By Patrick Mullen
Our community is figuring out what kind of public school buildings we need - how many, where, and their grade configurations. The next step in this process is this Thursday night at 7:00 at Noble Hill Presbyterian Church, when Future Heights hosts a forum entitled School Facilities: A Vibrant and Sustainable Future for our Neighborhoods and our Schools. I urge you to attend.

I hope we can steer clear of pitfalls that made the elementary school closing process a few years ago so divisive. Those boil down, I think, to issues of trust, change-related anxiety, and the inherently messy nature of community engagement.

Trust is a slow-growing fragile bond. I know people of good will who are wary of our district's leadership because they've been here only a few years, and therefore don't know our community well enough. But any candidate for superintendent asking for five years to learn the lay of the land before making big changes would never get a second interview. In Doug Heuer, our school board hired the person they believed was best equipped to move the district forward. While you or I might disagree with him on any given issue, I disagree with those who question his motives or dedication to our kids and our district.

Second, ours is an era of rapid and accelerating change, which is tiring and disruptive. I have no pearls of wisdom on how to embrace it. But I know the status quo isn't an option. All I offer is that we have to acknowledge the strain and keep moving forward, together.

Third, community engagement is difficult and by nature adversarial, as we thrash through how to honor multiple values with finite resources. We're at the point where the district has looked at nine ways to arrange our schools, with two seeming to best match a series of objectives developed over the last year with a lot of input from a citizens' committee. It's not entirely clear to me, and I was on that committee, how the list of nine options got winnowed to two; the district's leaders should shed light on that. It's not cast in stone that we must adopt either remaining option in its current form. That's where all of our voices will improve the result. Ultimately, our school board will decide whether to adopt a plan and put a bond issue on the ballot. Then, all of us will decide its fate.

My hope is that we can be part of this democratic process in a spirit of common respect and that we can disagree without getting nasty. We went astray a few years ago. We have a chance to do it differently this time. Thanks for your time.


Information, updates and commentary on the facilities process can be followed at:
   http://chuhfacilitiesmasterplan.wordpress.com/
   https://www.facebook.com/CHUHFacilitiesMasterPlan
   https://twitter.com/CHUHmasterplan  

Come on out for the 21st Annual Reaching Heights Adult Community Spelling Bee, Wednesday, March 28, at Cleveland Heights High School. Admission is free for this fun competition among two dozen teams representing our schools, churches, colleges, law firms and cultural organizations. Win great prizes at our raffle, and cheer your favorite team on. Last year's champions, representing the Cleveland Orchestra, are seeking an unprecedented three-peat. Proceeds from the Bee support Reaching Heights and its programs promoting excellence in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights schools. 

Elementary and middle school instrumental music students are invited to spend a fun-filled week, June 18-23, exploring music at the Heights Summer Music Camp. Campers will perform in an orchestra and chamber groups, learn music theory, and participate in a jazz or guitar workshop, or the Heights Summer Music Camp Chorus. Cleveland Heights-University Heights music faculty, community musicians, and college and high school students provide individualized support and expert coaching and instruction. Campers make great music, and have fun with their new friends from across the CH-UH school district. For more information and to apply, click here.

Heights Youth Theatre Presents The King and I

The Heights Youth Theatre's production of The King and I runs Fridays, March 2nd, 9th, and 16th at 7 PM; Saturdays, March 3rd, 10th, and 17th and Sunday, March 11th at 2 PM, at Wiley Middle School on Miramar Blvd in University Heights. For more than half a century, Heights Youth Theatre has been committed to providing quality children's theatre on the East Side of Cleveland, with a mission "to entertain, educate, and inspire!" Tickets are $9 general admission and $8 for seniors and children six and under. Cash or check only, no credit or debit cards.

Reaching Heights | www.reachingheights.org | 216.932.5110 | rh@reachingheights.org

Click here to support excellent public education in the Heights by donating online.

Thank you!