ESON, MSN, and RAY: Dec Meeting Recap

12/18/2023

Thank you to the many of you who joined our School Partnerships Gathering! We had over 100 people in the room and the energy was palpable. Thank you again to the Foundry for hosting (please reach out to them about booking space – they have so many amazing resources available!)

After our meeting, we had a chance to connect with folks and asked them, “What's something you learned today?" Here are some of the responses we received:

Title 6 concerning federal funding and language equity
Opportunity fatigue is a thing!
That a citywide ost timeline would be helpful to families, programs providers, and program directors (planning)
Who people are at the district
There’s a Basketball Lab!
About the existence of RAY!
How the portal works
That CPS has a new SEL tool they are integrating into schools as an evaluation metric, and that there is a portal for information sharing across programs!
Learned about different teen programs at Russell
New people in New positions
So many community groups
Many providers concerned about engagement levels of youth
new summer
The social emotional questionnaire our students take
There is a lot of support for high-school students.
Learned about new resources, new connections
After school program timeline
I learned about the ways we are connecting afterschool programs to best share information together.
I think it is really valuable to get all 3 networks together. Maybe there should be 1, and then have "subcommittee" networks for the different ages.
There are SO many resources Cambridge offers, it’s tough to get them all together. But this was perfect
I didn't know schools had SST's (Student Support Teams)
A new help line has launched to help our multi lingual families.
All the different resources around the city and point persons.
I learned the difference between CET and CDD
I learned that there's a lot of information that my community does not know about within Cambridge

To facilitate ongoing learning and networking, we've created a directory of all the meeting attendees, which you can view here.

Below are announcements - and some amazing language related resources from Crystal Rosa (thank you!)

Also, be sure to check out the upcoming 2024 ESON/MSN Network and 2024 RAY meeting dates/topics!

With gratitude for all that you each do,
Nadia & Annie

Breakout Group Notes & Participants

Many of you asked if we could specifically share the notes from each of our breakout groups with names and emails - here they are!

We encourage you all to reach out to each other to continue these conversations - or start new ones! We will also be reviewing notes to see what we can continue to work on in our networks and across organizations.

Check out the Breakout Group Notes & Participants below:

Community Announcements

Space Available at The Foundry (Applications Due 12/29/23)
Would your program like to use The Foundry's amazing facilities to offer weekly classes for young people? Weekly programs are selected on a quarterly basis for up to 12 weeks of programming per season. For this season, applications open on November 10. Applications are due on Friday, December 29. The spring season runs between March and May.

Any programs that meet their community guidelines and make positive use of the space are welcome at The Foundry! For more information about how they will select which programs are accepted each season, you can review their Program Rubric.

This application should take around 10-20 minutes to fill out and you can view the full application here. Questions about the application or this process can be directed to [email protected]. To see the rooms available at The Foundry, visit their website. To see the hourly cost of each room, see their sliding scale.

Multilingual Help Line is Live!
Free Interpretation is available for anyone to use! Call: 617-865-2273. Check out the English version of the multilingual helpline card. Here’s a video recording of the full training (1hr.37mins) that happened a couple of weeks ago. (A link to the Directory that is referenced in the training). Also check out the I Speak Card, designed by the Federal Government, which helps community members identify their language to employees if in person.

Questions? Contact Crystal Rosa, [email protected]

Language Resources
From the Language Barriers breakout group a few things emerged. Here are resources on those needs:

The need for teachers to use plain language in their communications to families:

The next plain language workshop is scheduled for Thursday, December 14 from 10 am to 11:30 am. Anyone can register using the link.

Although an organization may have bilingual staff available, their skill is not at a level for helping native speakers adequately. Interpretation services should be available to bilingual staff too:

This slideshow details the federal law requirements regarding interpreter and bilingual staff use. It lists the civil rights laws that require students and families to have language access in schools and other activities managed by recipients of federal funding.
I encourage everyone to cite Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act when advocating for language access resources in their institutions.
For bilingual staff who feel their skill level can help broker the help families need, there may be bilingual incentive pay available if they belong to a union. Testing is usually required to get that additional pay.
I’m hoping to recreate this model for nonunion employees . . . TBD on those developments.

Please inform the event participants that they can always Schedule a Meeting or Submit a Request for Assistance to discuss how to get their work translated or have interpretation at a community meeting.

Tell all 8th-12th Graders: Come to the MIT Museum Teen Science Cafe!
Designed by teens for teens, Teen Science Cafes bring together scientists and students, grades 8-12 to explore new research and discuss what inspires and influences people to pursue careers in STEM.

Join local researchers and other teens for a night exploring the field of psychology. Hear from experts on behavioral psychology and language, and engage in fun and interactive learning centered on interpersonal relationships and brain games.

Upcoming Event: Psych Night, Sat, Dec 16th, 6-8 pm

Registration Link. Questions? Contact Melisa Rojas, [email protected]

MFNH Toy and Coat Drive and a Winter Festival!
Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House is hosting a toy drive and coat drive and is looking for donations! Drop off items at 71 Cherry Street until Monday, Dec 18th.

They are also hosting their Winter Festival on Thurs, Dec. 21st from 4-7PM at 71 Cherry St, Cambridge!

Make a craft, take photos with Santa, and enjoy light refreshments!

Open to the Cambridge community! Please share the information and fliers with families! Questions? Contact, Gigi Laurent [email protected]

ESON Coordinator Position is Posted!
The Agenda for Children OST is looking to hire a new Elementary School-Out-of-School Time Network (ESON) Coordinator (Shawn Proctor’s former position)! ESON is a coordinated and committed coalition of Cambridge out-of-school time providers, schools, families, and community partners who work together to provide equitable access to quality learning experiences beyond the school day and school year for JK-5 children.

Interested? Click here to apply or share the link with someone who would be a great fit! If you have questions, please feel free to contact Khari Milner, [email protected]

CRLS Youth Equity Summit
CRLS Youth Equity Summit is on January 24th from 12:30 - 3:00-ish! Table at the Actionable Advocacy Fair with opportunities for teens to get involved in your programs. Reach out to Sam Musher to get involved: [email protected]

Free Drop-In Tutoring at The Library
The Teen Room at the Cambridge Public Library Main Branch has free Drop-In Tutoring for ages 12 – 18 on Mondays & Wednesdays 5:00 – 6:00pm Questions? Contact Paul Trunnell: [email protected]

Breakthrough Application is Live
For current 6th graders, find out more at here.

Let it Snow! Engineering and Making event at the Hive
All are invited to the Hive on Weds, Dec. 27th for snow-y engineering design challenges! Design a speedy miniature sled, "snow" shelter, snow globe and more. There will be space for children and families, and a space for high schoolers and middle schoolers. No registration is necessary. Learn more here! Questions? Contact Em St. Germain, [email protected]

Friday Night Hype & Rollin’ N Summer Resources
Friday Night Hype is hosting a Winter Dance! Students from around the district will come together for a winter celebration at the Friday Night Hype Winter Dance. All middle school students are welcome!

Friday, Dec. 15th, 2023 at the Community Art Center Gym, 119 Windsor St., Cambridge
Grades 6 & 7: Dance is from 7:00 - 8:30 PM
Grades 8 & 9: Dance is from 8:30 - 10:00 PM

There is no cost (permission slip is required).

Rollin' N Summer Resources is happening on March 2nd! RSVP and save the date!
Questions? Contact
Debbie Bonilla, [email protected]

CPS District / School Climate Survey for CPS Families
Please encourage CPS parents and caregivers to use this link to take the survey. (Deadline 12/22/23). Questions? Contact: Ray Porch: [email protected], Khari Milner: [email protected]

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