David J. Weinstein

David J. Weinstein
2019 Candidate for Cambridge School Committee

Home address:
45 S. Normandy Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138

Contact information:
website: votedavidweinstein.com
e-mail: votedavidweinstein@gmail.com
phone: 857-285-2194
Facebook: facebook.com/votedavidweinstein
Twitter: twitter.com/voteDWeinstein
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/djweinstein

Send contributions to:
Online: https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/votedavidweinstein
or by mail to:
David Weinstein for Cambridge School Committee
45 S. Normandy Ave.
Cambridge MA 02138

David J. Weinstein

Candidate for Cambridge School Committee

Teacher, Parent, Communicator

Every two years we elect a school committee team in Cambridge. We need a teacher, parent, communicator and collaborative organizational leader to join that team.

My wife and I have lived in Cambridge for 18 years. Our kids are in 2nd and 7th grade in the Cambridge Public Schools. I am proud of our city and our schools — but not satisfied.

I have had literally hundreds of conversations with other Cambridge families, students, educators, and with our CRLS alumni to understand the myriad challenges we face.

I come away from these conversations excited about our achievements – and frustrated. We have so much in Cambridge. The people, the financial resources, the municipal programs, the community organizations, and the innovative businesses. How can we still be failing so many of our children? I ask you to vote David #1 for School Committee on November 5th and work with me these next two years so our School Committee can achieve excellence, equity, innovation and oportunity for every child.

As a child I entered public school with many advantages – and I did well academically, loved my teachers, made lifelong friends – and hated school. I didn’t have enough agency – and more significantly, I saw disparities in opportunity all around me in my diverse hometown.

This fueled my lifelong commitment to closing the persistent racial and economic opportunity gaps in our schools and advancing educational equity while ensuring all kids have joyful, enriching school experiences so they can succeed on their own terms before and after graduation.

I've pursued these goals as a public school teacher, as a scholar of education policy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, as a program leader in mission-driven organizations and at universities, and as a Cambridge Public Schools parent and advocate.

I am the only candidate who has been a classroom teacher. We need a teacher on that School Committee Team. The classroom is “where the rubber meets the road.” We need that experience and perspective at the table as policies and budgets are set. I began my career in education with 5 years in the classroom. I was a certified classroom teacher in public elementary and high schools in New York and Massachusetts, teaching high school English and humanities, as well as art k-12.

Every two years we elect a School Committee team. Let’s assemble a team that will work hard, actively listen, and work together productively to move the needle towards equity and achievement for all students. Our kids only get one shot at this. And those families facing the most challenges should not be the ones having to struggle the hardest to help their kids succeed. We as a community must be stepping up. And until we have reached our goal, we must work harder.

Vote David Weinstein #1 on November 5th to make sure our Cambridge School Committee team includes the skills, experience and perspective we need:

  • I taught  as a certified classroom teacher in public elementary schools and high schools In New York and Massachusetts, and have spent my career in education.
  • I know our Cambridge Public Schools as a parent and advocate for public education with kids in our elementary (2nd grade) and upper school (7th grade) classrooms right now.
  • I researched educational policy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education for my Master’s degree. I know how to connect ideals with clasroom realities, what questions we need to ask about educational policy – and when we need to ask others for their experience and knowledge.
  • I am a collaborative organizational leader who has guided and grown a national civic education program based at Brandeis University. I will work well with others to get the job done for our children.

Some of my priorities:

  • Offer public junior kindergarten and pre-k for all.
  • Close the racial and economic opportunity gaps in our schools and meet the needs of all learners.
  • Budget for enough “hearts and hands” in every school building, including the still-new Upper Schools, through equitable student-teacher ratios, support for the family liaisons, and hiring enough social workers and other specialized staff.
  • Exceed our goal of 30% teachers of color by hiring, supporting and retaining excellent teachers.
  • Ensure that the superintendent and administration are guided by the wisdom of our teachers, our families and the best available research as we implement the new strategic plan and evaluate a longer school day.
  • Ensure that every child has an individualized "success plan" so that the needs of all children are met, including those arriving with the greatest needs, those already achieving at the highest levels, and those not targeted by interventions designed for either of those cohorts.
  • Launch and adequately staff an ombuds program (sometimes known as an "ombudsman" program, in less gender-neutral terms) that follows best practices and is available to all students, staff, teachers and families. Everyone should know that there is someone they can contact confidentially with concerns related to the schools.
  • Help our students and CRLS alums access the extraordinary opportunities within and beyond our city, opportunities which remain out of reach for many of our kids, through college and career guidance, internship and apprenticeship programs, mentorship and other supports.

To achieve this I will seek out information and perspectives from throughout the city. I will attend parent/teacher/staff school council and leadership meetings in every school. I will answer your calls and emails. I will meet with community groups.

I will reach out to experts – both the kinds of experts found at places like Harvard University and Kendall Square, and the kinds of experts we have in every school community in Cambridge: the people who wake up early to get their children ready for school, and the people who wake up early to get themselves ready to work in our schools.

And I will be collaborative. Again, we are selecting a school committee team. As important as the individual skills and focus of the team members, is their ability to collaborate – especially when the going gets tough, when the solutions are not obvious, when the challenges are complex.

How do you know I’ll be that School Committee team member? The one who brings people together towards the goal? The one willing to not be in the spotlight – and willing to stick their neck out when needed?

  • You don’t get a class of teenagers awake and alert at 7:45 AM to discuss literature and reflect on its meaning in their lives and to society unless you can bring people together.
  • You don’t enable 29 college professors from 29 states across the country to collaborate and build a new civic education program by “being a boss.”
  • You don’t make hard choices about testing practices in a Cambridge elementary school, or about which candidates to recommend as new principal hires, by sitting in a room of other parents, teachers and administrators and “declaring” your decision.

You do these things – I have done these things – by building relationships, and by communicating. By always learning and by staying focused on what matters.

That is how we will bring Cambridge and the School Committee together and move forward.

Now I need your help: I ask you to vote for David #1 on November 5th, and work with me these next two years so our School Committee can achieve the results our children deserve.

Thank You!

CCTV candidate video (2019)

CCTV candidate video (2017)     InsideOut - Oct 17, 2017   Cambridge Parking Day interview (2017)   2015 Candidate Page
Page last updated Saturday, October 26, 2019 11:46 AM Cambridge Candidates