School Committee Meeting Agenda: January 16, 2018

From the Office of the Executive Secretary to the School Committee

1. Budget Update:  Budget Projections

   1a.   Public Comment (3 Minutes):

2. Student School Committee Report:

3. Presentation of the Records for Approval:  None

4. Reconsiderations: None  

5. Unfinished Business/Calendar:  

   #18-05, Motion by the Budget Sub-Committee, that the FY 2019 Budget Calendar be shared with Budget Sub-Committee Members, the Committee of the Whole.

   CAMBRIDGE SCHOOL COMMITTEE

   Schedule of FY 2019 Budget Development Meetings and Hearings

   District Plan Update Roundtables

   Dates	Description
   February 6, 2018	A. Regular Business Meeting B. District Plan Update Roundtable: Review Progress-Implementation of Initiatives
   February 13, 2018	Budget Retreat (If Necessary)
   March 13, 2018	Special Meeting: Superintendent’s presentation of the FY 2019 Proposed Budget to the School Committee
   March 15, 2018 (Thursday)	Budget Workshop: Review of the FY 2019 Proposed Budget
   March 20, 2018	Public Hearing on the FY 2018 Proposed Budget
   March 22, 2018 (Thursday)	Budget Workshop: Review of the FY 2019 Proposed Budget
   March 27, 2018	Budget Workshop: Review of the FY 2019 Proposed Budget
   April 3, 2018	School Committee Vote to Adopt: FY 2019 Budget
   Late April 2018	Transmittal of Cambridge Public Schools FY 2019 Adopted Budget to City.
   May 2018 (TBD)	City Council Hearing: Cambridge Public Schools FY 2019 Adopted Budget
   May 2018	City Council vote of adoption of the FY 2019 City of Cambridge Budget.

   
   C17-403, Late Order by Mayor Simmons, WHEREAS, The Cambridge Public Schools has acknowledged the urgency of addressing the Achievement Gap as outlined in the adopted 2017-2020 Cambridge Public Schools District Plan;

               WHEREAS, The current passage rates on statewide assessments show gross disparities as it pertains to race; and

               WHEREAS, Research has shown that greater communal involvement in children’s lives, which consist of parents, members of the school community, non-profit partners, former CPSD staff members, and alumni can aptly serve as thought partners to uncover strategies to eradicate the Achievement Gap in CPSD; and

               WHEREAS, The US Department of Education defines the achievement gap as “the difference in academic performance between different ethnic groups; and

               WHEREAS, Increasing the attainment rate must be done by both increasing the rate at which minority students enter, matriculate, and successfully graduate from college; and

               WHEREAS, College graduates earn over $1 million more than high school graduates over the course of a lifetime; and

               WHEREAS, The disparity between attainment rates results in disparities in the economic welfare and career options at meaningful careers throughout the city of Cambridge and across the nation; and

               WHEREAS, The emerging shift in public education to standards-based curriculum and data driven metrics and decision making should provide the afore mentioned stakeholders to aid in garnering substantive strategies to eliminate the achievement gap; now therefore be it

               RESOLVED, The administration of the Cambridge Public Schools partner with stakeholders to collaborate in creating a commission that solely and explicitly addresses the Achievement Gap with ambitious goals and benchmarks along with a time frame to cut in half and/or eliminate by 2026;

               RESOLVED, That CPSD Administration in conjunction with the task force publish a yearly report to be available to the public on strategies and prospective policies to improve the academic achievement gap: and be it further

               RESOLVED, The Commission commence an annual conference for the larger Cambridge community to share their findings and to discuss the pervasive issues that contribute to the existence of the achievement gap in a resource rich district ; such as, CPSD.

   #17-300, Motion by Mr. Fantini, In order to provide a well rounded educational experience for all of our student’s;

   And whereas some student’s have financial hardships in order for them to participate in field trips;

               That the Superintendent provide financial support to all schools that do not have sufficient funds to pay for school busses.

6. Awaiting Reports: None

7. Superintendent’s Agenda:

   7a. Presentations: None 

   7b. Innovation Agenda:

   7c. Consent Agenda:

   #18-14            Recommendation:  Authorization for the Superintendent to Submit A Statement of Interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority for the Replacement of the Graham & Parks School Building Roof

   #18-15            Recommendation:  Day & Residential Program Services Not Available From the Cambridge School Department    

   #18-16            Recommendation:  Contract Award:  Compass:  SY17/18 Student Tuition

   #18-17            Recommendation:  Grant Award:  Nellie Mae Education Foundation: Root Causes of Inequities (SC18144)

8. Non-Consent Agenda:

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

   #18-18, Joint Motion by Ms. Dexter and Mr. Fantini, that whereas the School Committee values being in accord with our partner elected body, the Cambridge City Council; and

               Whereas the Cambridge City Council has changed its rules to allow the videotaping, livestreaming, and cable broadcasting of Roundtable meetings;

               And whereas such a rule change would give the School Committee the flexibility, when appropriate, to make School Committee Roundtable meetings more equitably accessible to students, educators, staff, administrators, family members, members of partner organizations, and other community members who are unable to attend Roundtable meetings in person;

               The Cambridge School Committee will change its rules for Roundtable meetings, Section 3.2, to omit the phrase, "The meeting shall not be broadcast on cable television," and to insert the phrase, "Roundtable meetings may be livestreamed and broadcast on cable television, with the video recordings posted on the School Committee website and archived on the video archive of School Committee meetings." This rule change will be effective immediately upon passage by the School Committee.  

               This motion explicitly supports the CPS Strategic Goals #1 (Provide Equity and Access to Increase Opportunity and Achievement), #2(Provide Engaging Learning for Students and Staff [Real world learning]), #4 (Expand and Strengthen Family and Community Partnerships [Engaging families, differentiated opportunities for family voice and engagement]), and #5 (Improve Implementation and Progress Monitoring [Monitoring, evaluating, and sharing progress.]).

   #18-19, Joint Motion by Ms. Dexter and Mr. Kimbrough, that whereas CPS values equity of opportunity to learn in our schools, and equity of opportunity to pursue positive post-secondary options;

               And whereas CPS data show that the current CRLS main campus Attendance Violation policy has differential impact on students by disability status, income, and race/ethnicity;

               And whereas CRLS and CPS communities are currently investigating root causes of these differentials;  

               And whereas punitive approaches, such as grade reductions, can reduce student motivation and engagement, thus further harming students who are already at risk for lower academic achievement or reduced engagement with school;

               And whereas the School Committee, district administration, CRLS administration, and students, faculty, and parents are currently researching and discussing effective approaches to getting students to school and class every day on time;

               And whereas the CRLS High School Extension Program does not use grade reduction as a consequence for unexcused absences or tardies;

               The School Committee requests that there be a temporary suspension, including for Fall, 2017 courses, of any grade reductions related to absences or tardies at the CRLS main campus program until the CRLS and CPS administration and School Committee develop and communicate to all students a policy that is grounded in restorative justice approaches and that meets the CPS goals of: 1) Equity and access to opportunities to learn; 2) Providing engaging, culturally-appropriate and meaningful learning opportunities for all students; 3) Supporting all students holistically as individuals; 4) Strengthening and expanding partnerships and collaboration with families and the community and increasing family engagement; and 5) Using data to monitor progress and improve implementation of all school policies.

   #18-20, Joint Motion by Mayor McGovern and Ms. Kelly,

   WHEREAS:            Children who attend Cambridge Public Schools reside in Cambridge and are often a part of City programs outside of school; and

   WHEREAS:            Policy, budget and other decisions made by the City Council impact students and families in Cambridge Public Schools and decisions made by the School Committee and School Department impact city programs; and

   WHEREAS:            Each year the City Council and School Committee discuss a desire to improve communication between the two elected bodies; as well as between city and school administrations; and

   WHEREAS:            On May 15, 2017 the City Council adopted a similar order in support of this effort;

   THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED;

   That the Mayor establish a standing committee made up of three School Committee members and three City Councilors and invite the Superintendent, the City Manager, as well as other members to be determined, to meet every 8 weeks to discuss issues pertinent to the School Department and the City as a way to improve communication between the two elected bodies.

   #18-21, Motion by Mr. Fantini, That the Superintendent explore and review the School Improvement Council’s practices and explore opportunities for refinement with the District’s Plan Frameworks and outcomes.

   #18-22, Motion by Ms. Bowman, whereas the Cambridge Public School District recently standardized the process for CPSD rental payments, and;

               Whereas the previous billing system didn’t consistently bill in a way that aligned with CPSD policy and;

               Whereas this change in the system has created challenges for youth organizations seeking to access CPSD rental space,

               Therefore be it resolved that CPSD place a moratorium on fee collection for youth organizations for the remainder of the 2017/2018 academic school year; 

               Be it further resolved, that the Buildings and Grounds Sub-Committee will review and update an equitable fee model that accommodates the needs of youth organizations of various scales for the 2018/2019 academic school year and beyond.

   #18-23, Motion by Ms. Bowman, whereas various CPDS schools have identified challenges with elevated temperatures in classrooms during the academic year, as a result of an increased number of hot days because of climate change; and 

               Whereas parents and School Committee Members met to discuss this challenge during the 2017/2018 School Committee session, and; 

               Whereas at the July 27, 2017, Buildings and Grounds Sub-Committee Meeting, parents and School Committee Members agreed to address this by proposing a project that would place air conditioning units in 49 remaining CPSD classrooms that do not have adequate air conditioning through the City of Cambridge Participatory Budget process;

               And whereas it was agreed upon that if we were not successful in our Participatory attends, the Committee would recommend incorporating this air conditioning unit expense in the 2018/2019 Budget;

               Therefore be it resolved that district include air conditioning units into the 2018/2019 Budget for the remaining classrooms that currently do not have adequate access to AC units. 

   #18-24, Motion by Mayor McGovern,

   WHEREAS:

   The School Committee rules (Section 3.3) call for two joint meetings per year with the City Council; and

   WHEREAS:

   The City Council rules (Rule 24B) call for three joint meetings per year with the School Committee; and

   WHEREAS:

   The School Committee and City Council mutually endeavor to support our students and community as a whole; therefore be it

   ORDERED       That the Cambridge School Committee will change its rules Section 3.3 for Joint Meeting with the City Council to increase the number of meetings from two meetings annually, to three meetings annually, with the additional meeting occurring in winter as a preliminary budget meeting.  The other two meetings shall remain as listed in rules Section 3.3, as is "a budget meeting held in the spring and a more general meeting on goals and progress in the fall.”  This rule change will be effective immediately upon passage by the School Committee.

   #18-25, Motion by Mayor McGovern,

   WHEREAS        The City Council agenda contains a section titled “Communications and Reports from City Officers” to allow Councillors and other City Officers to communicate amongst each other without violating Open Meeting Laws; and

   WHEREAS:            It may also be of benefit to Members of the School Committee to include a similar section in their agenda to facilitate communication; now therefore be it

   ORDERED:             That the School Committee will change its rules to create a section in its Regular Meeting agenda titled “Communications and Reports from City Officers.”

   #18-26, Report of the December 13, 2017 Civic Unity Sub-Committee           

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

11. Announcements:

12. Late Orders: