April 29, 200916 yr An absolute melee at South High yesterday: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/04/south_high_school_locked_down.html
May 22, 200916 yr CLEVELAND -- A dropout-prevention summit opens today in Cleveland amid signs that larger numbers of city students are quitting school. The school district's graduation rate tumbled from just under 62 percent to less than 54 percent last school year, according to the Ohio Department of Education. The decrease, which will be reflected on the schools' next state report card, ends an eight-year period in which the rate nearly doubled. More at cleveland.com http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/05/_cleveland_battling_a_drop.html
May 22, 200916 yr For the love of...... These teachers and administrators can have as many discussions and conferences they want. It ALL comes down to active parenting. Nothing else, at least not at that level of importance
May 22, 200916 yr But, you can have one or two good parents, but if their children are surrounded by other children who are not committed to learning, then their peers will pull them down with them. At least, that is what I have observed first-hand. I do think that there needs to be a push not just from a parental level, but also from the schools in an attempt to create a full environment (within the school, at home, and during the between-times when so much damage can be done) that gives kids a fighting chance to succeed. Sorry, back on topic.
May 22, 200916 yr I agree that parenting is one of the major issues in regards to the graduation rate. We can not factor out the social problems which many of the children in the CSD face, some of which most don't even realize. Many children in the CSD receive free or reduced lunches. One of the reasons why we will never see the CSD close due to weather on a Friday is that some of those children will not be able to eat for four days STRAIGHT due to poverty. The problems with the school district go further than parenting and budget cuts, but are also directly linked to poverty and the effects thereof. In my opinion, drawing a middle class back to the city largely depends on the school district's success or failure. Helping these kids get high-school diplomas will go a long way towards bringing a population back to the city.
May 22, 200916 yr I don't see it as a money issue. There are plenty of impovershed places in the world where students, many of whom are probably starving or at the very least malnourished, still make every attempt to receive an education. As bad as inner city ghettos are, I'm sure many of these kids' neighborhoods are 10x worse, yet they still persevere and do their best to receive an education. You ask yourself why are so many of those kids are committed compared to American students. I'm sure there are numerous reasons, but money cannot possibly be one of the main ones, since these kids are doing a hell of a lot more with a hell of a lot less.
May 22, 200916 yr ^I see your point, however most crimes involve money as a motive. We have to remember that poverty is not just a lack of money, but a culture and unfortunately a way of life. Some kids are in situations without the guidance of role models (parents), and realize that they can't eat their diploma (poverty). But on the corner, they can eat everyday. What's frightening is the sheer amount of students who do not complete at the very least a high-school education who live in the city. Where do these kids expect to see themselves in the next few years? Truth is, many can't see past tomorrow, and live day by day.
June 12, 200916 yr Cleveland schools CEO Eugene Sanders passes up contract extension Friday, June 12, 2009 Thomas Ott Plain Dealer Reporter Cleveland schools Chief Executive Officer Eugene Sanders says he wants to stay in the job until at least 2016, but for the second time he has passed on a contract extension that could move him closer to that goal. His original four-year contract, signed in 2006, was extended once and will expire on June 30, 2011. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1244795458291020.xml&coll=2
June 19, 200915 yr Fabrication labs let student and adult inventors create products, solve problems by John Mangels/Plain Dealer Science Writer Thursday June 18, 2009, 5:36 PM "... The MC fab lab 'is being watched outside of Cleveland,' too, said Jan Morrison, the senior STEM consultant to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the charitable megafund established to, among other things, spur classroom innovation. 'When was the last time somebody came to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to see something on the cutting edge?'" http://www.cleveland.com/science/index.ssf/2009/06/fabrication_labs_let_student_a.html#preview This is beyond awesome. Hope my nieces and nephews or my own future spawn have access to something like this when they come of the age.
June 26, 200915 yr I feel like this is increasingly wrong in this day in age...however, my bias likes the city resident thing! :-D Cleveland schools tell building program contractors to hire more minorities, women and city residents Friday, June 26, 2009 Thomas Ott Plain Dealer Reporter The Cleveland school district is bluntly telling construction companies that it wants more minorities, women and city residents working on a massive building and renovation program. But if the companies fail to comply, officials say, the district can't force them. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1246005197133780.xml&coll=2
June 26, 200915 yr Hispanic majorities at 7 Cleveland public schools prompt call for special help Thursday, June 25, 2009 Thomas Ott Plain Dealer Reporter Cleveland's near West Side is a school system within a school system. It's dominated by a Hispanic community whose presence is growing almost by default as the city's population shrinks. The most recent figures for a cluster of seven West Side schools show that Latinos account for 45 percent to 78 percent of the enrollment in each building. Leaders of the Hispanic Roundtable, a regional organization devoted to education and other concerns, say the numbers call out for special help from district Chief Executive Officer Eugene Sanders. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/124591881060951.xml&coll=2
June 26, 200915 yr I like this development and the schools should adapt to the growing demographics. It's kind of interesting to watch Sanders have to play the role that I'm sure many white principals once did.
July 13, 200915 yr Cleveland first-, second-graders by the hundreds attend summer session after reading, math skills were found lagging Cleveland district pushes summer school to boost test scores Monday, July 13, 2009 Thomas Ott Plain Dealer Reporter The Cleveland School District has shepherded a third of the past year's second-graders into summer school, trying to make good on a looming self-imposed deadline for raising their test scores. Many of the 1,144 students were voluntarily signed up by their families, at the urging of principals and teachers, after the children's reading and mathematics skills were found to be lagging by as much as one grade level. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/124747393252111.xml&coll=2
August 26, 200915 yr Cleveland's innovation schools show improvement Wednesday, August 26, 2009 Ellen Jan Kleinerman Plain Dealer Reporter The strong performance of Cleveland's innovation schools and those with citywide draws could help drive improvement districtwide, school officials and community leaders agree. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1251275508230050.xml&coll=2
August 26, 200915 yr John Hay is so hard to get into. My cousins daughter, despite being an A student cannot get in. I understand that if you do not meet certain criteria (grade point and something else), once accepted, you're asked to leave.
August 26, 200915 yr Do you know what the teacher-student ratio is there? IIRC, I think 1:20 for this school. Something else I found strange is my cousin said, since reopening, that ~65% of the student body was female.
August 26, 200915 yr According to School Digger, the student teacher ratio is 16.3:1. .3? lawd. My cousin said ~20 so that's what I wrote. sorry.
August 26, 200915 yr GreatSchools.net has generally been rock solid for me, so I'll link <a href="http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/oh/432">John Hay's profile</a> here. Looks pretty solid, particularly given the economic profile of the student body. That's fighting an uphill battle and fighting it hard and well.
August 26, 200915 yr GreatSchools.net has generally been rock solid for me, so I'll link John Hay's profile here. Looks pretty solid, particularly given the economic profile of the student body. That's fighting an uphill battle and fighting it hard and well. Economic profile? Not all the kids at JH or Cleveland Public School are economically disadvantaged. I hate it when people say that.
August 26, 200915 yr GreatSchools.net has generally been rock solid for me, so I'll link John Hay's profile here. Looks pretty solid, particularly given the economic profile of the student body. That's fighting an uphill battle and fighting it hard and well. Economic profile? Not all the kids at JH or Cleveland Public School are economically disadvantaged. I hate it when people say that. I was going by the hard numbers. At JH, according to the <a href="http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/oh/other/432#students">profile</a>, it's 70%; the state average is 36%. I don't just make this stuff up based on stereotypes; heck, until 10 minutes ago, I'd never even heard of John Hay.
August 26, 200915 yr GreatSchools.net has generally been rock solid for me, so I'll link John Hay's profile here. Looks pretty solid, particularly given the economic profile of the student body. That's fighting an uphill battle and fighting it hard and well. Economic profile? Not all the kids at JH or Cleveland Public School are economically disadvantaged. I hate it when people say that. I was going by the hard numbers. At JH, according to the profile, it's 70%; the state average is 36%. I don't just make this stuff up based on stereotypes; heck, until 10 minutes ago, I'd never even heard of John Hay. Where exactly is this information coming from CMSD? or is this like wikipedia?
August 26, 200915 yr GreatSchools.net has generally been rock solid for me, so I'll link John Hay's profile here. Looks pretty solid, particularly given the economic profile of the student body. That's fighting an uphill battle and fighting it hard and well. Economic profile? Not all the kids at JH or Cleveland Public School are economically disadvantaged. I hate it when people say that. I was going by the hard numbers. At JH, according to the profile, it's 70%; the state average is 36%. I don't just make this stuff up based on stereotypes; heck, until 10 minutes ago, I'd never even heard of John Hay. Where exactly is this information coming from CMSD? or is this like wikipedia? Man, you got really defensive really quick (and apparently didn't bother clicking the link, either): This shows the percentage of students that are economically disadvantaged as reported by the state. Economically disadvantaged students include those who are eligible for free or reduced price lunch or receive public assistance. Source: OH Dept. of Education, 2007-2008 Whether you approve of the official methodology or not, those are the official figures.
September 22, 200915 yr This is great news - a new K-12 school serving downtown cleveland and likely beyond, is on the fast track to open on the Cleveland State Univ campus via the Cleveland Plain Dealer http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1253349122110300.xml&coll=2 New Cleveland State University President Ronald Berkman makes first major personnel move Friday, September 18, 2009 Janet Okoben Plain Dealer Reporter "(CSU President) Berkman also has asked two current administrators to help speed along his priorities of establishing a K-12 public school on campus and bringing in more grants. Julian Earls, an executive-in-residence at CSU's business college since 2006 and retired director of the NASA Glenn Research Center, will work with the Cleveland School District to establish the new campus school, Berkman said. "
September 22, 200915 yr ^That's GREAT news! Creating an attractive K-12 school downtown would draw more families to the area. Great move!!
October 1, 200915 yr Transforming Cleveland schools: Can Sanders deliver on promise? Sanders vows to turn around education in Cleveland schools Thursday, October 01, 2009 Thomas Ott Plain Dealer Reporter Cleveland schools chief Eugene Sanders promises to deliver a bold plan for the district's "transformation" by the end of this year. His timing is good; the stars are aligned. The White House is investing billions in school innovation and reform. The Cleveland Teachers Union is begging for a role in planning and carrying out the improvements. And the district's back is to the wall as money runs out, enrollment falls and academic performance continues to scrape bottom. Sanders is adamant that education, not economics, will drive changes. But he has to decide where best to spend shrinking resources. The district faces a deficit of nearly $53 million in 2011. MORE AT: http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1254385976214240.xml&coll=2
October 1, 200915 yr I find the exodus from the schools to be very troublesome. Sure, we've had population loss, but I would guess that the bulk of the students who have left the CSD have been enrolled into charter schools. These charter schools are now, in turn, affecting the building of new schools which the city needs. There is NO simple answer for turning around the graduation rate.
October 1, 200915 yr I find the exodus from the schools to be very troublesome. Sure, we've had population loss, but I would guess that the bulk of the students who have left the CSD have been enrolled into charter schools. These charter schools are now, in turn, affecting the building of new schools which the city needs. I don't think this is such a bad thing. The city's goal should be to ensure that excellent public schools exist. Charter schools like E-Prep, Citizens' Academy, and the Intergenerational School are all public and perform well above the average CMSD school. If kids are leaving CMSD schools for those charter schools or other quality charters, I don't think we really have a problem on our hands. Instead of focusing solely on "the district" we should be focusing on schools more generally. The CMSD would be well-served to work with (instead of against) these high-performing charters. Oldmanladyluck, I'm not assuming that your post indicates that you feel otherwise. Your post simply triggered these thoughts in my head.
October 9, 200915 yr Ted Ginn Sr in the NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/sports/11academy.html
October 9, 200915 yr Ted Ginn Sr in the NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/sports/11academy.html This is a truly inspirational story, thanks for posting it here.
October 13, 200915 yr Seems like the Times posts more positive stories happening in the city than The Plain Dealer. Go figure.
November 29, 200915 yr Glenville will play for the State Championship in football: http://highschoolsports.cleveland.com/news/article/448101161662289109/tarblooders-make-history-on-way-to-state-final/
December 4, 200915 yr Glenville will play for the State Championship in football: http://highschoolsports.cleveland.com/news/article/448101161662289109/tarblooders-make-history-on-way-to-state-final/ My Dad is all excited. Most of my family is going to the game.
December 4, 200915 yr From Terry Pluto: http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/index.ssf/2009/12/northeast_ohio_coaches_pulling.html
December 4, 200915 yr I've only seen Glenville play once but if they can limit their mistakes - particularly turnovers and costly penalties - they should win. Glenville has D-I college atheletes at several positions...they just have a tendency to be over aggressive and/or a bit sloppy at times (at least in the game I saw).
December 4, 200915 yr I've only seen Glenville play once but if they can limit their mistakes - particularly turnovers and costly penalties - they should win. Glenville has D-I college atheletes at several positions...they just have a tendency to be over aggressive and/or a bit sloppy at times (at least in the game I saw). Agreed. They always make a mistake at the wrong time. The neighborhood is very proud of these kids. My grand parents are upset they can't attend. If they win, it will not only be good for the neighborhood and school, but for all of Cleveland and NE Ohio.
December 6, 200915 yr Although Glenville lost a heartbreaker 15-16, they did get another shout out from the NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/05/sports/05ginn.html
January 6, 201015 yr whoa... 18 Cleveland schools to close as part of transformation plan that aims to raise academic achievement By Thomas Ott, The Plain Dealer January 05, 2010, 6:30PM CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A dramatic reform plan will close 18 Cleveland schools, while making top-to-bottom changes designed to boost dismal academic performance within five years. The plan, announced Tuesday by Chief Executive Officer Eugene Sanders, is intended to better prepare students for college and careers, offer families more choices and demand accountability at all levels. It could also mean teacher layoffs, principal reassignments and the wholesale replacement of staffs at some schools. Sanders' recommendations, which the board will vote on Feb. 23, hinge on collaboration with the Cleveland teachers union, backing from the community and determining where he will come up with an estimated $70 million over three years to pay for the plan at a time when the school district faces a $53 million deficit. MORE AT http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/01/transformation_plan_boxes_pict.html
January 6, 201015 yr As a neighborhood resident, I think it's a terrible idea to close the Tremont School simply because it's under capacity (the reason given in today's PD.) Of the neighborhoods favored by young professionals, I think Tremont is most likely to retain them as they start families, partially because of the centrally-located school, but also Lincoln Park (with its playground and school.) CMSD could advertise or campaign, especially in the more gentrified parts, and hopefully enroll more economically-advantaged students. It can only boost the district's scores, so I think they should definitely consider this point! For the time being, why not begin their "newcomers program" at Tremont? If the city wants to attract middle- and upper-income families, what better way to do it than by promoting an attractive school in an attractive neighborhood?
January 6, 201015 yr My cousins dont like the idea that both South and East will close. My cousins daughter attend a engineering program at East. Although she has good grades (A's and B's) they arent high enough to get her into John Hay's program. Closing East is ridiculous as there will be no highschool on the north westside side of the Eastern part of Cleveland. some elementary schools could be reshuffled and bring back the junior/middle schools. but the high schools should remain open.
January 6, 201015 yr the north westside side of the Eastern part of Cleveland. I know what you mean but sorry, that made me laugh. :)
January 6, 201015 yr the north westside side of the Eastern part of Cleveland. I know what you mean but sorry, that made me laugh. :) LOL I did also. I couldnt figure out any other way to describe the location! LOL
January 12, 201015 yr The public school situations.....Hmmm... I am going to comment on the monetary component. Maybe a little more promotion of family and parenting--steering revenue in that direction--- would do more wonders for the situation than all the funding in the world that is simply sought to solve all problems. We have become so depenent on money solving all the problems that it has underminded the human spirit and ability to find a way to overcome despite the obvious challenges. I wonder how humans survived so long without it. Since we may never have all we need, we cannot continue to fall/fail to the possible trickle down results to the best of our ability. How personally empowering would that be. Parenting and personal responsibility needs to be a part of fixing this siuation, not simply throwng cash all over the plae without purpose/direction. Hasn't worked. An example of what I am saying can be found in a local schools ability to find other ways to achieving pghysical fitness, despite the lack of funding that used to be there for purchasing equipment. Don't get me wrong, i am not being a Scrooge, but I just think pandering out money is just treating a symptom...and serves for a short term solution to a long term problem....rather than adressing and fixing many cause of a problem.
February 1, 201015 yr Does anyone know if, other than the area around Shaker Square, are there any parts of the city of Cleveland that not served by CMSD, but by a suburban district?
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