Education & School Relations
Transition Policy Committee Summary of Findings
Committee Name
Education and School Relations
Committee Members
Sarah Phillips, Ryan Williams, Dayshawn Simmons, Julia Dahlin, Andre Green, Tom Bent, Ruth Santos, Amara Anosike
Key themes and trends:
Quality public schools are an essential public service, and we must ensure that a student's zip code does not determine the quality of education they receive or their outcomes later in life. Building on the transition memo submitted by the Somerville Public Schools and the work being led by the Superintendent and School Committee, the stakeholders on the Education and School Relations committee identified three shared priorities for the incoming Wilson administration: Our Buildings, What Happens Inside Them, and How We Pay for It. The through line between these buckets is that the incoming administration must prioritize shared school spaces—utilizing existing spaces, building new spaces where possible, making spaces more accessible and welcoming, improving programming within spaces, and working with the community to transparently make decisions about our spaces as community hubs. Our recommendations, listed below, focus on key initiatives that we believe the Mayor-elect can and should implement to substantially increase the quality of education and activities for our students.
Existing initiatives:
Somerville Public Schools (SPS)
Currently implementing the SPS 2025-2030 Strategic Plan, prioritizing:
Academic Excellence - Implement high-quality curriculum, increase instructional rigor, provide targeted support for students, create “Portrait of an SPS Learner.”
Equity & Access - Strengthen workforce diversity, increase access to out-of-school (OST) programs, increase access to CTE & Scale, ensure access to safe & welcoming communities.
Wellness & Joy - Implement high-quality curriculum that promotes wellness; respond proactively to students' social-emotional needs; increase clubs, athletics, and OST offerings; and celebrate SPS educators & leaders.
Family & Community Engagement - Streamline communication with families, partner with families to support students' success, and partner with local universities, businesses & community members.
School Committee
Current goals include:
Whole Child Teaching & Learning - Prepare students to demonstrate strong literacy and math, provide a high-quality social-emotional learning curriculum, and expand access to real-world learning experiences through Early College, Advanced Placement, and CTE.
Equitable access to programming - create and implement a strategy for school building development, school assignment, and programming that aligns with the district's equity policy and enrollment study.
Workforce diversity - increase the percentage of support staff, teachers, counselors, and administrators of color.
Equitable resource allocation - design, evaluate, and partially or fully implement student-based budgeting or identify alternate mechanisms to more equitably allocate district resources.
CTE
65.27% of Somerville High School students participate in CTE.
Our CTE program operates 14 different shops.
All programs participate in SkillsUSA leadership and technical skill competitions.
SEU
Partnering with SPS to pilot a special education inclusion pilot, revise the district's enrollment policy, and maintain healthy and green buildings.
PTA
School and city-wide PTAs.
Essential fundraising for family emergency support, field trips, and special activities at schools.
Gaps:
Our Buildings
There is a need for proactive maintenance and repair. As the district's transition memo details, several schools need new roofs, chillers, and continue to battle rodent infestations. Addressing these needs is critical, and there is not yet a transparent schedule of maintenance and repair needs based on date of install, age of equipment, or other important factors for roofs, chillers, gym equipment, CTE equipment and more.
While the future of the Winter Hill school is being addressed through an active, structured process that is well underway, key stakeholders on the CAG and in the community remain confused about roles/responsibilities and desire more, clear communication about the vision for the Winter Hill (and possibly the Brown) and the process by which we will achieve it.
While the relationship between SPS, DPW, and IAM has improved exponentially under the leadership of Chief of Staff Anosike in collaboration with Commissioner Lathan and Director Raiche, there is a need for the Mayor's Office to be transparent when facilities challenges arise, provide proactive updates, and respond to inquiry from stakeholders without defensiveness. Prioritizing students and families is our shared priority and it is important that this message is conveyed clearly.
The 311 system does not work well for ongoing school maintenance. There is a need to update it for use in schools by incorporating technological solutions that allow for real-time, visible status updates and tracking trends over time.
SPS maintains a list of building needs in collaboration with other city departments. Similarly, the citywide PTA has a list of quick wins (small building improvements needed at each school). Both will require time and money to address.
What Happens Inside Them
It feels like SPS is managing everything for our students and families. For example, SPS runs much of the city's OST system and much of its basic needs support for families. While the district is very good at this, it will require continued attention and financial support from the City to achieve equitable access.
We have limited civic space and underutilize the space we do have at schools, in part, because current systems and staffing structures make it difficult for entities outside of SPS to utilize school facilities.
We have the space to support expanded programming outside of school hours, but we need the systems, structures, and staff to enable that to happen.
How We Pay for It
SPS will need a 7% budget increase to “level fund” our schools for FY26. To see meaningful new investments, we will need an 8-10% budget increase.
CTE is not a separate line item in the SPS budget and requires ongoing investments for capital equipment and tooling, and equipment maintenance.
Opportunities:
Our Buildings
Utilize MSBA Accelerated Repair program funding.
Be more transparent about the status of maintenance concerns.
Improve communication around the administration's vision for school buildings, including the 1895 building, the Edgerly, and the Cummings School.
Support the strong relationships being built between SPS, DPW, and IAM.
What Happens Inside Them
Investing in multigenerational supports has been shown to close opportunity gaps within schools. (Parent education is the strongest predictor of student test scores.) Additional funding for SCALE and SFLC, and initiatives that connect these important programs to the city's broader workforce development and social service efforts are needed.
There are empty spaces that can be renovated or repurposed– e.g., empty classrooms at the TAB which has grown significantly in the past two years or the Enrollment office which used to be centrally located at the Edgerly/Cummings and should be occupying one of the most family facing spaces in the city. The Cummings could be used for swing space.
There is a recreation department and local community-based organizations interested in providing expanded programming using school facilities.
The New York & San Francisco Beacons models demonstrate what it can look like for a community to open its schools up to the community for more of the day, and we are surrounded by national leaders in Full-Service Community Schools and Citywide OST.
The By All Means Initiative wants to reinvigorate its collaboration with Somerville.
How We Pay for It
The Children's Funding Project could help the administration use existing funds more strategically or leverage new funding streams.
Making school buildings accessible to a wider population could improve support for the new Winter Hill and any future proposition 21/2 override.
Special educators have ideas about how to reduce out-of-district placements, a major cost to the city.
Recommendations for action:
Our Buildings
Ensure that the School Committee is engaged in long-term building planning and that all SPS infrastructure needs are included in the city's Capital Improvement Plan.
Achieve district and PTA-identified quick wins, such as a quick-build playground at the Edgerly.
In collaboration with SPS and the School Committee, establish a transparent, 10-year plan for SPS buildings no longer used for schools but still under the purview of the School Committee (e.g., Cummings, 1895, TAB).
Make maintenance plans for all SPS buildings accessible to the public and provide regular updates to the School Committee and community.
Redevelop an accessible 311 dashboard with live updates, including a 311 “express lane” for school facility service requests.
Make sure decisions affecting school buildings and school playgrounds are student-friendly – e.g., ensure playground materials can be cleared of snow and used in winter.
What Happens Inside Them
Consider ways to integrate school and city-services so that the district can focus more squarely on teaching and learning.
Interview SFLC Director, Ruth Santos, about reorganization opportunities.
Reinvigorate Somerville's relationship with the By All Means Coalition.
Explore and consider the Full Service Community Schools models, the New York and San Francisco Beacons, and the way Cambridge has organized its Agenda for Children.
Expand efforts to maximize community access to school facilities during non-school hours.
In collaboration with SPS, clarify the programs and partnerships currently in place and additional opportunities highlighted by the Youth, Family, & Senior Services Transition Subcommittee.
In collaboration with SPS and the School Committee, develop a joint vision, clarify roles/responsibilities of SPS vs. city staff during non-school hours, and secure the funds needed to bring this vision to life.
Explore and consider partnerships with Boston Afterschool & Beyond.
Roll CTE equipment purchasing and maintenance into larger city contracts for better pricing.
Expand city partnerships with CTE and SCALE so that they are part of a comprehensive economic development and human resources strategy for the city.
Update the city's purchasing system to improve efficiency.
How We Pay for It
Secure as much MSBA funding as possible.
Lobby for new state investments in CTE to be extended to comprehensive high school CTE programs like SHS.
Communicate multi-year budget forecasts to SPS to improve multi-year budget planning.
Communicate transparently with the community about the city's budgetary commitment to our schools and how the administration arrived at this number; to include funding allocations that are non-negotiables such as new roofs, and others that may allow for more flexibility.
Explore and consider a partnership with The Children's Funding Project.
Partner with SPS to leverage grant funding opportunities through Boston Foundation and other entities that can support expanded OST options.
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