Cambridge Public School’s top priority for the 2020-2021 school year is the safety and wellbeing of our students, families, and staff.
This school year, we have four objectives:
- Nurture relationships between students, staff & families, with an explicit focus on their well-being
- Provide differentiated learning experiences including online and offline, and both educator-facilitated and student self-directed.
- Partner with families to support students’ academic, social-emotional & essential needs
- Focus support on students with greatest needs including for students with disabilities, English learners, low-income students, and youngest learners
The reopening plan is designed around eight guiding principles:
Health & Safety First: Our top priority is the physical health, safety, mental health, and social-emotional well-being of students, staff, families, and community.
Racial Equity: Accelerate CPS efforts to become an actively anti-racist district and disrupt the negative impact of the pandemic and structural racism on students, families, and staff, especially those of color.
Relationships are the foundation: Prioritize relationships between students, families, and staff to ensure all students feel acknowledged, respected, valued, and supported.
Clarity & Consistency: Communicate clear expectations and support more consistent student and family experiences across classrooms and schools. Deliver consistent, coordinated, transparent, and culturally-responsive communication.
Student-Centered Instruction: Instruction should be student-centered, provide voice and choice, and focus on developing strong independent learners who are change-agents through culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and healing-centered practices.
Family Partnership: Partner with families, especially those with greatest need and traditionally marginalized, to support students’ academic and social-emotional well-being.
Staff Support: Provide support and time, and for staff to plan and collaborate for effective relationships, instruction, services, and student support.
Reflective & Nimble Approach: Build in regular opportunities for reflection to gather feedback from students, families, and staff and improve the approach.