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After her daughter’s school was closed, Anne M. Coburn became a constant presence at Cambridge School Committee meetings. Now, she wants a seat at the table.
When Coburn moved to Cambridge in 2019, she sent one of her two daughters to the Kennedy-Longfellow school before it closed last year. The school primarily served students of color, and housed the highest percentage of “high-needs” students — English language learners, low income students, and individuals with disabilities — in the district.
Upon entering K-Lo, Coburn’s daughter was on an Individualized Education Plan, and she said that the school had “exactly the right teachers to support her,” which Coburn called “astounding.” But the lack of district support for the school pushed her to get involved in advocacy.
“My heart and my priorities are with the students of Kennedy-Longfellow. It’s that population that I want excellence for,” she said.
Coburn said that while she cares deeply for the students from K-Lo, “not all problems belonged to Kennedy-Longfellow.” She is specifically running on securing resources for schools, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and King Open, that took in the former K-Lo students.
“You have problems everywhere and anywhere, and so my own particular energy is spent making sure that the kids who need the most get the most — that the kids who need additional resources can access them rather than being cut for a perception of lack of need,” she added.
Inspired by her family’s experience at K-Lo, Coburn said she is running for School Committee to give back to the educators and district that supported her children’s education. Coburn said that having children in the school district gives her a “very large personal stake” in the success of Cambridge Public Schools.
“I am deeply, deeply grateful to the Cambridge public school system for teaching my daughter so well that she could read a speech that she wrote herself to the people voting to close down her school,” Coburn said.
But the K-Lo closure is not the only issue animating Coburn’s campaign. As the School Committee has received harsh criticism for its ongoing superintendent search, Coburn said the district must see the process through. Last month, the Cambridge Education Association released a statement calling for the search to be halted and restarted entirely after elections, a demand that received overwhelming support from a number of challengers.
While Coburn said she is conflicted about how the search has been run so far, she would not advocate for a full restart this late into the process.
“I think that these are three relatively reasonable candidates, and I think that the goal posts have been moved somewhat in saying, ‘We don’t want this person or these people,’” she said.
Residents have widely criticized the search for lacking transparency, public engagement, and trust — overarching issues that many challengers say are driving them this election season.
“The way that the School Committee is conducted is the antithesis of actually accessible,” Coburn said, adding that if elected, she would make sure to hold public office hours weekly, in addition to topic-specific forums for committee members to listen to the public.
“I’d want the School Committee and the public to come to a shared understanding of the best way forward,” she said. “I don’t think that that’s going to be done without an actual conversation.”
Coburn said that as a member, she would remain steadfast in her values of honesty and respect, aiming to build a bridge of trust between her, the committee, and the people of Cambridge.
“I will never apologize for truth, trying to treat people well, and I will never apologize for accepting the same in return,” she said.
— Staff writer Ayaan Ahmad can be reached at ayaan.ahmad@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @AyaanAhmad2024.
— Staff writer Claire A. Michal can be reached at claire.michal@thecrimson.com.
