District also be allotted the same minutes of speaking time as the president of the CEA to deliver public comment at regular Cambridge School Committee meetings.

#24-243: Superintendent Search Process | Joint Motion by Member Hudson, Member Weinstein, Member Rachel: Download File

WHEREAS: The hiring of a Superintendent is the most consequential decision the School Committee will make; and

WHEREAS: Many timelines for the search have been proposed, but none yet adopted; now therefore be it

RESOLVED: That the School Committee will commit to a search timeline no later than October 15, 2024; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the timeline will explicitly include interim dates by which the following milestones will have taken place: 1) Hiring of a Search Firm; 2) Stakeholder Meetings Ahead of Job Posting; 3) Job Posting Approved; 4) Job Posting Publicly Released and Advertised; 5) Application Deadline; 6) Search Firm Review of Applicants, and Proposal of Shortlist; 7) Shortlisted Candidate Interviews; 8) Offer Made; and be it further 

RESOLVED That the School Committee will make clear, in writing, who will be responsible for drafting a timeline for the Committee to consider, who will be responsible for organizing the Stakeholder meetings, and who will serve as the Hiring Committee.

#24-245: Public Speaking Time | Motion by Member Hudson: Download File

WHEREAS: All residents are welcome to speak during Public Comment – but some residents have been elected by large groups of residents, to speak on their behalf; now therefore be it

RESOLVED: That any elected representative of a group with a membership larger than 500 individuals (living or working within the District) and all union leaders be entitled to twice the time allocated to an individual at a given meeting, not to exceed 6 minutes. 

6. Awaiting Reports:
None

7. Superintendent’s Agenda:

7a. Superintendent's Update:

Brief update regarding items previously discussed with the school committee and general information about the completion of the first six weeks of SY 24-25.

7b. Presentations:

CPS district administrators will brief the school committee on results of MCAS achievement data produced by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. This report will focus on both broad themes elucidated by the achievement data as well as specific points of interest with respect to key findings in the data and how they relate to developing and ongoing work streams to ensure students a continuously improving learning environment.

 

David Murphy, Interim Superintendent of Schools

Dr. Lendozia Edwards, Chief of Academics

Jennifer Amigone, Director of Assessment & Accountability

Siobahn Mulligan, Director of Mathematics

Emily Bryan, Director of English Language Arts

Deena DePamphilis, Director of Science

7c. CPS District Plan:
None

7d. Consent Agenda:
#24-246 Recommendation: Day & Residential Program Services not Available from the Cambridge School Department
#24-247 Recommendation: Contract Award: Fire Equipment Inc.: Fire alarm Services
#24-248 Recommendation: Contract Award: Amergis Educational Staffing: Special Education Temporary Staffing Services
#24-249 Recommendation: Contract Award: New England Home Health: Special Education Nursing Services
#24-250 Recommendation: Contract Award: VWR International, LLC: Instructional Materials
#24-251 Recommendation: Contract Award: Constance Henry: Professional Learning
#24-252 Recommendation: Contract Award: CCS Presentation Systems: Interactive Display Hardware
#24-253 Recommendation: Grant Award: FY25 Title I Part A Distribution-Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local School Districts (SC25604)
#24-254 Recommendation: Grant Award: FY25 Title II Part A Distribution0Building Systems Support for Excellent Teaching & Leading (SC25731)
#24-255 Recommendation: Grant Award: FY25 Title III Distribution-English Language Acquisition & Academic Achievment Program ofr English Learners & Immigrant Children & Youth
#24-256 Recommendation: Grant Award: FY25 Title IV Part A Distribution-Student Support & Academic Enrichment Grant (SC25732)
#24-257 Recommendation: Grant Award: FY25 Circuit Breaker Allocation (SC25776)

8. Non-Consent Agenda:
None

9. School Committee Agenda (Policy Matters/Notifications/Requests for Information):
#24-258: Ballot Question 2 | Joint Motion by Member Rojas, Member Weinstein: Download Attachment

WHEREAS: Ballot Question 2, “Repeal the requirement that students must achieve a certain competency level on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exam to graduate high school” is on the ballot this coming November, 2024; and

WHEREAS: Ballot Question 2 would maintain MCAS assessments and related reporting and accountability requirements to the extent mandated by federal law; and

WHEREAS: Ballot Question 2 leaves the current academic learning standards in place that determine what students are required to learn; and

WHEREAS: The Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees recently voted unanimously to urge voters to vote “yes” on Question 2; and

WHEREAS: The Cambridge Public School District (CPSD) already has other graduation requirements in addition to MCAS; now therefore be it

RESOLVED: That if Ballot Question 2 is approved, the School Committee will undertake a review of high school graduation requirements to make sure CPSD is well-positioned to establish modified requirements. 

#24-259: Tobin Montessori School Preliminary Report | Joint Motion by Member Hudson, Member Harding: Download Attachment

WHEREAS: The Tobin Montessori School was recently recognized by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and by the Cambridge Public Schools Superintendent for its high student achievement; 

WHEREAS: The Tobin Montessori School is leading the way within the Cambridge Public School District, delivering clear, measurable progress in narrowing gaps in achievement between students with different backgrounds – an issue that the District has long stated is its most important; and

WHEREAS: The School Committee went on record a year ago supporting the expansion of the and directed the Superintendent to “…provide a report and recommendation to the committee a plan of action for the possible next steps…”; and

WHEREAS: No report nor recommendation was ever made; now therefore be it

RESOLVED: That the School Committee request that the Superintendent provide a preliminary report on the feasibility of making this change, and a recommendation from the Superintendent as to whether next steps are warranted and what those next steps would be, no later than December 31, 2024 (with the definition of preliminary to be determined by the Superintendent).Tobin Montessori program (specifically, “…to explore the recommendation of the American Montessori Association Accreditation team to extend the Tobin Montessori Upper Elementary Program to three years…”) and referred the matter to the Superintendent “…for further review of the recommendations from the Accreditation team to explore implications of such a change including but not limited to the budget impact, upper school enrollment, and feeder patterns…” 

#24-260: Controlled Choice Policy | Joint Motion by Member Hudson, Member Harding: Download Attachment

WHEREAS: The Cambridge Public Schools Controlled Choice Policy is designed to create “diverse, academically rigorous schools;” and

WHEREAS: We  can learn a lot about the (perceived) quality of our programs by looking at how families “vote with their feet,” in labeling schools as their first, second and third choices, to educate their kids; and  

WHEREAS: It’s been more than a decade since the School Committee formally reviewed the Control Choice Policy – including not only the schools for which families ask, but also comparing these data to actual school performance (overall achievement and ability to narrow achievement gaps), and looking at what types of families tend NOT to get their first, second, or third choice; now therefore be it

RESOLVED: That the School Committee request an updated but streamlined review of the current Controlled Choice Policy from the Superintendent, to include the following items: Which schools are the most frequently chosen, which schools the most oversubscribed (number of families who list a school as the first, second or third choice, but do not receive a seat); how those most frequently chosen schools perform (on the MCAS and any relevant internal assessments) relative to the least frequently chosen schools (in overall level of achievement and in narrowing of achievement gaps); any relevant patterns in school choice by family demographic (e.g., high vs. low income); and a list of the schools that are the most frequently chosen by BOTH high and low income families; and be it further 

RESOLVED: That the Superintendent also provide a recommendation, based on the School Department’s experience running this Program, as to changes in the Controlled Choice Policy that he would recommend (if any).

10. Resolutions:
None

11. Announcements:
None

12. Late Orders:
None

13. Communications and Reports from City Officers: None
Updated on 10/10/2024