City Council and School Committee Endorse Family Engagement Statement

Cambridge City Council and School Committee Unanimously Pass Resolution on a Citywide Commitment to Family Engagement Statement

The City Council and the School Committee unanimously endorsed last week a shared family engagement value statement for all service providers who work with families in Cambridge. The adopted language, introduced by Mayor McGovern in his role as chair of both elected bodies, capped a collaborative process led by the Family Engagement and Partnership subcommittee of the Birth to 3^rd Grade Partnership to provide a uniform definition across City Departments, schools, and community partners.

With the passing of this joint resolution, the City Council and School Committee endorsed the following statement:

“Children and teens thrive when policy makers, schools, and city and community organizations partner with families to actively support children’s learning, development, and well-being. It is our shared responsibility to engage each other in meaningful and culturally respectful ways. This effort is continuous across a child’s life from birth to adulthood and carried out everywhere they learn and grow.”

This statement will be used as the foundation for all the family engagement work done in the City of Cambridge—including but not limited to our educators and policy makers, as well as our child care, afterschool, health care, and family support professionals.

Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education Maryann MacDonald and Assistant City Manager of the Department of Human Services Programs Ellen Semonoff, the Co-Chairs of the Birth to Third Grade Partnership Steering Committee, are very excited to have the endorsement of our City’s elected leadership around the importance of all of us partnering with families in culturally responsive ways.

Mayor McGovern also expressed his appreciation for the effort: “My thanks to Birth to 3^rd Grade Partnership for their leadership in convening stakeholders in this process,” he said, “while it may look different for each person, our commitment to engagement across Cambridge must remain consistent and clear.” Mayor McGovern added that, “As we head to the summer months, it is important to keep our actions centered on fostering connections, both personal and public, across Cambridge where each child and family are genuinely engaged and provided an equitable opportunity to thrive.”