a communication from Mayor Marc C. McGovern, transmitting the Highlights from School Committee Meeting December 4, 2018

CITY OF CAMBRIDGE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR mayor@cambridgema.gov Marc C. McGovern Phone: [phone removed] Mayor Fax: [phone removed] To: Donna P. Lopez, City Clerk From: Marc C. McGovern, Mayor Date: December 6, 2018 Subject: Communicating Highlights from School Committee Meeting December 4, 2018 Madame Clerk: Please include the attached letter “Communicating Highlights from School Committee Meeting December 4, 2018” in Communications and Reports from City Officers of the Regular City Council Agenda for December 10, 2018. Thanks,

CITY OF CAMBRIDGE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR mayor@cambridgema.gov Marc C. McGovern Phone: [phone removed] Mayor Fax: [phone removed] MEMORANDUM To: Cambridge City Council From: Marc C. McGovern, Mayor Date: December 6, 2018 Subject: Communicating Highlights from School Committee Meeting December 4, 2018 To the Honorable, the City Council: Please find below a summary of the December 4, 2018, Regular School Committee Meeting. Nellie Mae Foundation Building Equity Bridges: Presentation on current grant work being undertaken by a Joint Partnerships between CPS and Cambridge Educators Association in discovery of root causes of inequities • Focusing on CPS Strategic Objectives to achieve District Plan Outcomes with an equity lens the grant was obtained to ‘authentically engage community in analyzing systemic and school-level barriers that perpetuate gaps’ through: • Identifying root causes • Determine appropriate interventions • Help collaborate and coalesce to revers historical patterns • Main areas include: • Sense Making Teams focus on different themes: academic learners, student-educator relationships, educators of color (recruiting/retention/experience), and student behavior/discipline trends • Youth Participatory Action Research theme focus: engaging classrooms, student- athlete/coach relationships, supports, expectations, and what makes a strong student- teacher relationship • Focus Groups: focus on participant experiences • Organizers: Family, Youth and Members of the CEA • Critical Participatory Research: Educators from across CPS aiming to create an authentically participatory process around the investigation of a community level question. Grant work will be ongoing into 2019 with teachers are being viewed as researchers with-in their own schools. Findings will be shared to community including a 2019-20 plan for implementing changes based on findings Slides viewable: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1T3hFrdUzbaqMPJ6a3d2owcGXK4CMuAe9LrQn39ZbP08/edit# slide=id.p

Athletic participation and academic probation: The School Committee heard significant concern from across the city and compelling testimony during public comment on motion #18-326, which called for the expansion of student athlete academic probationary GPA window. In hopes to clarify what the motion called for, please see the below background information: • To fully participate in athletics (play in games) a student must maintain a GPA of 70 or greater; that threshold remains unchanged. • The athletic department’s existing policy states that if a student’s GPA dropped below 70 and fell between 67.5 and a 69.5, the student was automatically placed on academic probation, during which time the students are still considered on the team but may not play in games. During this probationary period coaches and teammates have the opportunity to provide support and interventions to support students to improve their grades. Students on probation must also attend the homework center three times a week. The academic probation period is intended to be a time of active engagement and academic progress. However, the probationary grade range as it existed was quite narrow. Students whose GPA dropped below that fine 2-point window were completely released from their team, and with it access to probation mandated supports to improve grades and connection to coaches and teammates. Once disconnected, the athletic and community incentives to improve academically in order to fully participate as part of the team also vanished. The School Committee’s vote in favor of motion #18-326 did not lower the threshold for full participation in athletics, it expanded the academic probation to include students whose GPA is between a 69.5 and 60 (still above the MIAA standard) as a way of keeping struggling students connected to their known communities and to focus supports so that they can learn from challenges be it academic or otherwise. Respectfully, Marc C. McGovern The Mayor’s office shares the goal of creating regular joint City Council - School Committee meetings to collaborate and support highlighting need to work together on larger issues that impact our students, families and larger Cambridge community. For an official record, members should continue to refer to minutes prepared by the Executive Secretary to the School Committee. School Committee summaries represent information that the Mayor’s Office deems relevant for both bodies, and may not include all actions taken by the School Committee. If you read anything in these communications that you would like to know more about, please reach out to Education Liaison Elizabeth Liss (eliss@cambridgema.gov).