Dear Friends,

I hope you and your loved ones are well and enjoying the summer.

In this moment, having just lost both a community elder and another young person, let us again recommit to crucial racial and social justice work.  We give thanks for the life of Civil Rights giant Bob Moses and we grieve Robert Favreau, who was killed without the opportunity to reach his potential.  

In related news, this month has brought two notable shifts in my School Committee experience.  First, we welcomed Dr. Victoria Greer as she began her tenure as Interim Superintendent of the Cambridge Public Schools.  Earlier this month, the Committee had an initial retreat with Dr. Greer.  We focused on how best to work together, including protocols and timelines for communication.  The energy in the room was good and I left the day optimistic about our future collaborations.  

Dr. Victoria Greer, Interim Superintendent

A key piece of being an effective leadership team for the school district is having a short list of shared goals and objectives.  As you may know, largely due to COVID, we have been working within the framework of an outdated district plan.  As part of Dr. Greer’s entry process, we will be defining short-term goals and developing a timeline for adopting a new, multiyear district plan.  I look forward to honing in on these shared priorities and working together to advance them.

The second big shift recently has been the official start of the campaign season.  As of this writing, there are 10 candidates running for the six School Committee seats.  There may be more before the August 2nd deadline arrives.  Between the crowded field and the tumultuous term, it promises to be a competitive race.  

My daughter joined me to pull papers at the Cambridge Election Commission.

If you are a monthly reader of this newsletter, you know that I have worked tirelessly over the past 19 months to ensure that our students are healthy, connected with caring adults and peers, learning in antiracist classrooms, and challenged academically.  Whether working with high school students, families, and educators on the Interim Superintendent process, or pushing for more funding for family engagement, I have always striven to approach the work collaboratively and strategically.  There is so much more we need to do to ensure that all our children graduate from the Cambridge Public Schools prepared to thrive in their postsecondary and civic lives.  I hope to have the privilege of serving a second term and continuing this work with all of you, but I can’t win without your help.  Please take a minute to pledge your #1 vote, sign up to volunteer, and donate to the campaign!

Gratefully,

Rachel