Middle School Plans Delayed

Newly elected Cambridge Public Schools superintendent, Jeffrey M. Young, said that he would not be able to provide concrete recommendations to remedy the long-debated “middle school issue” in the city by the October deadline set by the school committee.

Young, who began working for the district on July 6, had agreed to present to the committee his plan to resolve the concern over the quality of the education that 6th-8th grade students receive in K-8 schools, an environment some claim is not specifically—and therefore poorly—designed for the needs of early adolescence.

Young told the Boston Globe that he will delay making specific recommendations—which he had promised to deliver 100 days after taking office—because he did not have sufficient time to review the issue, as schools have been closed for the summer.

For decades the community has been debating the state of middle school education in the district. The city has no middle schools, but rather one K-6 school and eleven that are K-8, which feed into a single high school.

The school committee was in the process of addressing the issue last year under the direction of former superintendent Thomas D. Fowler-Finn, but was interrupted when he “went to pursue other interests,” in the words of School Committee member Joseph G. Grassi.

In the wake of Fowler-Finn’s departure, the school committee was considering candidates for the superintendency that would be particularly adroit at handling the middle school issue.

“We voted on the 100 days deadline because we as a group believe that this is an important issue that must be addressed,” said school committee member Nancy Tauber. “We wanted [the new superintendent] to know this issue was a priority.”

Grassi went so far as to identify the concern as “the biggest issue the school committee is going to have over the next term.”

While Young will not provide concrete recommendations, he will be presenting a general plan to the school committee on September 22nd.

“My understanding is he’s going to present recommendations in terms of the process and how he’s going to proceed,” Grassi said.

School committee members said they were not displeased by the delay.

“I don’t think of it as a push-back,” Tauber said. “I thank that it is just thoughtful governance. I think it’s important for him to spend time in schools talking to teachers, talking to families, and talking to his administration.”

—Staff writer Sofia E. Groopman can be reached at segroopm@fas.harvard.