Warning signs of violent attacks not missed, just impossible to act on with current system
Until we have a real mental health system in this country, let’s hear no more talk about “missed red flags.” They are not likely to have been missed. It’s just that there was no effective help available.
High School students join forces in protests, sophisticated actions against gun violence
The sky was gray and weeping sleety snow as more than 500 Cambridge high school students held a silent walkout today for Students Against Gun Violence.
Educators reject idea of arming teachers, won’t ‘promote or punish’ walkout protests (update)
What’s the likelihood of seeing armed teachers in Cambridge public schools, in addition to its armed police officers? Slim to none, according to statements by the district’s superintendent, educators’ union president and mayor.
Recess standards win support of officials, but what kids get at schools can fall short
A plea for more recess time – along with renewed alarms that Cambridge Public Schools were not following their own recess policy – was heard by the School Committee last week. A required 20 minutes daily isn’t being bet, some parents, students and teachers say.
Students seek more action on diverse hiring, and a chance to school their teachers on race
Ten high school students from the Cambridge Youth Council demanded more action on hiring and support of black teachers before the School Committee on Tuesday, and to implement “as a policy” bimonthly teacher workshops led by students on anti-racist education.
New tweak filling language immersion class: An urgent result of overlapping complexities
If empty seats in a language-immersion class will never be filled, parents asked, why let such valuable resources go unused? The School Committee agreed unanimously and moved students into them – with the assurance it was a short-term action with little further impact.
Ending ‘tracking’ at high school is working, staff says, but so far that’s more of a feeling
The “Level Up” program of English classes combined for all ninth-graders – undoing a structure described as separating students largely by family income and race – got an enthusiastic progress report, though without much solid data.
Discussion of longer elementary school day draws interest as ‘missing asset’ of district
A consultant hired to review the district’s elementary program has notably teed up deliberations to extend the school day as one of its key findings, and some School Committee members also welcomed talk of reorganizing staff.
Change in School Committee membership lets in-detail budget meetings be broadcast
Two fast-approaching school budget roundtables will be livestreamed, cable broadcast and archived officially, after months of School Committee non-action on allowing anything but “regular meetings” to be seen unless people sit in the actual room where they happen.
Unsettled by unequal attendance policy, school officials act quickly, unanimously
With the filing of first-semester grades for high school students just seven days away, the School Committee agreed to remove a attendance penalty temporarily and work with the district and students to develop a replacement policy.
