As of 2019, all Cambridge Public School District students will have access to free breakfast, and those who have previously received reduced fee lunch will now receive lunch for free as well.

This past December, the School Committee passed a new policy that restricts when and how teachers are allowed to assign homework. The policy prevents teachers from assigning homework online without addressing it in class, and from assigning it over break, on snow days, or in a way that interferes with a student observing a religious holiday. While it’s uncommon for a new policy to be instituted halfway through a school year, both students and teachers agree that the policy clearly has good intentions, and could help students manage stress.

In early January, the Cambridge Public School District introduced a proposal to advance equity in Cambridge schools. The new proposal offers a way to promote equity by “Addressing the time-based barriers to improvement,” which requires a “three-pronged approach: improving the use of time (Quality), increasing time for students and staff (Quantity), and improving coordination with the out-of-school time community (Access).”  

On Sunday, December 9th, artists put the finishing touches on their murals as the first phase of the Central Square Mural Project came to a close. Since the summer of 2017, nine new murals have been painted in Central Square as part of a campaign to add works of public art to the neighborhood. With themes ranging from feminism to immigration, the exhibitions help to celebrate Central Square’s diversity and to revitalize old works of street art.