Parents and teachers press committee on screen time; TeachTown renewal approved

Public commenters and committee members used Dec. 2 public comment to press the School Committee on screen use and the TeachTown contract, and the committee ultimately approved the TeachTown instructional-software renewal after brief discussion.

Luisa Santos told the committee, "Before we ask every family in Cambridge to overhaul their lives, the burden of proof is on this proposal to change start times...We must scrutinize item 25 2 9 2, the TeachTown contract. We cannot rubber stamp spending without evidence. A 2020 randomized control trial ... found no positive effect on language or cognition. And worse, increased use was linked to worst receptive language outcomes for autistic students." Jess Getz and Chris Montero also urged the committee to examine the quality and equity effects of school screen use and to prioritize human connection for special-education resources.

Superintendent Murphy described TeachTown as an assistive platform for students with disabilities that provides short exemplars and a family-facing component to extend consistent supports across school and home. After questions, the committee voted by roll call to adopt the TeachTown renewal (item 25-292) and later adopted a separate resolution (25-300) on excessive screen use.

Member Rachel pulled a separate item (25296) later in the meeting to request closer review of a district incident-reporting platform; she said the implementation data for that tool is "not very compelling" and asked that the next committee reexamine the follow-up procedures.