The promise of eighth grade algebra and the loss of upper school students to private schools were two focuses for a School Committee candidates forum held Sept. 15 by the Cambridge Advanced Learning Association. It featured 16 candidates.
With implementing Algebra 1 in eighth grade curriculum enduring as a key advanced-learning policy, that is where the forum – “What’s Algebra Got to Do With It?” – got its name.
“The answer is a lot and also not enough. Algebra is currently the code word for what’s actually happening in classrooms,” first-time candidate Caitlin Dube said, answering the title question. “What are students actually learning, and how can we ensure that every kid is being met where they are?”
Eighth grade algebra offerings – which expedite students’ readiness for advanced math classes in high school – have been a district goal for decades. After progress before the Covid pandemic, algebra was removed from middle school math curricula when district officials saw learning losses from that period of remote learning and disruption.
The district worked in 2023 to include Algebra 1 in eighth grade curricula by the 2025-2026 school year. When that failed, the path got no straighter: Member Elizabeth Hudson said a district promise to bring it back by 2025 that followed also failed, leading to a promise for the next year. “The School Committee stepped in,” Hudson said, passing a motion requiring it on the original schedule for this year.
Taking Algebra earlier is a key steppingstone for high school students to complete math through calculus, committee member Richard Harding said, but having too few educators to teach algebra to all students has held back the initiative.
Challenger Jessica Goetz argued that a lack of oversight from the committee has contributed to the delay.
“There is a consistent disconnect between the policies being discussed and the presentations from the district,” Goetz said, proposing a schedule for updates, better engagement with community members and more robust analysis of performance data.
Eugenia Schraa Huh, a candidate running for the second time, agreed that tracking progress is crucial to accountability in advanced learning policy.
“I would supplement the work of evaluating and pushing the superintendent and administration in meetings by going directly to local families and media when the administration is not doing its part,” Schraa Huh said.
Ending in tiers
While most candidates at the forum agreed on a goal to incorporate algebra into middle schools, individual priorities on investment in advanced learning differed.
Lilly Havstad said that the term “advanced learner” communicates an “asset-based mindset,” and a shift in how the district thinks about the advanced student would help more students excel. Jia-Jing Lee held up a T-shirt to communicate that the one-size-fits-all instructional method needs to change, and Alex Bowers pointed out that advanced learning data is capped, and called for more comprehensive reports. All are challengers for a committee seat running for the first time.
In addition, “research shows that we are seriously underinvesting in the Tier 2 and Tier 3 level of instruction that some of our kids that are advanced learners are needing access to,” Havstad said.
Incumbent David Weinstein agreed with prioritizing investment in the second tier of learning, targeting specialized instruction for individual student needs.
Challenger Arjun Jaikumar raised staffing as an issue, saying that varying needs in the classroom cannot be met effectively with one instructor. “The best thing we can do to meet varying needs in the same classroom is to have multiple educators in every classroom. It’s just a fact that two people can do differentiated instruction better than one,” Jaikumar said.
District drain
Candidates also looked at the 20 percent loss in student body that takes place during the transition from elementary to upper schools, as Cambridge kids move to private and charter schools.
Vice chair Caroline Hunter cited a lack of diversity in teaching staff, and challenger Luisa de Paula Santos agreed that “a system that segregates by class and race will always lead to this kind of attrition.”
In addition, “every upper school must have exemplary arts, advanced coursework, clubs and facilities so no family feels they have to go outside CPS for quality education,” Santos said.
A recording of the forum is expected to be posted here ahead of the Nov. 4 election for committee. The committee is a seven-member board with six members elected at large; the final member is the mayor, who is elected by the City Council.
There is an open seat as a result of member Rachel Weinstein opting out of a reelection run, so one challenger is guaranteed to join the committee.
This post was updated Sept. 22, 2025, to add the voice of School Committee member Elizabeth Hudson on the timeline toward eighth grade algebra.
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