January 12, 2002
Lewis H. Spence (former Deputy Chancellor for Operations, New York City Public Schools)
In early January 2002, the Rappaport Institute presented an advisory report to Cambridge Public Schools Superintendent Bobbie D'Alessandro in response to a request for a strategic analysis of the staffing and organizational structures encompassing all Central Office, Support Service, and Curriculum Leadership/Supervision programs in the system.
The Rappaport Institute asked Harry Spence, former Deputy Chancellor of the New York City Board of Education and a former Cambridge resident and City of Cambridge agency head, to lead the first phase of the review. As project manager and author of this report, Spence interviewed dozens of officials in the City of Cambridge and others with knowledge of the system. He also conducted in-depth analysis of a wide range of documents. This report represents Spence’s professional understanding of the issues and challenges facing the school system, as well as his understanding of the thinking of the interviewees.