1. Because of my background in school improvement and change I would have pushed for a process that used explicit criteria, data, and legitimate community input. I would have also pushed the committee to stick to the original timeline and make a decision much earlier than the current school committee did.   

2. We need to get focused on a clear direction for the high school, make the curriculum, more coherent and more challenging and support and supervise teachers so they are all qualified to teach challenging classes.  We need consistent leadership that can help teachers, student, and parents make progress toward excellence.    

3. I would direct resources away from positions in the bloated central administration and toward schools and classrooms. Specifically, teachers need more support in their schools on professional development and meeting the many needs of their students.  

4. Standardized testing should have a limited role as part of a more comprehensive system of measuring student learning.

5. The school system needs to be working toward the same outcomes across all of its schools. Schools and teachers can and should retain the individual style and character, but they need to be focused on making sure children are developing similar skills that are preparing them for the next step in their education.  

6. By having a focused plan for how to use the resources across the system and within each school. The university partnerships should build on the goals and vision of the schools, not supplant or override it simply because there is money attached.

Marc McGovern 

1. I would have shown a great deal of respect to parents and school communities. I would have made sure that before any plan was passed there was a sound transition plan to insure the best outcomes in the new schools. I would have made sure that whatever plan was passed made educational sense and was not based on political agendas.  

2. To improve achievement at the high school we need to set a clear vision that demands rigorous curriculum at every level. We need to support teachers who, despite an average cost of $17,000 per student, still do not have all the supplies, materials and in-service training they need to do their jobs effectively. Above all else, the high school needs stability.

3. Yes. I would pull together teachers, principals, parents and school administrators to determine what supports and services are needed to create healthy, creative, nurturing school environments and then make sure those positions are funded.

4. Standardized testing should be used to help paint a picture of the areas in which a student needs improvement.   

5. Standardizing curriculum and setting benchmarks for learning are different. One of the wonderful aspects of Cambridge public school system is that we have schools that offer different teaching philosophies. What we need, however, is to set benchmarks that standardizes the skills that will be taught in each grade, so that children across the district are learning similar skills while still maintaining our elementary schools individual character.

6. The school department must establish and maintain a working relationship with local colleges and universities. Communication between these groups has traditionally not been productive and has resulted in a less than beneficial relationship.

Nancy Walser

1. I think I helped communicate with my colleagues and find a middle ground so that the consolidation could take place, our strongest schools could be supported, and the school district as a whole could move ahead with improvement efforts.