Letter from Mayor Siddiqui, communicating information from the School Committee

Cambridge City Hall | 795 Massachusetts Avenue | Cambridge, MA 02139 ssiddiqui@cambridgema.gov│[phone removed]│tty: [phone removed]│cambridgema.gov 1 OFFICE OF THE MAYOR Sumbul Siddiqui Mayor To: Cambridge City Council From: Sumbul Siddiqui, Mayor Date: November 12, 2020 Subject: Communicating information from the School Committee To the Honorable, the City Council: On Thursday, November 5th, the School Committee held a Special Meeting to discuss and adopt the recommended revisions to the health and safety metrics proposed by CPSD’s scientific advisors. These recommendations make an argument for narrowing the scope of the existing metrics to focus more on Cambridge-specific data. Despite overwhelming support and agreement with the proposal itself, the vote was tabled by Member Wilson, who exercised her charter right due to issues raised by the Educators of Color Coalition (EOCC) and Cambridge Families of Color Coalition (CFCC) on lack of inclusivity in the design process. I have called a Special Meeting for Thursday, November 12th to have a discussion of these metrics with community stakeholders of color and hopefully move to adopt the recommendations. The current metrics, which are displayed on the CPS COVID-19 dashboard, reflect: 1. Daily new cases: The weighted average of new cases each day per 100,000 people in Suffolk and Middlesex Counties (Threshold: less than 25) 2. Positive testing rate: The rate of positive new COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts (Threshold: less than 5%) 3. Wastewater monitoring: The level of COVID-19 found in sewage wastewater for 61 communities in the region (Threshold: less than 100 copies viral genomes/mL) If two or more of those metrics exceed the recommended thresholds, the CPS plan to minimize risk requires a transition to remote learning for all students. As of the morning of Thursday, November 12th, the reported data shows that both the number of daily new cases and the wastewater measure have surpassed the recommended thresholds. As a result, CPS is prepared for a possible and temporary shift to remote learning for all students next week.

Cambridge City Hall | 795 Massachusetts Avenue | Cambridge, MA 02139 ssiddiqui@cambridgema.gov│[phone removed]│tty: [phone removed]│cambridgema.gov 2 If the recommended metrics are adopted at the November 12th Special Meeting, a shift to all- remote learning will not be necessary at this time. No matter what, we will continue the in- person school schedule on Friday, November 13 and Monday, November 16 for those students currently learning in-person. Our upcoming meetings are as follows: • Thursday, November 12th, 2020 o Special Meeting |7:00 PM ▪ Discussing the proposed updated metrics and consider the calendared motion • Thursday, November 17th, 2020 o Regular Meeting | 6:00 PM • Wednesday, November 18th, 2020 o Roundtable Meeting | 4:00 PM ▪ Discussing ways that the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color may be factored more explicitly into the CPS Re-opening Plan o Special Education and Student Supports Subcommittee Meeting | 6:00 PM ▪ Discussing the reading level benchmark data, resources to scholars reading below grade level, dyslexia indicators, and professional development to educators The final CPS Family Resource Fair will be held on Saturday, November 14th outside the Pisani Center at 131 Washington Street from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. It will be a grab-and-go event for families, as usual. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, suggestions, or concerns. Respectfully, Sumbul Siddiqui