Cambridge Schools

April 18, 2008 - Minding the Achievement Gap (by Vidya Viswanathan, Harvard Crimson)
Cambridge Public Schools focus on improving performance despite achievement discrepancy

April 4, 2008 - The Boston Globe yesterday reported that the current per pupil cost for the Cambridge Public Schools is $15,175 (compared to Waltham at $12,900; Somerville at $11,593; Watertown at $11,290; Boston at $10,872; Brookline at $10,546; Newton at $9,135; Lexington at $8,988; Belmont at $8,243; and Arlington at $8,225). However, in the 2007 municipal election campaign, several candidates said it was $23,000 per pupil. The greatschools website give the obviously wrong figure of $8,641. I found a 2003 chart from Alan Price on the cambridgepublic.us website that gives a range between $5,500 and $11,000 for various elementary schools. Metroprofiles.com puts the Cambridge figure at $17,551 in 2005. The Harvard Crimson in 2005 put the figure at about $15,000. For FY2004, the Crimson put the cost per pupil for regular education at $13,363. The Area 4 Newsletter said in 2002 that the projected cost per pupil was estimated to rise from $17,221 in 2002 to $21,419 in 2006. Councillors Toomey and Sullivan and City Manager Healy put the figure at $16,000 in 2000.

So, what's the accurate figure right now? Let me know. I'm sure others would also like to know. - Robert Winters

The Cambridge School Committee, really three members and a mayor, appear to be crafting their own new brand of dishonesty. In January, the School Committee voted 4-3 to extend the contract of Superintendent of Schools Thomas Fowler-Finn, though they did not at that time specify a term for the contract extension. The devil may be in the lack of details. In the initial vote on contract extension, members Fred Fantini, Joe Grassi, Nancy Tauber, and newly elected mayor Denise Simmons voted for the contract extension. The opposing votes were Marc McGovern, Patricia Nolan, and Luc Schuster. Some (and this includes me) felt that Simmons' vote was tied to her getting the votes of her Council colleagues to become mayor. It's not unusual that the mayoral selection hinges on some understanding about how the selected mayor will act in his or her role as Chair of the School Committee.

There was some cause for concern at the time of the January contract vote that no term was specified. Cynics (and this includes me) worried that Simmons' deciding vote might have been just the formal conclusion of a deal with her City Council colleagues and that what followed might be a negotiation in which the proposed terms might be so minimal or unacceptable that it would amount to a de facto rejection. The fact that there has been no resolution after two months in what is absolutely a cut-and-dried question is an indication that this School Committee may not have any understanding of what constitutes an understanding. Simmons statement that “you don’t want to rush something that’s so important” is bewildering at best.

Though I have personally only gone to a couple of School Committee meetings this year, I have watched portions of several other meetings on TV. My impression is that this is one of the most dysfunctional groups to have ever occupied the seats in the Henrietta S. Attles Meeting Room. With two petulant children serving on the School Committee, I suppose this was to be expected. What we could use is some leadership from the mayor, but for that we may just have to wait and see. -- Robert Winters

June 22, 2007 - Survey of Parents Reveals School Shortcomings (by Paras Bhayani and Jamison Hill, Harvard Crimson, June 22, 2007)
Results point to school quality as explanation for declining enrollment

June 20, 2007 - MCAS Aces Fare Better in College, Study Finds - Low scorers are said to struggle (by Peter Schworm, Boston Globe, June 20, 2007)
Warning: Opinion follows, read at your own risk -- Say what you will about the pros and cons of MCAS and the negative aspects of “teaching to the test,” but these results do appear to speak for themselves. [It should, however, be pointed out that this “study” may simply be confirming the rather obvious fact that students who “apply themselves,” as my teachers used to say, will generally do well on standardized exams and in college, and it is not the case that exams cause better college performance. Again, correlation does not imply causation.] My personal feeling is that “teaching to the test” is not necessary to achieve good MCAS results and is, in fact, a sign of laziness on the part of teachers and administrators. If you set high standards for students, most students will be able to achieve those standards. Conversely, if you set low standards or offer primarily touchy-feely crap and tell students how wonderful they are, you'll likely produce a high percentage of self-congratulating dolts. A primary problem with MCAS and public education, in my humble opinion, is that they must do a better job of shepherding underachieving students through school without penalizing high-achieving students. Not long ago, CRLS did exactly the opposite when they placed high-achieving students in classes that were far below their capabilities - all in the name of “equity.” Fortunately, to the best of my knowledge, the Cambridge Public Schools have stepped back from that precipice. - Robert Winters, June 20, 2007

617 Massachusetts Schools identified for improvement (Sept 13, 2006 Boston Globe) - The list includes several Cambridge schools, most notably the Tobin School which is listed as "restructuring" for mathematics. The Benjamin Bannekker Charter School is listed, though not with the rest of the Cambridge public schools, and is also facing restructuring. [I'm not really sure what all this means, by the way.] The Baldwin School had been on the list for "subgroups in math" but has been removed from the current list. Read more in the Globe article: More Schools Falling Short

Sept 5, 2006 - The Cambridge School Committee tonight voted 4-3 to extend Superintendent Thomas Fowler-Finn's contract for an additional year (through mid-2008). Voting in favor of the extension were Fred Fantini, Joe Grassi, Luc Schuster, and Nancy Walser. There was a lot of tension in the air as the committee members made statements pro and con prior to the vote. Perhaps the greatest attention was paid to Luc Schuster's remarks since he was expected to cast the deciding vote.

Having followed this story for the last several months and wanting very much to see the contract extended, I was not immune to the tension. Though the vote did end up as I expected, the outcome was unclear right up to the point when Luc cast his vote. This was not an easy vote for any of the members of the School Committee. My hat's off to the members who made it happen - not just Luc for casting the deciding vote but to Joe and Fred for their efforts in crafting the extension and, of course, to Nancy Walser for understanding all along exactly what was at stake.

Congratulations to Tom Fowler-Finn on the contract extension, and now let's all do what it takes to make the most of the Cambridge Public Schools. - Robert Winters

Luc Schuster

Nancy Walser

Fred Fantini

Joe Grassi

Sept 6, 2006 Boston Globe article: School chief is given contract in Cambridge (by Tracy Jan)

Luc Schuster's statement on cambridgepublic.us (Sept 6)

Sept 7, 2006 Cambridge Chronicle story: New school contract cuts Super powers (by Dawn Witlin)

Wed, Aug 30, 2006
6:00pm Special School Committee meeting (CRLS, Henrietta S. Attles Meeting Room)
By order of his honor(?), Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves, acting in accordance with chapter I, section 3 of the rules of the school committee, there will be a special meeting at 6:00pm Wednesday, August 30, 2006, in the Henrietta S. Attles meeting room, Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, 459 Broadway. The committee may convene in executive session for the purpose of discussing strategy preparation for contract negotiations with non-union personnel as an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining and/or litigation position of the school committee.
Translation: They still have not settled on a contract with Superintendent Thomas Fowler-Finn, though supposedly a new short-term contract extension is in the works and could be settled (in Executive Session) at this meeting. The speculation is that Mr. Reeves (as Chair of the committee) has been the main cause of the secrecy in this matter. It has been suggested that he has tried to buy time to either swing another vote against Fowler-Finn or make the contract terms so miserable that Fowler-Finn will choose a negotiated exit. There is also some evidence that staff in the Mayor's Office have been soliciting letters and e-mail from students and others in opposition to Fowler-Finn as part of Reeves' campaign to oust him.

Aug 10, 2006 - Perhaps next time I should just bust the door down. I showed up at the Henrietta Attles Meeting Room at CRLS on July 25 for a meeting of the Cambridge School Committee. I knew this was to be an Executive Session meeting, i.e. the public was not invited, but I figured I'd give it a shot anyway since the topic under discussion was the extension of the contract of School Superintendent Thomas Fowler-Finn and this is obviously a matter that should be discussed in public session. What I didn't know for sure on July 25 was that Mayor Reeves and company were about to trash the Open Meeting Law.

I suppose this shouldn't surprise anyone since Mr. Reeves has a history of ignoring laws that don't suit him. (For example, there is no campaign finance record of the very sizable donation of his 2005 campaign office, well in excess of annual donation limits.) Now you can add names like Patty Nolan, Richard Harding, and, quite frankly, all the members of the School Committee, for ignoring the Open Meeting Law. Any one of them could have and should have challenged the propriety of going into Executive Session during which a significant vote apparently was taken -- easily the most important vote any school committee takes and the one that should be done in the most public way possible -- the decision to not renew the contract of a very able school superintendent, Thomas Fowler-Finn.

There are many people with strong opinions on either side of this matter. I've been checking the City web site daily for an announcement of the next public meeting of the School Committee in light of an August 20 deadline for notifying Fowler-Finn on the decision of the School Committee. Each day there was no notice and the law requires a 48 hour notice. That is, of course, if laws mean anything to Reeves and company.

Little did I know that the matter was already decided behind closed doors. A July 27 letter from Reeves to Fowler-Finn is the smoking gun. We owe a debt of gratitude to the Cambridge Chronicle for reporting this. It's also time to start recruiting new candidates for next year's municipal elections. - RW

Chronicle article on the School Committee's questionable and unethical action

Aug 10, 2006 Chronicle editorial

There is no doubt that during Fowler-Finn’s tenure, test scores have risen – by three points in ELA and by five points in math. There is also no doubt that they are still below the state average. And finally, there is no doubt that the administrative marks have improved substantially.

The true debate – the one for the School Committee and the public – is whether the speed of the improvements is adequate.

Fowler-Finn has compared the Cambridge Public Schools to an “ocean liner” in trying to highlight the difficulties in changing the system’s course. Nolan has argued that the system is small – with only one high school – and that it can be “turned around on a dime.”

Both sides have even cited influential educational research supporting their positions.

But unlike the debate over the EQA report, this debate cannot be settled by simply trying to make sense of statistics.

Boston Globe reports that Cambridge School Superintendent Thomas Fowler-Finn's contract renewal is in jeopardy - article by Christine Silva.

[July 1, modified July 23, 2006] We finally manage to get a superintendent who's not afraid to take action to improve the schools, and these fools are now talking about throwing him out? I am flabbergasted. All indications are that the extraordinarily inflated egos of some elected officials cannot coexist with anyone who exhibits any actual leadership. It's no surprise that the biggest fool of all, our patronage-intensive and egocentric royal mayor, is leading the charge.

I am a teacher first and foremost. Civic involvement is just a hobby in comparison. As a teacher, I simply cannot understand what motivates this group of politicians masquerading as education policy-makers. The vote on contract renewal must take place before August 20. An Executive Session meeting of the School Committee is scheduled for Tues, July 25, but no votes will be taken at that meeting.

Here are some excerpts from the article:

“Fowler-Finn, who came to Cambridge after eight years as superintendent of schools in Fort Wayne, Ind., was picked because he had improved graduation rates and test scores. But he came with a reputation for a top-down leadership style. In 2000, the teachers' union there took a vote of no confidence in him, citing his cold demeanor and his plan to base their evaluations on test scores.”

“Before Fort Wayne, he led Haverhill schools for seven years. Robert Gilman, the current president of the Haverhill School Committee, said Fowler-Finn was its best superintendent and the most difficult one he has ever known. Fowler-Finn established academic standards for Haverhill, increased enrollment, and hired a number of women for top positions.”

“We are moving backward quickly,” said Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves, chairman of the School Committee and one of the superintendent's biggest opponents.

The Vote on the School Superintendent's Contract

July 10 (modified July 23, 2006) - Fowler-Finn's current contract expires in August 2007, but the School Committee has until August 20 to decide whether to extend it. If they take no action, it will automatically be extended one year to August 2008. Based on quotes in the newspapers and e-mail responses from the members of the School Committee whose positions were not known, here's where we apparently stand right now:

Fred Fantini, Joe Grassi - favor a one year extension to allow more time. Presumably, this would simply push all dates back one year. A July 13 Cambridge Chronicle statement by them provided more detail.

Nancy Walser - favors a complete extension, presumably for another 3 or 4 year term.

Kenneth Reeves - “We are moving backward quickly,” said Reeves in a Globe interview. The obvious interpretation is that Reeves intends to vote against any contract extension.

Patty Nolan - apparently does not intend to vote in favor of an extension, based on numerous quotes and a rambling e-mail response. She has chosen to use cherry-picked statistics as the core of her evaluation of Fowler-Finn (rather than focusing on his specific actions taken). [Of course, she's not the only cherry-picker in this debate.]

Luc Schuster - It is not yet known how he intends to vote.

Richard Harding - no response, as always, and it remains unknown how he intends to vote.

July 23, 2006 addendum - In response to inquiries I made about the School Superintendent, I received a number of messages from people who had a lot to say. Consequently, my point of view has changed somewhat. It still seems clear that extending the Superintendent's contract is the wise course of action at this time, but the School Committee should make much clearer in the next contract any understandings about the jurisdiction, prerogatives, responsibilities, and limitations of each party to the contract. If Fowler-Finn can't abide by such a contract, then let him go. If he can, keep him for at least a while longer but keep him on a shorter leash.

In plain English, Tom Fowler-Finn can be a first-rate asshole. I have no doubt that his actions are all motivated by a sincere desire to benefit the children in the Cambridge Public Schools, and for that he should be commended. I also believe that the Cambridge Public School system has been one of the greatest entrenched bureaucracies in the City and that someone like Tom Fowler-Finn is exactly who was needed to change the culture in the system. It also appears to be the case that a “culture of fear” has developed in some quarters of the system, and that's not good in the long term. If Fowler-Finn can amend some of these negatives, and I believe he can, then continued progress is both possible and likely. He can start by respecting some of the prerogatives of the people who hire him.

It would be a great mistake for members of the School Committee to revert back to their micromanaging ways of the not-so-distant past. However, as the current representatives of the people (even if we may feel we could do better), the School Committee members are entitled to talk to school principals, teachers, staff, and students without asking for permission from the Superintendent. They should also be able to form subcommittees - for the purpose of discussion - even if these subcommittees are forbidden to micromanage any facets of the school system.

I also feel very strongly that it is very inappropriate to use (cherry-picked) enrollment statistics, achievement statistics, or any other statistics to evaluate the superintendent's relatively short tenure here. Fowler-Finn and his supporters are equally misguided in using (cherry-picked) statistics to support their man. The statistics might have some value over the long term, but I would prefer that any evaluation be based on a point-by-point review of specific actions he has taken and whether one agrees with those actions. It may well be the case that most of the School Committee members will find that they support most of his actions, even if they are disappointed with some of the outcomes. Furthermore, the considerable effects of elementary school consolidation, high school restructuring, rising housing costs, and demographic shifts (and more) must be considered into any evaluation of the schools over the last several years. - RW

Jan 11, 2004 - Fight the Charter - Information about what you can do to oppose the charter high school proposal of Paula Evans, et al.

For reference:
Feb 12, 2003 - In the February 2003 issue of the Phi Delta Kappan, the national education professionals journal, former CRLS Principal Paula Evans gives her take on her tenure at CRLS --- A Principal's Dilemmas: Theory and Reality of School Redesign by Paula M. Evans
The text was scanned from the magazine and reformatted.

May 13, 2003 - The Cambridge School Committee voted unanimously tonight (at midnight) to appoint: Dr. Thomas Fowler-Finn, Superintendent of the Fort Wayne Community Schools in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the new Superintendent of the Cambridge Public Schools effective August 1, 2003.

The school committee also voted to thank Carolyn Turk for her service as Acting Superintendent.

For continued updates and discussion about the Cambridge schools, check out the website http://cambridgepublic.us.

Apr 29, 2003 - The Cambridge School Committee tonight announced the 3 finalists for the new Superintendent of Schools. The finalists are:
Dr. Claudia L. Bach, current superintendent of schools in Andover, Massachusetts.
Dr. Thomas Fowler-Finn, Superintendent of the Fort Wayne Community Schools in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Dr. Mak Mitchell, Director of Community Learning for the Seattle Washington Public Schools

All finalists have LOCAL ties - Bach and Mitchell earned their Ed.D degrees from Harvard; and Fowler-Finn, formerly Superintendent of Schools in Haverhill, earned his doctoral degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

[The candidates were interviewed by designated Education Panel and Community Panel members on Fri, May 2, with public session interviews conducted by the Cambridge School Committee that same evening.]

School Committee votes to do nothing
    Dec 17, 2002 - In a move that surprised no one, the Cambridge School Committee tonight voted to delay any decision on elementary school consolidation until at least next June and to delay any implementation until 2004. To their credit, School Committee members Alice Turkel and Nancy Walser did propose a partial action plan that would have closed the Harrington School next year and moved the King Open school into the Harrington building (as specified in the Superintendent's plan) with minimal disruption to the Harrington students. Ms. Turkel's motion also called for the closure of the Fitzgerald School a year later with a five-month process to determine the future of that school. (The Superintendent's plan calls for moving the Graham and Parks program into that building.)
     However, Richard Harding's "moratorium" amendment, with friendly amendments from Mayor Sullivan prevailed. Once again, the Cambridge School Committee succeeded in doing the one thing it does best - Nothing.
    Perhaps even more troubling than the School Committee's collective inability to alter the status quo is the contradictory message delivered by some members of the Cambridge City Council. On the one hand, the Council has unanimously endorsed a $2.6 million budget cut for the School Department and has called for the establishment of an independent advisory committee on public education, possibly the single most damning statement from the City Council to the School Committee in the last sixty years. Yet on the night of the vote to take action on school closures that would save money, four city councillors asked the School Committee to delay action.
     Nancy Walser said this gave her "whiplash." She also noted that most of the members of the current City Council have served on the School Committee at some point and that they took no action when they were in a position to do so. To their credit, city councillors Ken Reeves and Henrietta Davis delivered a consistent message calling upon the School Committee to act without delay.
    As a taxpaying citizen, all I see is another one-year extension of what has effectively been a ten-year moratorium on any meaningful action to make the elementary schools operate in a cost-effective way. Each time a plan or piece of a plan is presented, a reactionary lobby from one of the affected schools develops and the School Committee runs away at full speed. No wonder some people are calling for the replacement of this elected School Committee by an appointed one. For what it's worth, I think the problem lies more with the individuals who are elected than with the fact that they are elected rather than appointed.
    Frankly, I'm disgusted. I see elected officials voting to dump taxpayer money down the toilet rather than make a difficult decision. This is not rocket science. Even more pathetic is the attitude of many of the parents who paraded to the microphone expressing their lack of faith in their own children's ability to adapt. To listen to these believers in a falling sky, one would think that the young people of Cambridge are incapable of adapting and thriving in any environment other than the status quo. The end result - do nothing. After all, "Cambridge has the money."

The following proposals were submitted to the Department of Education in September 2002.
(Both were not approved in this round of charter school applications but may be resubmitted at a later date.)
Prospectus for Cambridge Charter High School (submitted to the Dept. of Education, September 2002) [296KB PDF]
Prospectus for Amigos International Charter School (submitted to the Dept. of Education, September 2002) [963KB PDF]

Sept 19, 2002 - A class action complaint was filed on September 19 by 6 Holyoke students against the MCAS high stakes graduation requirement. The legal document is provided here (PDF, 65 pages) and is recommended reading for anyone concerned about the MCAS graduation requirement. It outlines the arguments (federal) against the high stakes portion of the law and provides some valuable research and analysis. Class Action Complaint vs. MCAS

May 21, 2002 - The Cambridge School Committee tonight voted 6-0-1 to change the name of the Agassiz School to the Maria Baldwin School. School Committee member Fred Fantini was absent for the vote.

A number of interesting reports are available from the Cambridge School Department website. Unfortunately, those responsible for making this information available to the public do not seem to have much expertise in doing this in an efficient manner. I have taken the liberty of creating PDF files for some of these reports. Links to the original unnecessarily large School Department documents are also provided.
Reports from the School Department	PDF versions (created from the School Dept. documents)
Elementary School Profiles 2002	ElemSchoolProfiles02.pdf (160KB)
Elementary School Report 2002	ElemSchoolReport02.pdf (192KB)
Middle Grades Profiles 2002	MiddleGradesProfiles02.pdf (64KB)
Middle Grades Report 2002	MiddleGradesReport02.pdf (96KB)
High School Profiles 2002	HighSchoolProfiles02.pdf (64KB)
High School Report 2002	HighSchoolReport02.pdf (160KB)