CAMBRIDGE CIVIC ASSOCIATION
EDUCATION PLATFORM 2001
The CCA is united in its commitment to erasing the achievement gap by promoting equity
and excellence in every Cambridge public school. To achieve this the CCA supports:
EQUITY FOR ALL STUDENTS
Provide a rigorous and challenging education to all students regardless of race,
language, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, religion or family structure. We must
make sure that every school promotes excellence and encourages all students to become life
long learners by:
- hiring and retaining teachers and administrators as role models for students of all
backgrounds. Recruit early to attract the best and most diverse group of teachers
- supporting the implementation of Cambridges new special education plan to help
parents and their children with special needs get the services they require
- fully implementing CRLS restructuring to assure that every student receives a high
quality education and that no child falls through the cracks
- supporting the vocational educational redesign plan to provide career skills for
students seeking jobs after high school
Commit to a system of school choice that:
- fosters racial, gender and economic balance in every school
- ensures the availability of two-way and other bilingual programs in addition to
transitional bilingual education
- responds to families preferences by spreading highly-chosen curricula throughout
the system
Promote multiple forms of assessment. Decisions about children should be based
not only on the MCAS test but also on portfolios, student records and teacher
recommendations.
INVOLVEMENT FOR ALL FAMILIES
Have fairly-elected and empowered School Councils that have as many parents as
staff. Schools should make the effort to have the parent members be representative of the
student body.
Allow for meaningful family participation in:
- the selection and evaluation of administrators and teachers
- open and collaborative labor contract negotiations
- the restructuring and evaluation of schools
Direct the Family Resource Center to provide up-to-date information on waiting
lists for schools, to track school choices, to undertake interviews with parents who
choose to leave a particular school and to compile reasons for the moves.
Involve parents with limited English proficiency in their childrens education
by providing interpreters and translators. We need to recognize that parents from other
cultures may have different expectations about and relationships with their
childrens schools. We should make every effort to accommodate these approaches so
that each family has a fair chance to enhance their childs education.
QUALITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR ALL SCHOOLS
Support the School Committee as the chief policy-making body. The School
Committee must:
- review and revise policy on a timely basis
- base policies on its priorities: improving literacy; promoting quality teaching;
helping students at, above or below grade level; and holding all students to high
standards regardless of their race, class or language
Strengthen the District Improvement Plan, the long range planning process, to guide
improvements and build community consensus around non-discrimination, equity and
excellence.
Focus the budget on equity and excellence by:
- reducing administrative costs so more funds can be directed to the classrooms
- distributing resources equitably so each school has adequate facilities, classroom
materials, library books, computers, and other materials necessary for educating all
students
- making the budget document and budget process more open and accessible
- reducing empty seats by consolidating schools while improving academic programs
Hold schools to high standards by creating and implementing policies that:
- make principals accountable for the success of their schools through administrative and
parental evaluations and by establishing evaluation-based pay increases
- uphold quality teaching by requiring that all schools implement the four-year teacher
evaluation cycle rigorously and on time
- grant successful schools more freedom to hire personnel and set priorities through the
Policy on Site Based Management
- assist underperforming schools through the Policy on Elementary School Improvement
District Intervention
return to Cambridge Civic Journal