Advocacy for Kennedy-Longfellow and Peabody Schools

Even though North Cambridge Courageous Conversations isn’t currently organizing programming, we are still working to support advocacy efforts around equity in the school district and in school-level organizations. 

Please consider supporting an advocacy effort on behalf of the Kennedy-Longfellow (K-Lo) and Peabody schools to ask that each school receive an additional 1 full-time equivalent (FTE) special educator for this September, that were to have been allocated to them.  Both school principals were informed over the summer that the schools would instead receive only 0.5 FTE special educator each. (Jump to “What you can do” by Aug 23rd.)

Why is this an urgent issue?

Two parents at Kennedy Longfellow contacted NOCA CC to mobilize parent support to advocate for greater equity.

• K-Lo has a student population that includes 85% high needs students, 56.4% low-income students, and about 20% of students receive special education (Mass. DESE source)

• K-Lo’s staffing is based on its enrollment inSeptember, but unlike schools (such as Peabody or Baldwin) where there are no open seats, K-Lo’s enrollment increases every year when new students enter the district. School year 2023-24 was especially dramatic because of the East Cambridge emergency shelter for refugees opening mid-year. The school started the year with 183 students in September 2023, and by the beginning of May 2024 was serving 283 students, a 55% increase. Thus any shortage of staff is exacerbated by the influx of students because staffing is set by the enrollment at the start of the school year. 

Two- K-Lo parents shared the situation at the school in January 2024:

“K-Lo’s three special educators were providing a total of 7200 [special education] service minutes per week to 55 students with IEPs*. This breaks down to trying to offer eight hours of direct services during a six-hour school day, without including time for student evaluations or lesson prep. The school tries to cope with the distance between the need and the staffing shortage by asking the educators to work with up to six students at once.”

What you can do (ideally by Aug 23)

Please sign this letter of support, which will be sent to the School Committee and interim Superintendent David Murphy. Special educators can be reassigned with 10-days notice. There is an option for you to leave an additional comment if you wish.

Feel free to also send your own email to the relevant school officials (below). 

In solidarity,

The North Cambridge Courageous Conversations Core Organizers

• Dr. Karyn Grace, Assistant Superintendent, Office of Student Services - kgrace@cpsd.us

• Shelagh Walker, Coordinator for Special Start, Related Services and School Entry - skellywalker@cpsd.us

• David Murphy, Interim Superintendent - dmurphy@cpsd.us

• School Committee (email to all members) - schoolcom@cpsd.us

• Special Education & Student Supports Subcommittee:

  • Richard Harding (Chair) - rharding@cpsd.us

  • Elizabeth Hudson (Member) - ehudson@cpsd.us

  • José Rojas (Member) - jrojas@cpsd.us

Courageous Conversations for RAUC, Baldwin and Peabody
70 Rindge Ave., Cambridge, MA 02140
northcambridgecc [at] gmail [dot] com