For the second time in three years, Graham and Parks School Principal Kathleen Smith faces allegations of creating a toxic culture and calls for a change in leadership by parents and staff.
Similar allegations were made in 2024, when parents’ complaints led to an external investigation into the school’s culture. The existence of a toxic workplace was “not substantiated,” the investigation found.
Controversy about Smith’s leadership resurfaced last fall, when a longtime G&P substitute teacher and volunteer was effectively fired and ultimately sued the district for disability discrimination. Sarah Heine, the plaintiff in the ongoing lawsuit and a volunteer at the school for over 12 years, alleges she was let go by Smith in retaliation for a disability discrimination complaint Heine filed just days before.
The 2024 allegations are similar to complaints about Smith during her previous role in the Newton Public Schools district. Newton Public Schools paid $315,000 to settle a lawsuit between Smith and a teacher who also alleged disability discrimination, according to Heine’s complaint.
Several people contacted by Cambridge Day say the behavior described in the lawsuit crosses a line. “I personally think they need to hire a new principal, and ideally somebody who is good at rebuilding and reconciling a community that’s gone through a lot of tension and conflict,” said one staff member.
Staff members requested anonymity for this story because they said they feared retaliation.
The most “honest” way for the district to proceed “would be to let [Smith] go,” another staff member said. “To send a message that that kind of behavior isn’t tolerated, and that she’s done harm to our community.”
G&P parent Lilly Havstad resigned from the school council last month after Superintendent Dave Murphy did not take action against Smith, and her requests to discuss the situation at school council meetings were denied.
“When it became clear to me that Murphy was not going to announce a non-renew decision and signal to our community that we were going to see the end of this whole nightmare, I felt deeply disappointed,” Havstad said.
Neither Smith nor the district responded to requests for comment on the litigation.
Several staff members described a difficult environment at the school.
“I walk on eggshells . . . because you just don’t know when [Smith] is going to go after you,” one staff member said.
Negative teacher evaluations were cited by several as a form of retribution favored by Smith. One staff member said Smith has “weaponized the teacher evaluation system,” while another said that “people who are more outspoken are suddenly getting bad evaluations.”
“Some of the comments in the evaluations are so petty, and they’re not really based on anything pedagogical,” a different staff member said.
Chris Montero, President of the Cambridge Education Association, the teachers’ union, said when allegations of retaliation arose earlier this year, he proposed that G&P evaluations be handled by someone in the central administration. The proposal was declined.
There has been no formal indication that a leadership change is in the works at G&P.
The Harvard Crimson reported that Smith’s contract had been renewed, but a district spokesperson reached on Wednesday would not verify that the contract had been renewed. However, the spokesperson also said there is no evidence that Smith’s contract will not be renewed.
Staff members allege retaliatory culture
Other interviews with staff members detail a school with a morale issue and a desire for change in leadership. One said G&P could excel with “a principal that put energy into culture and had assemblies and made people feel good about themselves,” explaining the school’s “top-down structure” and lack of school-wide events.
Anna Shin, one of the most vocal parents in the 2024 effort to oust Smith, moved her child from G&P to Baldwin this year and is happy with the culture at Baldwin. Shin described her time at G&P as one dominated by fights with Smith, which she said led to eight families in her child’s class leaving for private schools in the last two years.
Not everyone said they were unhappy with Smith. One staff member called Smith a “smart” principal and said her “commitment to helping our most vulnerable students is genuine.”
Still, district data on G&P appear to support the idea of a morale issue.
In a teacher and staff satisfaction survey from last year, G&P scored among the lowest in the district, beating only Cambridgeport and Fletcher Maynard Academy in most categories. A little over half of teachers reported a sense of belonging and a positive school climate at the school, while only 36 percent of teachers reported quality feedback and coaching.
In kindergarten school choice data, G&P has witnessed the largest decline in popularity of any district elementary school in recent years, from its standing as one of the most popular choices in 2022, when 54 families ranked the school as their first choice, to one of the least favorable in 2025, when 16 families ranked it first.
Discrimination lawsuit resurrects old concerns
New documents added to Heine’s complaint in late April include emails from Smith that directly reference Heine’s disability and its impact on providing “a safe learning environment” for students.
One email read: “Hi all. Is there a job description for substitutes? This person is in a wheelchair with significant mobility challenges. I canceled the assignment and have previously blocked this person from picking up assignments at G&P. This is something we were advised to do for other substitutes that do not create a safe learning environment for students. Please advise.”
“It’s been incredibly upsetting and demoralizing,” Heine told Cambridge Day. “Going [to G&P] has been a large part of my life, so to suddenly be excommunicated from this great community was not fun.”
Heine’s dismissal appears to be part of a broader move to restrict volunteers at Graham and Parks. Four days after Heine filed her initial complaint, Smith modified the volunteer policy in the school’s handbook to require any volunteers to be approved by “school leaders.”
Path forward uncertain
Superintendent Murphy has taken steps to improve the culture at G&P. As interim superintendent in fall 2024, he assigned the well-regarded former principal of Fletcher Maynard Academy, Robin Harris, to G&P. Harris is running the Community Vision Task Force, which aims to help Smith, staff, and parents talk through disagreements.
With the school year coming to a close, it is unclear what might happen with the leadership situation at G&P. The district did not reply to a question about whether it might take further steps.
Montero said “part of the [district] response has been to question the credibility of people’s fears.”
School Committee Member Luisa de Paula Santos said it could make sense to “remove the person from the situation while you investigate what’s happening, so that any additional harm cannot happen.”
Neither is aware of further steps to address concerns, and the district did not respond to an inquiry.
Eugenia Schraa Huh contributed reporting to this story.
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