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Dear friends and neighbors,
I humbly announce that I will run for re-election to the Cambridge School Committee on Tuesday, November 2, 2021. I hope I can count on your #1 vote in the election.
When I joined the committee in January of 2020, few of us imagined how our world would change as we faced the COVID-19 pandemic. I am proud of the work we have done as a community and as a district over the last year and a half, and my contributions include the following:
One of the first tasks after the onset of the pandemic was to pass a budget. I pushed for inclusion of estimated COVID-related expenses to take into account the uncertainty of the times. It was a challenging ask but important and consistent with budgeting best practices. With the help of the district, the city council and city manager, we passed a balanced budget, in addition to assurances that new COVID-related expenses would be covered by the City of Cambridge, which would not adversely affect the school budget.
Immediately after that, as Chair of the Building & Grounds Subcommittee, I started holding and facilitating ongoing meetings to review and discuss the recommendations of the Health & Safety Working Group. This led to the adoption of the safety & facilities manual that enabled us to reopen schools in the fall of 2020, for our youngest learners and other high need students. I received positive comments from the City administration on my skillful leadership and management of the process. That work continues to this day, as the pandemic continues to evolve.
During my term, I have also been working on expanding the district's commitment to restorative justice into the governance of the School Committee. As Chair of the Governance Subcommittee, I have been leading complex conversations on what it means for the School Committee to work under a restorative justice framework. This led to draft changes to the code of Ethics of the School Committee that have been reviewed by the School Committee, the Head of Restorative Justice in the district, the president of the Mass Association of School Committees, legal council and members of the community. My hope is to get these changes approved and introduced before the end of my term.
As we prepare for the new school year, I look forward to working with the interim superintendent on the "recovery and thrive" efforts to address academic and socio-emotional effects of the pandemic. My focus will be on ensuring teaching focuses on grade level content, while providing the necessary scaffolding to ensure all students can access the material. Equally important, I intend to ensure that there are resources allocated to develop a new strategic plan that will frame our long-term efforts to continue to bridge the opportunity gaps of our students, by holding all students to high standards and providing them with the educational tools necessary to meet them.
I hope you will attend my pre-kick off event at Patty Nolan's house at 18 Huron Ave this Thursday (July 1) from 6:30pm to discuss your thoughts, suggestions and concerns. Your support and donations will help me campaign over the next several months. I look forward to sharing future opportunities to meet, talk and collaborate.
I hope to earn your #1 vote and to serve a 2nd term in the Cambridge School Committee.
Thank you,
José Luis