School Committee Agenda: February 6, 2018

From the Office of the Executive Secretary to the School Committee

School Committee - Regular Meeting February 6, 2018

A G E N D A

1. Public Comment (3 Minutes):

2. Student School Committee Report:

3. Presentation of the Records for Approval:

• Regular Meeting, December 5, 2017
• Special Meeting, December 12, 2017
• Regular Meeting, January 16, 2018
• Special Meeting, January 20, 2018

4. Reconsiderations: None

5. Unfinished Business/Calendar: None

6. Awaiting Reports: None

7. Superintendent’s Agenda:

7a. Presentations:
District Plan Update Roundtable:……………………..Dr. Kenneth N. Salim
Review Progress of Implementation of Initiatives Superintendent of Schools

7b. Innovation Agenda:

7c. Consent Agenda:

#18-27 Response to Cambridge Education Association Unit C Level III Grievance

#18-28 Day & Residential Services not Available from the Cambridge School Department

#18-29 Gifts/Miscellaneous Receipts

#18-30 Contract Award: Framingham Ford: 2017 Ford Transit Connect Van

#18-31 Grant Award: FY18 Massachusetts Cultural Council- STARRS (SC18894) Increase

8. Non-Consent Agenda:

9. School Committee Agenda (Policy Matters/Notifications/Requests for Information):

#18-32, Motion by Ms. Dexter, that whereas the Cambridge School Committee has a goal of expanding family and community engagement, and values public input into the CPS budget development process, the Committee requests that the administration:

 1.) provide direct notice about all public hearings to all Cambridge Public School parents, high school students, family liaisons, the City's Community Engagement Team, and the Cambridge Youth Council; and

2.) send flyers to community centers, houses of worship, and other institutions that serve Cambridge neighborhoods and communities.

#18-33, Motion by Mayor McGovern, that the February 13, 2018 Joint Roundtable of the City Council and School Committee to discuss the FY19 School Department Budget be televised and live streamed.

#18-34, Joint Motion by Mr. Fantini and Ms. Kelly, whereas the SOLVED Collaborative (Shore Occupational Learning and Vocational Educational Division) consists of the following communities: Cambridge, Medford, Somerville, Waltham and Boston and recognizing that the SOLVED Collaborative offers significant opportunities to engage students in Chapter 74 Career and Technical programs that may offer educational and career opportunities,

 That the School Committee support the following:
Require the SOLVED Collaborative programs housed by each community in the Collaborative be communicated clearly to all incoming 9th graders and student’s parents and caregivers, including detailed information about all programs offered, open houses in each community, and key deadlines to apply to SOLVED Collaborative programs;

If students after best efforts to apply, are not accepted into a SOLVED community Chapter 74 program due to “no space available” or other reason, that students be allowed to make a timely application to another Chapter 74 that offers the same program;

Consistent with Career and Technical aspirations and goals, that the Superintendent create more opportunities for student internships, apprenticeships, career counseling, and early college to maximize student opportunity and access to vocational-technical education, that provides clear pathways to career goals for interested students.

Finally, that on adoption, this motion will be referred to the Superintendent requesting that a plan for implementation be shared with the School Committee by March 30, 2018.

#18-35, Motion by the Governance Sub-Committee, WHEREAS, the School Committee is interested in continuing to foster a good working relationship with the Cambridge Education Association;

WHEREAS, the School Committee is interested in providing opportunities for the voice of educators through input from the Cambridge Education Association:
NOW THEREFORE, the School Committee amends the Rules of the School Committee as follows:

Section 4.2 of Chapter II of the Rules of the School Committee shall be amended by adding the following sentence to the end of the first paragraph of this section:
In an effort to encourage input from the Cambridge Education Association regarding items on the School Committee agenda, the Cambridge Education Association President may, at the discretion of the Chair of the School Committee, be allowed up to six (6) minutes during the public comment period to address items on the School Committee agenda. and

Section 7 of Chapter I of the Rules of the School Committee shall be amended by adding the following sentence at the end of this section:

The Cambridge Education Association President will be invited by the Governance Subcommittee, on a periodic basis, to provide an update on the work of the Cambridge Education Association at a scheduled Governance Subcommittee meeting.

Further, that the School Committee will review these additions to the Rules of the School Committee after one year of implementation in order to determine whether these amendments should continue in place or be otherwise modified or deleted (first reading).

#18-36, Report of the December 8, 2017 Community Relations Sub-Committee

#18-37, Report of the January 20, 2018 Sub-Committee on the Budget (Committee of the Whole) Public Hearing on the FY 19 Budget Priorities

#18-38, Report of the January 23, 2018 Sub-Committee on the Budget (Committee of the Whole) Public Hearing on the FY 19 Budget Priorities

10. Resolutions (letters of congratulations, letters of condolence):

#18-39, Joint Motion by Ms. Kelly, Ms. Dexter and Ms. Bowman, Whereas the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives are both considering bills that would require that all Massachusetts elementary schools provide at least 20 consecutive minutes per day of unstructured free-play recess; and
Whereas the American Academy of Pediatricians issued a policy statement in 2013 that “recess is a necessary break in the day for optimizing a child’s social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development,” that “cognitive processing and academic performance depend on regular breaks from concentrated classroom work” for younger children and adolescents, and “to be effective, the frequency and duration of breaks should be sufficient to allow the student to mentally decompress;” and

Whereas numerous research studies have shown that recess and unstructured play improve classroom behavior and have cognitive, academic, social, and health benefits for children; and that some children have very little time outside school to engage in free play with other children;

And whereas organizations such as National Coalition for Disease Control and Prevention, the National PTA, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and the National Association of Elementary School Principals, have all endorsed policies mandating daily recess and free play in elementary schools; and

Whereas one of our neighbors, the Somerville School Committee, has eloquently endorsed the pending senate and house bills designed to require a supervised but unstructured recess in Massachusetts schools;

Therefore be it resolved that the Cambridge School Committee supports Senate Bill 308 and House Bill 235, both of which state the following: “All children in grades kindergarten through five attending public schools shall receive one hundred minutes of supervised, safe, and unstructured free-play recess each week so that there are at least twenty consecutive minutes of free-play recess per day. As used herein, the term "free play" means an unstructured environment, but which is supervised by appropriate school personnel or staff. Regulations promulgated by the department may not exclude recess from structured learning time requirements for elementary school children and may not increase the total number of hours required in the school year to meet the provisions of this subsection.”

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be delivered to the Governor, Attorney General, the Cambridge state and local legislative delegations, including Representative Marjorie Decker, author of the House Bill 235, and to the Cambridge City Council and City Manager.

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/190/S308
https://malegislature.gov/Bills/190/H235
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/131/1/183
http://peacefulplaygrounds.com/pdf/right-to-recess/recess-importance-of-play.pdf
https://www.ericdigests.org/2003-2/recess.html

11. Announcements:

12. Late Orders:

13. Communications and Reports from City Officers:

Letter from Mayor Marc C. McGovern