September 2018
The State of the Schools is improving
In his annual State of the School address, Chief Executive Officer Eric Gordon likened a quick inspection of CMSD’s academic performance to reading a Tweet: You get some truth but not enough detail to learn the whole story.
Speaking to a full ballroom Sept. 18 at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel, Gordon ran through highlights from a new state report card. While the report card gave CMSD an overall grade of F, the District has outpaced many of its peers in growth and progress on test scores, graduation rates, K-3 literacy improvement and closing achievement gaps.
The City Club hosted the event, which was live streamed by ideastream. To view, go here.
Gordon acknowledged that CMSD still has a lot of work to do as it carries out reforms in Cleveland’s Plan for Transforming Schools, also known as The Cleveland Plan. But in addition to displaying and referring to Twitter, he also quoted the old saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
“We haven’t arrived at our goal. And, yes, we still have a long way to go,” the CEO said “But, like Rome, The Cleveland Plan is the result of a vision. And like the Romans, the bricks we’ve laid, hour by hour, day by day, year by year, are the system we are designing and putting in place to achieve our dream.”
The CEO noted that the District now offers 36 different high school options, including early college, International Baccalaureate, performing arts, digital arts, aerospace and maritime, science and health, information technology and global studies. It also is implementing three new learning models in 13 PreK-8 schools.
Read more and see a video and photo gallery...
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Table of Contents
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District, community celebrate opening of William Rainey Harper (Video, photo gallery)
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The District and the community came together Aug. 29 to celebrate the opening of the Old Brooklyn neighborhood's first new public school building in more than 50 years.
William Rainey Harper began classes with most of CMSD on Aug. 13, but the ribbon-cutting ceremony had the festive feel of Day 1. CEO Eric Gordon, City Council President Kevin Kelley and school board member Lisa Thomas joined staff, students and the community for remarks, performances, refreshments and tours.
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Principal Ajayi Monell outlined the vision for the school, the third in the District to follow the International Baccalaureate model. He said the school, which will emphasize student-led "inquiry-based learning," will challenge students to think globally, embrace hard work and responsibility and leave a legacy that far exceeds society's expectations.
"When they change the world, I want you to remember that this is where it started, in this beautiful building," said Monell, who formerly was assistant principal at CMSD's Riverside School.
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Clinic, Case renovate MLK nursing lab (Photo gallery)
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Students in the Allied Health program at the Martin Luther King Jr. Campus are training to work in a professional healthcare setting – and now they feel as if they have already reached their goal.
The Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University and partners have renovated the campus nursing lab. The overhaul included 15 new beds and mattresses, painting, lighting, ceilings, cabinets, curtains and artwork.
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“I love it, I love the construction,” said Delmika Smith, a senior who is studying to be a state tested nursing assistant and wants to eventually become a nurse practitioner. “It’s like I am actually at a healthcare facility.”
Clinic and Case Western Reserve officials visited the campus last month to cut a ribbon to the lab and celebrate the makeover, a community benefits commitment made to the city in conjunction with construction projects.
Ground broken for West Side high school (Video, photo gallery)
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CMSD and community leaders held a ceremonial groundbreaking Sept. 6 for a new high school building that will serve and complement growing West Side neighborhoods.
The long-awaited building, which is already going up on in the 4600 block of Detroit Avenue, will follow a District trend by housing at least two small high schools. Planning for the academic programs will begin in November.
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West Side councilmen Matt Zone and Kerry McCormack hailed the addition of a campus that will add to momentum in the Detroit Shoreway, Ohio City, Cudell-Edgewater and other neighborhoods when it opens in 2020.
“Today is a great day for this community,” Zone told an audience that gathered on the construction site.
Students from Waverly and H. Barbara Booker, two West Side PreK-8 schools, joined District CEO Eric Gordon, school board Vice Chair Robert Heard, the council members and others in turning over shovels of dirt.
CMSD creates support system for new teachers
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Dozens of new CMSD teachers gathered Aug. 30 at a restaurant on the East Ninth Street Pier. It was not so much an after-work party as it was an effort to make them feel at home and supported.
The reception at the Nuevo Modern Mexican and Tequila Bar kicked off the second year of TEACHing Cleveland, a teacher-retention initiative that the intercollegiate Mid-American Conference has sponsored with a five-year $1 million grant funded by the College Football Playoff, George Gund and Cleveland foundations.
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The goal is to fortify and keep quality teachers as they deal with the challenges of urban education. And evidence indicates it’s working – 81 percent of last year’s new teachers have returned, up 3 percentage points from the previous year. Backers believe the program could become a model for the nation.
CEO Eric Gordon likes to remind teachers that as urban educators they are performing some of the most important work in the profession. Addressing the crowd at Nuevo, he acknowledged that simultaneously serving a vast organization like CMSD can leave teachers feeling faceless and frustrated, but he said that in Cleveland their needs will not be ignored.
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The Board of Education does not unlawfully discriminate in educational programs, activities or employment on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, citizenship status, economic status, religion or disability.
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