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: December 3, 2020 Subject: Communicating information from the School Committee To the Honorable, the City Council: On Tuesday, December 1st, the School Committee had its last Regular Meeting and both motions that I mentioned in the last communication—exploring the implementation of a pool testing strategy as well as determining when the Field House can be made for school use—were adopted. While the recommendation for approval regarding the winter sports guidelines for CRLS remote learners was withdrawn by the Superintendent at the December 1st meeting to allow for a discussion with the Health and Safety Committee prior to a School Committee vote, CRLS Athletic Director Tom Arria still gave his presentation on the proposal for winter sports. The sports that are being considered for this year’s winter season are basketball, ice hockey, swim and dive, alpine and Nordic skiing, and gymnastics and will follow all state and district guidelines. The recommendation will be placed on the agenda for the next Regular Meeting on Tuesday, December 15th. On Wednesday, December 2nd, the School Climate Subcommittee convened to discuss revisions to the elementary school check-in policy that the School Committee passed in June with educators and caregivers. Following the implementation of this policy, which required weekly individual relationship-building check-ins between school staff and scholars and families, several concerns had been raised by elementary school principals. While some schools implemented with success, others reported that the requirement felt more like a compliance exercise than a value-add and they did not have the bandwidth to deliver. We had an important conversation about these challenges with some educators and caregivers of varying perspectives at this meeting and discussed alternative approaches to effectively building relationships between families and schools without losing sight of the emphasis on anti-racism.

Cambridge City Hall | 795 Massachusetts Avenue | Cambridge, MA 02139 ssiddiqui@cambridgema.gov│[phone removed]│tty: [phone removed]│cambridgema.gov 2 Please visit the new CPS COVID-19 Data Dashboard for up-to-date information on the risk of COVID- 19 transmission in our schools. The data is reviewed daily by our Department of Public Health and we plan to re-evaluate our metrics again next month. CPS has also updated their “What Should I Do?” document, which outlines that students and staff should not come to school if they: • Have symptoms of COVID-19 • Have tested positive for COVID-19 and have not yet been cleared from isolation to return • Had close contact with a confirmed case within the past 14 days • Have symptomatic household relatives or housemates that have not yet received a negative test • Have traveled to high-risk states within the past 14 days and have not yet received a negative test This month, CPS will be engaging with families through feedback surveys and listening sessions (focused on different groups, including grade bands, in-person and remote learning families, different language communities, special education families, etc.) to hear their perspectives on the student learning experience thus far, as well as to discuss possible expansion of in-person learning. A link to a survey as well as invitations to the listening sessions will go out soon. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has provided districts with the option to decide locally whether snow days will be complete closures that are made up later in the school year, or remote learning days. CPS has decided to treat “snow days” as remote learning days for the 2020- 21 school year and those who would normally attend school in-person will continue to learn remotely on those days. We have begun our free virtual winter programming with Elevate Youth and are seeing excellent engagement in the first week. The winter programming will continue until at least mid-February, before we launch our free in-person spring cohorts again, so we are continuing to accept applications for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. Please share this link with any families you know who may be interested! Weekly themes this winter will include learning about wildlife in our neighborhoods, cooking and eating new and interesting foods, participating in group yoga and exercise classes, learning tips and tricks to getting outside during the winter months, and much more. Our upcoming meetings are as follows: • Friday, December 4th, 2020 o Buildings and Grounds Subcommittee Meeting | 4:00 PM ▪ To discuss safety policies and the health metrics to ensure they reflect the disproportionate risk of COVID-19 to some communities and as part of the plan to expand in-person learning • Tuesday, December 8th, 2020 o Roundtable Meeting | 6:00 PM ▪ With upper and high school principals • Tuesday, December 15th, 2020 o Regular Meeting | 6:00 PM

Cambridge City Hall | 795 Massachusetts Avenue | Cambridge, MA 02139 ssiddiqui@cambridgema.gov│[phone removed]│tty: [phone removed]│cambridgema.gov 3 Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, suggestions, or concerns. Respectfully, Sumbul Siddiqui