Cambridge Advanced Learning Association
Providing community, resources, and advocacy for families
http://cambridgeadvanced.org/
March 27, 2012
Dear Dr. Young, Dr. Turk, Mayor Davis, Members of the Administration, and Members of the
School Committee,
I’m here this evening on behalf of the new parent group, CALA – the Cambridge Advanced
Learning Association.
It’s truly good news to hear that you’ll be creating an Academic Challenge Program Manager
position. It’s gratifying, and frankly, it’s a huge relief.
And I wanted to let you know that we’re very much aware that this is just one of the many,
many moving parts and challenges you’ve been dealing with all year, and that we’ve
appreciated your time and thoughtfulness in discussions and correspondence with CALA
parents about this issue.
I know you’ve been hearing from a lot of people in the community about why this position is so
needed, and we’re grateful for your responsiveness. Creating this position will have many
benefits, including helping bring to life the ideals of the Innovation Agenda that all of you have
been working so hard to enact this whole year –
An Academic Challenge Program Manager will:

Better allow our teachers and specialists to differentiate instruction

Bring expertise about advanced learning to our district, and will give our teachers,
specialists, coaches and parents an experienced point person to go to for help, for
training, to share ideas, run workshops, and so on

Insure that interventions like SAPs and flexible groupings for students with advanced
learning needs will be available to all students who need them, especially those from
disadvantaged circumstances, those on IEPs, etc…

Pre-empt disorganization, inconsistency, and unfairness, which is a step in the right
direction toward lessening the profoundly troubling race- and class-driven achievement
gap in our district

Contribute to our district being able to deliver an excellent education to every student in
a socially just way; to respect and value each student as a learner; to help our kids
become students who love learning; and who learn how to learn.
This Academic Challenge Program Manager position also ties into the Massachusetts Tiered
System of Support – MTSS, which has evolved over the last five years, out of Response to
Intervention and related programs. There’s a new MTSS section in the Special Education part of
the DESE website. It just went online in October, and was presented at the DESE’s “Curriculum,
Instruction, and Assessment Summit” in November. The first chapter says:
… the Massachusetts Tiered System of Support (MTSS), provides a framework for school
improvement that focuses on system level change across the classroom, school, and
district to meet the academic and non-academic needs of all students, including
students with disabilities, English language learners, and students who are academically
advanced. It guides both the provision of high-quality core educational experiences in a
safe and supportive learning environment for all students and academic and/or nonacademic targeted interventions/supports for students who experience difficulties and
for students who have already demonstrated mastery of the concept and skills being
taught.
http://www.doe.mass.edu/mtss/blueprint/ [an excerpt is attached below]
MTSS is exciting, because it reflects an expanded way of thinking about any student who needs
help. MTSS says: here’s a student, any student, and here’s the curriculum – how are they
interacting? Is there a problem? Is the curriculum too hard? Is it too easy? Is it culturally
accessible? If there’s a mismatch, is there a related social or behavioral issues? Then you go
from there with interventions and responses. This is exciting because it’s a way of thinking
about all students and how best to meet their needs.
So, on behalf of the CALA community, thank you for taking this significant step. We know this is
just a beginning, and we stand ready to work with you ongoing, to insure that all students’
needs in Cambridge are met in a socially just and equitable way.
In fact, one of our parents, who works at Tufts with freshman math students from
disadvantaged backgrounds, has an excellent, viable idea for a math grant proposal for the
Upper Schools, and we have a STEM contact at Google who’s ready to work with us on this. So
we’re excited to contact you about that very soon.
Thank you!
- Freedom Baird, for the CALA community
CPS parent, CALA coordinator
http://cambridgeadvanced.org/
freedom.baird@gmail.com
c: 617-529-6744
State Government
· State Services
Family & Community Special Communities
Special Education
The Massachusetts Tiered System of Support (MTSS)
Massachusetts has developed a blueprint outlining a single
system of supports that is responsive to the academic and
non-academic needs of all students. This blueprint, the
Massachusetts Tiered System of Support (MTSS), provides a
framework for school improvement that focuses on system
level change across the classroom, school, and district to
meet the academic and non-academic needs of all students,
including students with disabilities, English language
learners, and students who are academically advanced. It
guides both the provision of high-quality core educational
experiences in a safe and supportive learning environment for all students and academic and/or
non-academic targeted interventions/supports for students who experience difficulties and for
students who have already demonstrated mastery of the concept and skills being taught.
Schools and districts are encouraged to work toward an integrated approach to support
students' academic and social-emotional competencies. All students receive academic
instruction and behavioral supports that include differentiation and extension activities and are
guided by the three Universal Design for Learning principles (multiple means of representation,
multiple means of action and expressions, and multiple means of engagement).
MTSS Application to Students with IEP's
Relevant information from students' Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) is incorporated
into the design and implementation of instruction and assessments to enable students eligible
for special education services to access fully the system of tiered instruction and non-academic
supports.
Determining eligibility for Specific Learning Disabilities
Policies and procedures must be in place to comply with Special Education Regulations
regarding the use of tiered instruction to determine eligibility for Specific Learning Disabilities.
View the forms and technical assistance documents that are to be used when finding a student eligible
for special education with a Specific Learning Disability (SLD).
last updated: October 11, 2011