COVID-19 Student Testing, March 1 Expanded in-Person Learning, Internet Upgrade, “Green” Recognition
Dear CPS Community,
Welcome back from February break! CPS and the Cambridge Public Health Department are proud to announce additional details of our expanded COVID-19 testing plan for CPS students and staff. This plan includes both surveillance testing and pooled testing (to detect COVID-19 cases among individuals who are not displaying symptoms) and symptomatic testing (when students display symptoms during the school day).
Check out a summary of the student testing plan and these videos of CPS kindergartner Dominic and CPS staff member Ricardo demonstrating COVID-19 testing with Tracy Rose-Tynes.
Tracy Rose-Tynes and CPS Kindergartner Dominic Demonstrate COVID-19 Test
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Tracy Rose-Tynes and CPS Staff Rico Demonstrate COVID-19 Test
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We encourage all members of the CPS community - whether you are remote or in-person - to do your part to prevent the spread of COVID-19. See below for new COVID-19 resources, including tips on mask wearing and safe COVID-19 behaviors outside of school.
Starting March 1, the technology Mobile Helpdesk at the corner of Felton and Broadway, will have new hours: Monday through Friday, from 12PM - 4PM.
See below for more details on:
- Updates COVID-19 Resources
- CPS Completes Upgrade of District Internet
- City of Cambridge survey about COVID-19 Vaccine
- CSUS/King Open Campus receives Green Building Award
- Mental Health Supports from MASSSupport
We look forward to seeing our students - remotely and in-person - on Tuesday.
Sincerely,
Kenneth N. Salim, Ed.D
Superintendent
1. Updated COVID-19 Resources:
Dr. Lisa Dobberteen Shares 4 Key Tips for COVID-19 Safety
2. CPS Completes Upgrade of District Internet: Kudos and thank you to the CPS Technical Services staff, who have completed a multi-year project to upgrade the district's Internet 2 bandwidth from 1 GB to 10 GB providing the district a total Internet bandwidth of 11 GB. This complex project, which involved coordination with Harvard, MIT, the Northern Crossroads, and multiple city agencies, has been in the works for more than three years, but was accelerated to support the March 1 expansion of in-person learning.
3. CPS Continues Planning for the FY22 Budget: We have been hard at work preparing our FY21-2022 budget, including gathering the perspectives of community members. I will be presenting the budget proposal to the School Committee on March 18.
4. City of Cambridge Survey on COVID-19 Vaccine: The City and Cambridge Public Health Department are surveying Cambridge residents to understand how they feel about the COVID-19 vaccine, and what kind of information they need. Please share your thoughts by Friday, February 26, 2021. Survey responses are anonymous.
5. CSUS/King Open Campus receives Green Building Award: CPS is proud to announce that the King Open/Cambridge Street Upper Schools and Community Complex has been recognized for its sustainability and energy efficiency. The complex is the first city’s first municipal building – and only the second school in the nation – to attain LEED V4 Platinum Certification from the US Green Building Council, which developed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification program as the standard for green building design, construction, operation and performance. The building is designed to use 44% less energy than a typical school building and exemplifies the city’s commitment to going green.
6. Mental Health Supports from MASSSupport: Should you or a loved one need mental health assistance you can contact MassSupport for counseling, coping strategies and other crucial resources.