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| November 2010 | Vol. 1, No.20 |
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Message from the CEO
As we enter the third month of our five-year Transformation Plan, I cannot help but feel pride and gratitude for the hard work of our staff and the remarkable support of the Cleveland community. When I stood with Mayor Frank Jackson and the Board of Education last January to unveil the Academic Transformation Plan, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District had zero dollars allocated to fund the aggressive school reform initiative. People throughout Cleveland asked, "Why embark on such a bold path for our students without the means to do it?" The answer was simple. The incremental changes of the past that resulted in a 54 percent graduation rate and only pockets of success throughout our district were not enough. The time had come for us to move Cleveland's schools aggressively forward so that every student is provided the educational opportunities and skills needed to thrive in a 21 st century global economy.
Like Charles Dickens declared in A Tale of Two Cities, it is certainly the "Best of Times and the Worst of Times" for America's public schools.
In the "worst of times," it has been far too easy for far too long to blame budget cuts, rising costs and a stagnant economy for increased dropout rates and a widening achievement gap in America's schools. But, in the best of times, communities are banding together to start anew, to reinvent their schools, and to do, as we are in Cleveland, "Whatever it Takes" to transform our educational system.
Television crews recently converged on New Orleans, where the citizens of a city ravaged by storm managed to see, not their despair, but opportunity in the worst of times. The photographs and footage of the city rising from its ruins since Hurricane Katrina's devastation are awe-inspiring.
A month ago, at the end of a week-long summit in New York City on America's national crisis in public education, MSNBC reporters chose CMSD to feature in their news wrap-up.
Like the people of New Orleans, the school community in Cleveland is earning national recognition for our determination to roll up our sleeves and do "Whatever it Takes" to transform our schools and our city.
Academic Transformation Update
Even though we embarked on the Academic Transformation Plan with a budget deficit and with no money allocated for transformation, we began the school year with unprecedented support from the state and federal government In SIG, Ed Jobs and Race to the Top funding to support our reform iniatives. Across-the-board cuts in spending and the shared sacrifice of our school staff, district-wide, who took reductions in salaries and benefits, helped to reduce the budget deficit. While tightening our belts, the Academic Transformation Plan could not have moved forward without the generous support of the Cleveland Foundation, the Gund Foundation and a growing list of private and public partners who recognize the value of strong schools for the revitalization and future of our city. In less than a year, we faced a substantial budget deficit together, closed 16 schools and successfully transitioned thousands of students, hundreds of teachers and their accompanying resources for a successful school opening. Even after reducing our bus fleet from 229 to 200, we are transporting an additional 1,100 students to our schools this year, where banners celebrating the academic gains in more than 70 of our schools continue to remind our students that we are "Continuously Improving." Three months into the 2010-11 school year, Academic Transformation is fully underway, with a momentum that is building. While the financial challenges we have faced will continue, so will our determination to fulfill our mission. In the days ahead, we remain committed to holding ourselves and one another accountable for raising student achievement in Cleveland. To achieve our goals, it will take the shared initiative, shared sacrifice and shared responsibility of the entire community to keep our schools on the Path to Premier.
Dr. Eugene T.W. Sanders
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CEO Dr. Eugene Sanders greets students as they arrive for school during the Fifth Annual Hats Off to Students Day. |
CMSD Hats Off for Kids Day draws community support
 | | A Woodland Hills student tips his hat to the CEO. |
CMSD celebrated its Fifth Annual Hats Off to Kids Day event by inviting members of the community and school officials to tip their hats to Cleveland school children.
More than 3,000 parents, employees, volunteers and community leaders followed CEO Eugene Sanders' lead and welcomed students throughout the district as they arrived for school Oct. 15.
Dr. Sanders greeted students and spoke to parents at Woodland Hills PreK-8. He also visited students at Lincoln-West Campus.
The purpose of the event is to support the students by greeting them at the start of their school day with words of encouragement and motivation. This year, Hats Off drew about 300 more participants than the previous year.
"The message we want to communicate to our
students is that we are behind them 100 percent,
and we will do whatever it takes to support them,"
Dr. Sanders said.
"The Hats Off to CMSD kids was especially valuable to our students and staff this year because it acknowledges the community's support of schools during the Academic Transformation Plan," said Tracy Hill, executive director of CMSD's Family and Community Engagement (F.A.C.E.) Department. "We look forward to building on this event every year so that our children continue to see that the community is dedicated to their achievements and success."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Duane Deskins attended the Mary B. Martin Hats Off and said: "What a wonderful experience. The kids were great and were so appreciative of the greeters."
Representatives from the City of Cleveland, Cleveland Police Department and Cleveland Fire Department, Rapid Transit Authority and the Cleveland City Council visited many of the schools. Twenty students from Saint Ignatius High School greeted students at Paul L. Dunbar PreK-8 in Ohio City.
"Our students had smiles and giggles to share with volunteers who came to praise our students for coming to school every day and doing there best," said Kathy Baker, principal at Dunbar.
Forest City, which has sponsored the event for the past two years, donated the hats, and F.A.C.E. coordinated the event.
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Walmart donates $25,000 worth of gift cards to teachers The Northern Ohio Walmart stores donated $25,000 in Walmart gift cards to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to help new teachers purchase supplies for their classrooms.
The gift cards were distributed during a new teacher orientation at the Barbara Byrd-Bennett Professional Development Center on Oct. 21. More than 100 teachers each received a $100 gift card.
"Walmart recognizes the important role our teachers play in the academic success of our children. When we read recent media reports describing how local teachers spend a lot of their own money on supplies for their classrooms, we immediately gathered our resources to lend a helping hand," said Nick Bertram, Walmart regional general manager for northern Ohio.
According to the American Federation of Teachers, the average teacher will spend more than $500 a year out of pocket for classroom supplies. Until they are all gone, the $100 Walmart gift cards will be given to every newly hired CMSD teacher to help them prepare their classrooms as they start their careers in education.
"We are so grateful to have the support of companies such as Walmart. These gift cards will help our new teachers and directly benefit our students," said Rojeana Howell-Curtis, academic superintendent for CMSD. "It is a blessing to know that there are people and businesses in our community who share the belief that if we work together, we can make a difference in the lives of our students."
Walmart started donating gift cards last year to help teachers purchase classroom supplies. In addition to local store-level donations across the country, the Walmart Foundation has developed a national initiative called the Teacher Rewards Program to specifically address the issue of teachers spending their own money on needed supplies.
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Time Warner Cable donates school supplies to Case
Time Warner Cable donated several boxes of school supplies and book bags to students at Case School.
Hundreds of products, from pencils and notebooks to glue and scissors, were spread out on tables so the children could take what they needed. The gift was part of the "Support a Creative Mind" campaign, a one-month Time Warner initiative.
During the campaign, Time Warner encouraged employees in nine of its offices throughout Northeast Ohio and Erie, Pa., to contribute supplies that students need most. The Cleveland Metropolitan School District is one of six districts to benefit from the project.
(Above) Case students enjoy perusing the donated supplies.
(Left) One can literally measure the excitement on this young man as he plays with his two new plastic rulers.
(Below) Two little girls look at all the colors in their marker packages.
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 | | Shakyrah McFarland, a fifth-grader at O.H. Perry's Major Work Program for gifted and talented students, receives a warm greeting from Janet Voinovich, wife of Sen. George Voinovich. |
Remembering Molly Agnes Voinovich at Oliver H. Perry
Only a few days after the 1979 primary election for Cleveland mayor, George Voinovich received heart-wrenching news Oct. 8 that his 9-year-old daughter, Molly Agnes, was fatally hit by a van that had run a red light.
Having just finished her lunch at home, Molly was walking back to Oliver H. Perry for her afternoon classes. Molly, the youngest of four Voinovich children, would have turned 40 this year.
For 31 years every October since her death, the students at O.H. Perry remember Molly and show their appreciation to Sen. Voinovich and his wife, Janet, who help support the school through The Molly Agnes Voinovich Memorial Fund.
On Oct. 18, the Voinovich family presented two checks, one at O.H. Perry and the other to James A. Garfield K-8. Both schools received $3,599 to use in support of their Gifted and Talented programs. To date, $116,334 of the Molly Fund has been donated to CMSD - $58,051 of which has been given to O.H. Perry.
This year, the students entertained the Voinovich family and visitors with a performance entitled, "Places They'll Go," highlighting various Dr. Seuss books.
"The people and animals in books by Dr. Seuss serve as models of caring, frivolity and dedication. They teach us important life lessons," explained Sofia Piperis, principal at O.H. Perry. To learn more about "Molly Agnes Day," watch WEWS news coverage. |
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Lincoln-West student corresponds with President Obama
While most students during their first full week of school are settling into new academic routines, Emma Moore, a junior at Lincoln-West, sent a letter to President Barack Obama discussing her school experience and the district's academic transformation. She was thrilled when he wrote back.
Dated Sept. 1, her letter provides details about the International Studies Academy, now housed at Lincoln-West and serving 380 students in grades 10 through 12.
"Our school is very multicultural and multilingual, representing over 41 nationalities and 25 languages," the 17-year-old wrote. At the academy, students receive instruction in both English and foreign languages. They are exposed to a standards-based curriculum taught from an international perspective and designed to support globally competitive students. Students are encouraged to take at least two years of a foreign language: Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, French and German. Latin, considered a classical language, is also offered.
Moore explained in her letter that her school does many service projects. "My Honors Ecology class has a partnership with Nature Hood and the Earth Day Coalition. We went to an area that has vacant lots, which we turned into a park with native plants," she wrote.
She also mentions the district's Academic Transformation Plan and boasts about her teachers and Principal Dr. Irene Javier. "She [Dr. Javier] knows that the world is getting tougher, and we need to be prepared for the future ahead of us. She sets high expectations and supports our dreams."
Dr. Javier said she had no idea that Moore had written to the president until the student came to school with the president's letter. Moore was excited to show Dr. Javier the letter, which is printed on official White House letterhead and signed by the president.
"Emma proved than even the simplest act, which she completed independently without an expectation of recognition, could result in a once-in-a-lifetime accolade. This is an opportunity for all students to realize that they have a powerful voice and that when they speak, they will be heard," Dr. Javier said.
In his letter to Moore, dated Oct. 7, the president wrote: "Your generation has an important role to play in solving our most difficult problems, and your commitment to making a difference gives me great hope for the future. I encourage you to stay engaged in the world around you and get involved with service projects that can bring meaningful change to the lives of others. The compassion and generosity you showed in your social action project, along with the skills you are gaining in school, will help your generation build a brighter tomorrow."
Moore plans to join the Peace Corps someday. "International Studies Academy is a path that will lead me to my future," she said.
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Strickland attends Glenville game with Dr. Sanders
(Left to right) CEO Dr. Eugene Sanders, Councilman Mike Polensek, State Sen. Shirley Smith, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, Councilman Eugene Miller and CMSD's Athletic Commissioner Leonard Jackson gather on the field at Collinwood Athletic Complex before the Glenville vs. John Adams game Oct. 15. The governor came to Cleveland for an education press conference.
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Dream Tour makes its seventh stop in Cleveland
Bernard Harris, former U.S. astronaut and first African-American to walk in space, gave students a firsthand experience with the wonders of science, technology, engineering and mathematics when The Dream Tour came to Charles A. Mooney on Oct. 1.
About 900 fifth- and sixth-grade students from Benjamin Franklin, Denison, William Cullen Bryant and Charles Mooney attended the presentation. Sponsored by the ExxonMobil Foundation, Cleveland is one of 10 cities selected this year for the Dream Tour. Since 2008, Dr. Harris has visited with nearly 35,000 middle-school students in more than 20 cities nationwide.
The tour is designed to encourage middle-school students to realize their potential and strive to acquire strong math and science skills. The program included an interactive and inspirational program by Dr. Harris, a demonstration on space and engaging dialogue about achieving goals.
"It is critical that American students are prepared with the problem-solving skills and tools to tackle challenges they may face in the future. Providing them with a strong foundation in math and science education is imperative, and with the Dream Tour, I hope to inspire students to pursue studies and careers in these fields," Dr. Harris said.
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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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