Greetings CPS Community...
After several months of co-Designed community engagement, strategic planning, and staff feedback, the School Committee voted last Tuesday to adopt the
Fiscal Year 2025 Budget, which incorporates a historic increase of
$23.25 million and includes key investments in the new elementary literacy curriculum, Core Knowledge Language Arts or CKLA, academic supports to address achievement gaps for multilingual learners, Black/African American students and students with disabilities, strategies to better serve students with increased needs, student success plans, and continued investment in family and community engagement.
Thank you to every parent, guardian, and caregiver who has taken our Communications and Content survey. Your time and thoughtful feedback are greatly appreciated. If you have not completed the survey, please do so by
this Friday, April 12 at the link below.
A reminder that there is no school
this Wednesday in observance of Eid al-Fitr and the next edition of the Greer Gazette will be
Monday, April 22.
I hope you have a wonderful break next week. Thank you for your continued support.
Make it Great!
Dr. Victoria L. Greer
Headlines
Communications and Content Survey For Families Closes this Friday
If you haven’t already, please take our Communications and Content Survey, which has been extended through this Friday, April 12.
Take the survey here or click the image below.
Your feedback will inform decisions and contribute to the continued improvement of our communication strategies and platforms as both of which are integral to objective 4 of our District Plan: Building Welcoming Schools. We have again partnered with Panorama Education for the survey. Panorama safeguards your privacy, keeping your responses confidential.
April Family/Caregiver Virtual Dinner Hour
April’s Family/Caregiver Virtual Dinner Hour will be from 6:30-7:30PM. Please note that we will continue organizing the meetings by triad. April’s meeting will be for Amigos, Baldwin, Peabody and Rindge Avenue Upper School.
April’s Family/Caregiver Virtual Dinner Hour will be from 6:30-7:30PM. Please note that we will continue organizing the meetings by triad. April’s meeting will be for Amigos, Baldwin, Peabody and Rindge Avenue Upper School.
This is an opportunity to engage with families and caregivers to learn about your experiences with our schools, have meaningful conversations about our schools and school district, and answer any questions that you may have. A link to register will be provided to each school community. By registering, you will also be able to share topics of interest which will help us plan.
Monthly on Wednesdays from 6:30 - 7:30PM
April 24
May 15 (Please note that this virtual dinner hour will be held from 7 -8PM.)
Congratulations to Our New Chief Financial Officer
Following a comprehensive search and interview process, we are delighted to announce that interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Ms. Ivy Washington, has been named the district’s Chief Financial Officer. Ivy has served in the position as interim since December 2023, leading an inclusive and collaborative engagement process for the 2024-2025 Budget.
Prior to becoming interim CFO, Ivy served as our Assistant Director of Budget and Financial Operations since 2018. She has been instrumental in implementing our online budget book and the improvements that we have made in our community engagement and outreach efforts for our annual budget process. Ivy holds a Master in Business Administration in Nonprofit Management from Yale University and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Columbia University. Please join us in congratulating Ivy for a well-deserved appointment.
Taking on 26 Miles, One Step at a Time - Dana Searcy to Run Boston Marathon In Support of Boston Medical Center & Fellow Colleague
This year our Technology Support Technician Dana Searcy will be running in the Boston Marathon for the 1st time ever! We caught up with Dana to learn more about how he made the decision to run this year (hint: he was given an offer he couldn’t refuse) and what his journey leading up to marathon day has been like. Watch our brief interview here.
April 2 School Committee Update
Highlights include:
Interested in receiving email notifications about meetings? Join the School Committee listserv
Featured Events & Opportunities
Don’t Be Bored During April Break - View Programming
Hoping to have a fun-filled April break? Stop hoping and start planning! The Cambridge Agenda for Children has put together a guide to programs, events and activities for elementary and middle school aged children.
Check out the slideshow here!
Looking for more programming beyond break? Check out our Summer Programming below!
Explore more in our Cambridge 2024 Summer Resource Guide (Kindergarten - 8)!
Summer Jobs for Teens
The Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program (MSYEP) connects eligible teens to paid summer jobs in Cambridge and surrounding communities. This is a great opportunity for teens to get real world exposure to a variety of career paths, get some work experience and earn money!
Who is Eligible?
- Teens who are Cambridge Residents.
- Teens turning 14 years old by July 1,2024 and are age-eligible through the summer after completing high school.
- Teens must be eligible to work in the US in order to get paid.
Teens can apply online using the Youth Employment Trax platform starting Wednesday, April 10 - Friday, April 26. Learn more about the MYSEP program here.
Multicultural Night at CRLS
The student-led Cultural Visibility Team invites you to our first district-wide Multicultural Night! Enjoy a variety of cuisines in our community potluck and celebrate the many cultures of Cambridge with student performances and a fashion show!
- When: **This Thursday, April 11 | 6 - 8PM
- Where: Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (located at 459 Broadway Street)
- Registration is recommended, but not required.
Volunteering to perform or to bring a dish for the potluck is open to the community, check out our volunteer form!
Register for our 1st Community Seder!
Jewish educators, students, and families invite the whole CPS community to our first Community Seder! A seder is a ritual meal that is part of the celebration of Passover, an important Jewish holiday in the spring. We welcome all members of the CPS community who are interested in learning about this tradition to join us.
- When: Thursday, April 25 | 5:30 - 7PM
- Where: Cambridge Rindge & Latin School Media Cafeteria (located at 459 Broadway)
- Registration is required. Attendance is limited.
April Free Food Markets
All families are welcome to stop by our free, school-based food markets. They offer fresh fruits, vegetables, and pantry items. Please bring your own bags.
“The City is Ours” for These Kindergarteners
As part of our Kindergarten Construction unit, Kindergarteners learn about the many parts that come together to create a city. When they received a letter from Mayor Denise Simmons asking for their ideas to create a fairer Cambridge, they accepted the challenge! With the help of volunteer architects from the Boston Society for Architecture, students worked to plan, design and create a city. The architect visit provided context for students and supported their own task of creating a fairer Cambridge.
These model cities will be on display at City Hall the week of May 6. Take a sneak peek at what our kindergarten students at Graham and Parks designed in Teacher Mihos’ class!
Logo Showdown for CRLS Creative Design Students
Students in the CRLS Creative Design class competed in the recent Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association Logo Design competition. Students were given the organization’s mission statement and were tasked with designing a logo that would meet the needs of their “client”. This contest is part of the Creative Design Live Work Program and spearheaded by former CRLS graduate Rebecca Bowie & CRLS parent Jimena Bermejo.
Congratulations to CRLS Senior Feda Abu-Rubieh on their 1st place winning design! Check out the other stand out student designs here!
Khari Milner Recognized as 2024 Children’s Champion
Congratulations to our very own Khari Milner, Co-Director of Cambridge Agenda for Children, who was honored as the ‘2024 Children’s Champion’ during the 60th Annual Celebration of Tutoring Plus this March. Tutoring Plus provides free individual tutoring, mentoring and enrichment support for youth throughout the community. Khari has dedicated his career to advancing achievement for young people both in and beyond the classroom. At the most recent School Committee meeting, Khari was issued a resolution in honor of his lifetime commitment to the community. We are proud to have him continue to lead as a valued partner in education. Learn more here.
Award Winning Works for CRLS
37 CRLS students received recognition from their submission to the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, which is the nation's longest-running, largest, most prestigious recognition program for creative teenagers in the visual and literary arts. You can view the collection of recognized works compiled in this Google Slide presentation. Special thanks to our educators Jon Baring-Gould, Melissa Chaney, Amanda Kilton, Michele Watson Maxwell, and Deborah Milligan for guiding our students and teaching the Awards’ core values - originality, skill, and expression of personal voice or vision.
Key Resources
Wednesday, April 10 | Eid al-Fitr (No School & CPS Offices Closed)
Monday, April 15 - Friday, April 19 | April Break (No School & CPS Offices Closed on Monday, April 15)
Wednesday, May 8 | Early Release (Grades JK-8)
Monday, May 27 | Memorial Day (No School & CPS Offices Closed)