In an unusually plentiful year for School Committee candidates in Cambridge, scratch up another one motivated by the closing this year of the Kennedy-Longfellow elementary school.
Originally from Malaysia, medical scientist and mother of two Jia-Jing Lee studied and researched in Australia and Singapore before getting her doctorate in Sweden. In 2009, she moved to Cambridge and started her family. Her first encounter with Cambridge Public Schools was trying to place her neurodivergent oldest son in traditional public school; she decided to homeschool. When her second child was of age, she sent her to the Kennedy-Longfellow.
Her daughter “was very happy from day one. We were very happy with the teachers. They’re very dedicated,” she said.
Then came news of the district closing the 51-year-old, K-5 campus in East Cambridge, which was in need of a physical upgrade and drawing a disproportionate number of high-needs students, leading to low test scores – the result of years of failing to address how students are placed in the district.
Lee described feeling “shock.” She stepped up to be an advocate, serving on an advisory transition team.
“I was constantly talking with families and bringing their concerns to the district, trying to bridge that communication gap,” Lee said. Through this experience, she got to know firsthand how “things were not really working in the district.”
“I’m looking for what I can offer … for communities K-Lo and beyond,” she said. “I have something to offer with my global perspective – exposed to different education systems in the East and the West and somewhere in between.”
This exposure is what led her nonprofit work, which focuses on educating about the importance of mental health. She gained experience in administrative management and learned the importance of partnership and engaging with community members. “Having a good school system relies on that,” she said.
Lee came away from the K-Lo experience feeling that transparency in the district could be improved and that communication is very “one-sided.”
“There was no discussion, despite consistent requests from the community, teachers, parents,” she said. Should she be elected, Lee said she will increase communication with teachers and make sure stakeholders are “on board” with big decisions.
“I have to seek feedback with all stakeholders. That’s what the School Committee should be,” she said.
Lee also has a focus on increasing engagement with and feedback from educators, given their “firsthand interaction” with students and reflecting her own experience as a homeschooling parent. Giving freedom to educators to adapt curriculum is essential to tailoring education to suit each child’s needs, she said.
A lack of diversity in curriculum is a major issues facing Cambridge, Lee said.
“All paths should be celebrated, not just one,” she said of how the district prepares students for life beyond K-12. “When we talk about Cambridge being diverse, we often forget about the diverse learners. It’s not one-size-fits-all. School is not just about academic education … it’s about mental well-being and life skills.”
Current requirements are too focused on test scores. “Instead of really teaching the students, we’re measuring them right away,” she said. “We need other meaningful assessments.”
Having more project-based learning and other hands-on activities in the district’s curriculum standards would mean “you can really see the strengths and weaknesses of each student,” she said. “This can be easily done if we just give them that kind of authority and space. Right now the district tells the teachers how to teach. It might be okay for inexperienced teachers, but for experienced teachers, this is restricting them.”
This post was updated Aug. 18, 2025, to correct the spelling of Jia-Jing Lee.
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“When we talk about Cambridge being diverse, we often forget about the diverse learners. It’s not one-size-fits-all.”
Does Ms. Lee support changing the entrenched Cambridge principle that advanced classes are bad?
The city has stated that all students will be taught the same exact thing, regardless of interest or aptitude, since that’s the only way to provide equitable outcomes.
Honors English in 9th grade for everybody! The kids who are interested in reading Shakespeare or Dickens will be playing games on their phones while the teacher does remedial grammar.
Algebra in 8th grade for nobody! Or for everybody, right, that will fix the problem!
Who is going to step up and challenge this?
I believe all students, including those who learn quickly or are ready for more depth, should have opportunities to be challenged and grow. I’ve always opposed a one-size-fits-all approach—that’s a core part of my platform. The achievement gap comes from this approach, and closing it means we must first close the opportunity gap. This isn’t about making every student do the same thing—it’s about making sure each child gets the support and challenge they need, whether that’s deeper and more challenging work, cross-disciplinary opportunities, or help in areas where they need to improve.
It’s not about supporting one group over another. Every student needs support, and that’s what we mean by opportunities, fairness, or equity—depending on the word you prefer.
For more on these ideas, please visit my website and social media, where I’ve shared videos explaining this in more detail. Here’s one: https://tinyurl.com/munu63xd