Background:
A lifelong Cambridge resident, Richard Harding attended the city's public
schools and graduated from Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School. He then
attended Fitchburg State College, where he earned his bachelor's degree.
In high school, Richard worked with Congressman Joe Kennedy at Citizen's
Energy helping to ensure that families had the assistance they needed.
During college he worked for the Department of Human Services at the Area
4 Youth Center in Cambridge, mentoring young people and teaching
leadership and self efficacy. Richard also volunteered a coach for
elementary school sports.
After college, Richard served as Legislative Aide for Senator Warren
Tolman and then as Constituent Services Director and Cambridge Liaison to
Senator Steven A. Tolman. After working for four years on behalf of the
neighborhoods' interests at the state house, Richard joined the Cambridge
Health Alliance and currently runs the Men of Color Health Initiative, a
campaign to counteract health disparities men of color face and promote
healthy lifestyles. He is on the board of the Cambridge Community Arts
Center, the Cambridge Youth Program and he is on the national board of the
Young People's Project, a math literacy program focused on bridging the
divide in minority participation in science and technology careers.
Richard is involved in the community as Chair of the Ward 2 Democratic
Committee and President of the Port Life Foundation, youth development
program. Richard puts his expertise to work to help those in need as a
member of the Community Crisis Response Team. Richard is intimately
familiar with the potential of the public schools and believes in their
ability to prepare Cambridge's children for great success. In his second
term, Richard Harding was elected to Vice-Chair of the School Committee by
his peers in recognition of his leadership, his efficient stewardship and
his ability to bring people together.
Top Priorities/Goals:
- Closing the achievement gap
- Meaningful evaluations of all administrators and teachers
- Establishing learning benchmarks for K-8
- Restoring the public confidence in the Cambridge Public Schools
Roles of the School Committee, the Superintendent, Parents, and the
Public:
The School Committee, like any representative body, serves as the
political leadership for a municipally run body - here the school system -
to ensure its efficiency, appoint its leadership, and hold the system
accountable for reaching its goals. But unlike other representative bodies
the School Committee must also ensure that the people its members
represent have input in the decisions that affect their children's
education and their children's future. In all of its decision the School
Committee should take into account what is best for kids. The School
Committee must provide strong, compassionate leadership that ensures
success in the future as well as in the present; leadership that asks
tough questions, demands answers, and keeps the system on task; leadership
that makes judgments and sets policies with the success of every student
in mind. Richard believes that the school committee must work to channel
resources into the classroom so that students realize academic success and
that teachers are supported.
Elementary School Programs and Administration:
High School Programs and Administration:
Richard Harding believes that Cambridge Rindge and Latin should be the
best urban public high school in America. He led the charge to remove the
past superintendent for her lack of leadership in serving Cambridge's
young people at the high school level. Richard is working with the new
leadership both at the system level and with the principal to ensure that
every student has the balance of supports and motivation to reach their
goals. Richard is a staunch supporter of the Rindge School of Technical
Arts and the partnerships that ensure a strong vocational future for those
students that choose such a path. Richard co-sponsored a motion to direct
the superintendent to develop a plan that ensures that all students meet
graduations requirements and graduate from high school.
School Department Administration and the Budget:
The School Committee needs to focus all resources into the classroom to
support excellence in instruction and meaningful professional development.
The school budget should channel resources that help all principals have
the resources needed for academic excellence. The School Committee should
work with the administration to cut all non-essential administrative
positions and funnel resources into the classroom to support teaching and
learning. Richard maintains that we must also use as much of our resources
as is needed to make sure we have a first class science and math program
at the middle and high school levels. Richard believes that we need to
assess what is working for students and eliminate those programs that have
not worked.
Teacher Evaluations and Teachers Contract:
Richard Harding believes that excellent instruction is the key to student
academic achievement. Richard works to funnel resources directly to the
opportunities and supports that affect students and places a focus on
those resources supporting teaching and learning. Richard led the way for
a meaningful evaluation system that is specific to teachers and a separate
system for guidance counselors, who in the past were asked to use the same
tool as teachers. Richard Harding fought to make sure all teachers and
administrators are appropriately certified so that classrooms are ready to
support excellence at all levels.
State/Federal Role in Local Education:
The Bush administration is engaged in a full frontal assault on public
education. The No Child Left Behind Act is leaving many students completed
locked out of the very opportunities a quality public education should
afford them. Richard Harding believes in high standards without high
stakes and that we should make schools accountable to all students.
Richard has fought to include other assessments beyond the MCAS, such as
portfolios, so that students, parents and teachers can get an accurate
picture of student performance and make the necessary resource provision
when it still counts. This fall Richard Harding took the courageous step
to direct the Superintendent and the high school principal to explore a
legal "opt-in" policy to make sure that only the information of
students and parents who want military recruiters to contact them is given
to military recruiters. Currently parents and students have to
"opt-out" by signing a document directing the school not to
release information about that student.
Declining Enrollment:
While it is clear that there is a relationship between the declining
enrollment and the demographic proportions of the city, Richard believes
that improving and sustaining our schools is the only way to schools can
address this issue. Richard affirms that the shift has disproportionately
affected working families, reducing the numbers of students from that
socio-economic level, but is committed to building excellent instruction
in every classroom to attract families that have traditionally opted out
of the public schools.
Charter Schools:
Richard Harding believes in public schools and their ability to produce
high achieving, intelligent productive citizens. Richard Harding believes
that the best argument against charter schools is to ensure that the
Cambridge Public Schools offer the best education possible and meet the
needs of all students in the city of Cambridge. Richard takes issue with
the funding formula for charter schools and its impact on education of all
students. Richard believes that parents should have choice and supports
parents' right to choose how and where their children are educated.
Other:
Richard Harding believes in the success of Cambridge's young people.
Richard will work hard to ensure that we as a city will have a world-class
school system that will provide each individual student with the
opportunity to define and reach for their goals and the supports and
opportunities to get there. Richard is working to restore confidence in
the school system as a whole. Richard has worked to ensure that students
have access to healthy and nutritious foods and have dedicated time for
physical activity. Richard's belief in equity for all students has led him
to support social justice projects for students and to support
student/teacher efforts to create safe and supportive spaces for all
students such as Project 10 East.
Richard's stance on military recruitment is based on the tactics of
recruiters including using incomplete and inaccurate information, using
pressure tactics in their delivery of information to students, and
contacting students at home, school and in the community. Richard believes
schools have the responsibility to provide students with bias free,
non-pressure driven, and accurate information about career and educational
opportunities. Richard believes in the Cambridge Public schools and in
Cambridge's students.
Richard Harding is working for excellent instruction in every
classroom. Richard led the way to make the system accountable for young
people's success and ensure that every high school student who failed
three classes had the opportunity to attend summer classes. Richard has
led the school committee to push for certification of its teachers in the
subjects in which they provide instruction. Richard believes that special
education students can learn on a high level if they and their families
have the resources they need to succeed. While many speak of measures to
reduce or lessen the achievement gap, Richard Harding works tirelessly to
ensure that all students from every socio-economic background can succeed
because he believes we need to close the achievement gap.
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