Cambridge School Committee Votes to Reassign all Kennedy-Longfellow School Students Effective the 2025 - 2026 School Year
Cambridge Public Schools will focus on ensuring a smooth transition for students into other elementary schools within the district.
On Tuesday, Dec. 17, the Cambridge Public Schools (CPS) School Committee unanimously approved Interim Superintendent David Murphy’s recommendation to reassign all Kennedy-Longfellow School students to other schools in the district for the 2025-2026 school year, effectively closing the school.
In the recommendation to the School Committee, CPS District Interim Superintendent Murphy cited systemic factors such as:
- Persistent under-enrollment and lack of demand from families under the district’s controlled choice system for student registration.
- Infrastructure concerns, including necessary renovations to a building rated as most-in-need of repair, and the opportunity to repurpose physical space district-wide to better serve students.
- Disproportionate concentrations of students designated as high-needs perpetuating cycles of inequity.
- Chronic performance challenges as measured by several metrics pertaining to student achievement.
The recommendation follows a series of public discussions surrounding systemic factors expressed by Interim Superintendent Murphy to have “led to learning conditions that are unfair to students.” Interim Superintendent Murphy emphasized that this decision “is a difficult but necessary step in creating more equitable and high-quality educational opportunities for the students of the Cambridge Public Schools.”
“I am deeply saddened by the decision to transition the Kennedy-Longfellow students and staff to other CPS schools, but I do not disagree with the ultimate analysis of the systems and structures that led to this recommendation,” said longtime Kennedy-Longfellow Principal Christine Gerber. “I am committed to successfully completing the remainder of the school year while guiding our families and staff through their transition into their new learning communities."’
The remainder of the 2024 - 2025 school year will be uninterrupted. CPS will focus on working with families on placements at other CPS schools for the 2025 - 2026 school year and providing necessary support to students and staff as they prepare to transition to other school communities.
The district will prioritize both continuity and choice in supporting families in this transition. Through the more strategic utilization of space in existing schools, Kennedy-Longfellow students will have the opportunity to transition as grade-level cohorts to specific CPS schools. Families choosing not to participate in the grade level cohorts will have the opportunity to participate in a special lottery, giving their children priority opportunities to enroll in available seats in any CPS elementary school.
An overview of Interim Superintendent Murphy’s Kennedy-Longfellow recommendation and transition plan is available on the Cambridge Public Schools website here.
About Cambridge Public Schools
Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge Public Schools (CPS) is deeply committed to delivering a world class and rigorous academic experience to every student. Our students reflect the rich racial, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic diversity of the City of Cambridge, elevating the critical importance of centering equity in education.
With over 1,600 faculty and staff serving approximately 7,000 students from preschool to grade 12 in 18 schools as of the 2024 - 2025 school year, CPS is a well-resourced, supported, and strongly positioned urban public school district from a financial, educational, community, and civic perspective.