1. Public Comment (3 Minutes):

2. Student School Committee Report:

3. Presentation of the Records for Approval:

• December 3, 2024, Regular Meeting

4. Reconsiderations:
None

5. Unfinished Business/Calendar:
#24-259: Tobin Montessori School Preliminary Report | Joint Motion by Member Hudson, Member Harding: Download File

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…” 

6. Awaiting Reports:
None

7. Superintendent’s Agenda:

7a. Superintendent's Update:

 

An update on pending matters within the Cambridge Public Schools, including the recommendation to reassign students of the Kennedy Longfellow School, effective the start of the 2025-2026 school year.

7b. Presentations:

 

Following the previous four presentations focused on district & school-based performance data & the systemic factors affecting student outcomes at all schools, the interim superintendent will present a recommendation to the Cambridge School Committee to reassign all students currently enrolled in the Kennedy-Longfellow School effective the 2025-2026 school year. The presentation will include contingency planning related to the reassignment of students into new CPS school communities, expectations with respect to capital investment into the building in which the school is currently located to prepare for the 2026-2027 school year & the district administration's intention to engage staff & family representatives of the Kennedy-Longfellow as well as the Cambridge community at-large to ensure orderly transitions.

7c. CPS District Plan:

None

7d. Consent Agenda:
#24-295 Recommendation: Approval of the Transition of the Current Structure of the Kennedy/Longfellow School
#24-296 Recommendation: Approval of Corrected Salary Schedules for American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees Council 93, Local 1611
#24-297 Recommendation: Contract Award: Day & Residential Program Services not Available from the Cambridge School Department
#24-298 Recommendation: Contract Award: PowerSchool Group LLC: Computer Software (FY25)
#24-299 Recommendation: Contract Award: Ascentis Corporation: Time & Attendance System
#24-300 Recommendation: Contract Award: Obas Enterprise LLC: Unhoused (MKV) STudent Transportation Services
#24-301 Recommendation: Gifts/Miscellaneous Receipts

8. Non-Consent Agenda:
None

9. School Committee Agenda (Policy Matters/Notifications/Requests for Information):
#24-302: November 25, 2024 School Climate Subcommittee Report | Motion by
#24-303: Open House for Kennedy-Longfellow Families | Joint Motion by Member Hudson, Member Harding: Download Attachment

 

WHEREAS: The Superintendent is expected to recommend to the Cambridge School Committee the reassignment of all students in the Kennedy Longfellow to other schools within the Cambridge Public Schools for the start of the 2025-2026 school year; now therefore be it

RESOLVED: That – in addition to the already planned community engagement - the School Committee direct the Superintendent to organize an open house, with all elementary school Principals in attendance, where Kennedy Longfellow families may hear from each, learn about their schools and the opportunities therein, and ask questions, before assignments to new schools are made.

10. Resolutions:
None

11. Announcements:
None

12. Late Orders:
#Late Order December 17, 2024 : Approving the Interim Superintendent’s Recommendation Regarding the Kennedy-Longfellow School | Joint Motion by Mayor Simmons, Vice Chair Hunter: Download Attachment

WHEREAS: The Cambridge Public Schools (CPS) has a responsibility to provide an engaging, rigorous, and equitable education to all students enrolled across each and every school community; and

WHEREAS: The Kennedy-Longfellow School was founded as the Robert F. Kennedy School in June of 1973 and then renamed in 2003 following its consolidation with the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow School; and

WHEREAS: For 51 years, the teachers and staff of the Kennedy-Longfellow School have worked tirelessly to provide high-quality educational opportunities to students proudly representing a multitude of backgrounds and diverse learning needs, never having wavered from their responsibility to the children of Cambridge; and

WHEREAS: For more than two decades, the Kennedy-Longfellow School has played an outsized role in ensuring the Cambridge Public Schools fulfills its moral obligation to support the children and families of the entire Cambridge community and to empower them through a high-quality education, such that other school communities can learn from the expertise and skills cultivated through service to students with empathy, compassion, and a commitment to excellence; and

WHEREAS: The underlying policies, systems, and structures through which CPS operates have created an inequitable allocation of responsibility across the Cambridge Public Schools that have contributed significantly to a disparity in student outcomes; and

WHEREAS: The Cambridge Public Schools cannot continue to perpetuate the inequalities represented in gross disproportionality; and

WHEREAS: CPS owes an unending debt of gratitude to the service and support afforded to students by the former and current educators of the Kennedy-Longfellow School; now therefore be it

ORDERED: That the Kennedy-Longfellow School cease its current iteration at the conclusion of the 2024-2025 school year, and that all current Kennedy-Longfellow School students be reassigned to other CPS schools, prioritizing reassignment under principles of continuity and choice, meaning students may be prioritized on CPS schools’ waitlists and efforts will be made to better utilize existing space to allow grade-level cohorts a degree of continuity; and be it further

ORDERED: That a superintendent’s advisory committee be established, composed of representative members of the community, to advise on how best to support the transition of students into new school communities; and be it further

ORDERED: That the broader Cambridge community be engaged on how CPS will utilize the school building located at 158 Spring Street as a school facility no later than the start of the 2026-2027 school year; and be it further

ORDERED: That to the extent possible, appropriate reassignment of staff currently based at the Kennedy-Longfellow School to positions within the Cambridge Public Schools be prioritized; and be it further

ORDERED: That the Superintendent be and hereby is requested to report back to the Cambridge School Committee no later than February 4, 2025, with respect to the progress of the transition.

13. Communications and Reports from City Officers: None
Updated on 12/16/2024