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School Committee to sponsor Saturday Forums on the Achievement Gap
What does the Achievement Gap look like in Cambridge? Why does it exist? How does it affect our whole community? These are just some of the questions that will be discussed in a series of forums designed to engage the entire city in one of the most important issues of our time.
Over the next seven months, the School Committee will sponsor four public Saturday forums -- all of them beginning at 9 a.m. in the auditorium of the Cambridge Rindge & Latin high school. Each forum will feature presentations by local experts and invited guests, interactive question and answer sessions and free food. All forums will be broadcast on cable.
The first forum on Saturday, April 28 on "Definitions of the Gap" will set the stage for the forums to follow. CPS Superintendent, Dr. Thomas Fowler-Finn, will present an overview of how the Cambridge Public Schools defines the achievement gap. A panel, including those who work with children and students from birth through high school throughout the city, will focus on gaps present at critical stages in a child’s life.
"For four years, the School Committee has put closing the Achievement Gap at the top of its goals," said Nancy Walser, chair of the forum planning subcommittee. "We have made some progress, but we need to make more. It’s time to open this conversation up to include the whole community, because this is a problem that affects the whole community and it will take the whole community to solve."
"Closing the achievement gap is the single most important issue facing the
Cambridge Public Schools," stated School Committee member Joe Grassi. "The entire community needs to understand the issue and to be actively engaged in developing and implementing solutions."
"The achievement gap is my number one priority as your Mayor," added Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves, who has also been involved in planning the forums. "Hopefully these forums are a step toward solving the achievement gap divide in Cambridge."
The April 28 forum will be followed by a special forum for students on May 12; a parent forum on September 15; and a forum on "Solutions for Closing the Gap" scheduled for October 13. Details on upcoming speakers and panelists will be posted on the school department website (www.cpsd.us) as they become available or call the School Committee office at 617-349-6620.
A colorful poster announcing the forum series will be distributed throughout the city beginning this week. The School Committee is fortunate to have the help of many community partners in hosting this event including the Cambridge Teachers Association, The Agenda for Children, the Cambridge 0-8 Council and Fresh Pond Education.
Contact: Nancy Walser, Chair
Ad-hoc subcommittee on the Achievement Gap
617-876-4582
Joe Grassi, subcommittee member: 617-491-5240
Richard Harding, subcommittee member: 617-876-0713
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