CSV hosted our annual math workshop for volunteers on January 22. Marisa Berenbaum has facilitated our math workshop for several years. In addition to her tips on how to fortify students’ math identities and encourage them to see themselves as mathematicians, she also walked volunteers through math problems and modeled how tutors can ask questions and get students to break down the problems into manageable pieces.

Our annual literacy workshop took place on February 11 this year. Ana Younis helped volunteers understand the new literacy curriculum CPS adopted this year, CKLA (Core Knowledge Language Arts). She explained that CPS chose the curriculum with the goal of closing the achievement gap. Currently, only 36% of high-needs students in Cambridge, a group that includes low-income students, English Language Learners, and students with IEPs, are proficient in literacy. Ana explained that it is now well accepted that the chief cause of the achievement gap between socio-economic groups is a language gap. 62% of low-income students were below grade level in their language and vocabulary skills. Decoding skills cannot compensate for a lack of language and vocabulary skills. CKLA combines knowledge and skills blocks so that all students are explicitly taught content knowledge and vocabulary as well as decoding skills and phonics.

Thank you to Marisa Berenbaum, Ana Younis and all the volunteers that attended the workshops!

Support CSV by running in the Cambridge Half Marathon on Sunday, November 2, 2025. Runners can be charity runners for CSV and have their registration fee covered. It costs $90 to register now, but the price will increase after April 27. Last year, the race sold out, so register soon. You still have 8 months to train!