TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2008

Five-year forecast

Scott Gainer, district treasurer, presented the five-year forecast. The 7.2 mill-operating levy that passed in November 2007 will not bring in the anticipated amount. Real estate property tax collection rates dropped from a typical 97% to 92%. In addition, a 5% decrease in state funding was assumed for the purposes of this forecast.

Heights High has a successful American Field Service (AFS) program that offers summer, semester, and school year exchanges to over 50 countries for high school students and recent graduates. AFS is a 61 year old program with over 30,000 volunteers worldwide and has a goal of “building a more just and peaceful world through international student exchange.” Recently, two Heights students went on AFS foreign exchanges. Senior Miles Walker went to Japan for a six-week summer program. Hannah Kohr graduated one year early to attend school in Germany.

Thirty-three Heights High students spent the morning of Saturday, Nov. first raking leaves for Cleveland Heights senior citizens.

The city of Cleveland Heights identified 15 senior citizens who needed their leaves raked and the six groups of Heights students, rakes in hand, rang doorbells ready to help.

All board members present.

Jim Rokakis addresses foreclosures

Jim Rokakis, Cuyahoga County treasurer, discussed the impact of foreclosures on school distsrict income. He had no good news on losses due to decreases in house values and did not know the direction of the 2009 audit. Cuyahoga County has been studiying the Flint, Michigan model for a land bank concept.

William Shakespeare is a phrase that sends chills (or yawns) through the hearts of students everywhere. In the age of YouTube and MySpace, can the Bard really compete? (He’s no Jonas Brother, you know.)

Allison Bencar and Nathan Miller are resident actors and teachers who, as a traveling troupe of two, make Shakespeare come alive for Cleveland-area students courtesy of the Great Lakes Theater Festival’s education initiative. They assert that Shakespeare is for everyone. “Through the GLTF, students are afforded the opportunity to explore the universal themes inherent in classical dramatic literature, and we hope to illuminate those themes for them.”

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2008
All board members present.

Teachers’ contract

Tom Schmida, President of the CH-UH Teachers Union and high school teacher at Mosaic School, speaking from the audience, noted that the teachers had requested a resumption of mediation on a contract settlement. Superintendent Deborah Delisle responded that the mediator had just set a date for the next Wednesday.

“Do you think it will rain?” the mother asks her daughter, eyes scanning the sky.

Strong public schools are the keystone for a strong community. Even if you don’t have children in the school system, there are many simple ways you can support your CH-UH schools. You can make a difference for your school every time you shop through the Box Tops For Education, Heinen's and Target programs!

Congratulations to Heights High seniors Elizabeth Root, Hannah Tatar, Maya Lugasy and Isaac Miller! Each student was recently awarded a college scholarship through Jewish Family Service Association’s Joint Educational Loan Committee (JELC) college financial aid program. This year, 48 students were nominated by guidance counseling departments from local area schools.

When Cleveland Heights-University Heights School Superintendent Deborah Delisle takes on her new role as state Superintendent of Public Instruction, she’ll have a big job to do: nothing less than defining Ohio’s approach to public education for the next generation.

She was named to the role at the Oct. 14 meeting of the Ohio State Board of Education, and she starts the job in Columbus on Dec. 1.

REGULAR MEETING – August 5, 2008

All board members present

Grant applications

The board approved going forward with grant applications to Reaching Heights Public School Foundation, the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, and the Ohio Department of Education.

Interview with Joe Micheller, Director of Educational Services, CH-UH City School District

On October 1, 8th graders at Monticello Middle School became the first students in the district to receive an Apple laptop computer as part of an initiative that will provide a laptop to every student in grades 6-12 by 2012. CH-UH Director of Educational Services Dr. Joseph Micheller is the district’s point person in this One-to-One (meaning one student, one computer) initiative. He spoke recently with Reaching Heights executive director Patrick Mullen. Here’s an excerpt:

After three years of steady increases in state achievement test scores, the CH-UH school system saw some decline on its most recent report card from the Ohio Department of Education.

On the 2006-2007 report card, seven elementary schools achieved an “Effective” rating, as did Cleveland Heights High School. This year, on the 2007-2008 report card, only three schools achieved an effective rating: Canterbury Elementary, Roxboro Elementary and Roxboro Middle. The rest were rated “Continuous Improvement.” The district as a whole missed an Effective rating by 3.2 points, failing to move up from the Continuous Improvement designation, where it has been since the report card system was developed.

Teachers in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District began the 2008-2009 school year without a new contract. And though contract negotiations began in March, and a federal mediator has since been brought in, an agreement between the Cleveland Heights Teachers Union and the CH-UH Board of Education seems remote any time soon.

As part of a national effort to encourage youth philanthropy, Ruffing Middle School teacher and Cleveland Heights resident Cary Seidman was invited by the Independent Schools Network and its partner, Learning to Give, to submit a description of the Intergenerational Project conducted with the support of Judson Retirement Community. Learning to Give has a website to encourage youth philanthropy and offers specific lesson plans to independent schools and youth groups, as well as parents, to promote service learning and volunteerism.

(All Board members present)

Laptop computer grants

The board approved the grants of laptop computers to teachers and middle school students. A policy for acceptable use of the laptops was given first reading.

According to American author and philosopher Richard Bach, we are all "learners, doers and teachers." Meg Cosgriff, the new principal at Saint Ann School, certainly epitomizes this notion in that she has been all three at one point in her professional life: novice, practitioner and educator.

A newly organized parent group at Heights High wants to make incoming parents feel welcome and informed about opportunities and options for their students. The Parent Connection Council (PCC) is a new version of the PTA and will host a New Parent Welcome on September 16, 7:30 p.m., at Heights High.

The group began meeting last spring and heard a common concern from parents; they felt disconnected from the school. “From those initial conversations, we decided that one of our first priorities should be to welcome and orient parents who are new to the school,” Andrea Freeman, co-president of the Parent Connection Council, said.

Register now in the Cleveland Heights – University Heights City School District for the 2008-2009 school year.

The first day of school is August 26, 2008. Your child is eligible for kindergarten in 2008 if they are age 5 by September 30, 2008. Registration takes place at the Board of Education, 2155 Miramar Blvd. The Department of Students Services is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. to serve your registration needs. In addition, appointments will be available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. between August 11 and August 26.

June 3, Regular Meeting

(all board members present)

Calendars for upcoming school years

The board approved 2009-10 and 2010-11 school year calendars in which spring break was moved to the week of the last Monday in March to avoid a conflict with State testing.

It was a memorable evening for the Heights High Class of 2008 at their graduation. Commencement exercises were held at the State Theatre of Playhouse Square Center. Senior speeches were delivered by Jeanniece L.L. Jackson and Cierra Janell Burgess. The posting of the colors and the pledge of allegiance were conducted by Dontave Darnell Cowsette, Jr. and Manpreet Kaur Dillon. Chana’e Ashley Curtis sang the national anthem. Victoria Lee Cacho Williams, student council president, delivered a welcome message. Reginald Alan Golden, president of the class of 2008, presented the class mantle to Shequea Howard, president of the class of 2009. The evening also included choral performances of “For Good” (from the Broadway musical Wicked) and “Letting Go.”

On June 21, the Wiley Middle School stage lit up to reveal 85 fourth through ninth graders in the CH-UH City School District. Dressed in burgundy shirts and jeans, the children were ready to perform after a week at the Heights Summer Music Camp.

The Cleveland Heights High School Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame inducted ten new members on May 8 at Executive Caterers at Landerhaven. The Hall of Fame was created as a way for Heights to honor the accomplishments of its alumni while giving current students solid examples of what they can accomplish in life, hearing from adults who sat in the same seats and walked the same halls as they do.

If you think you know Heights High, guess again.

During a two-hour tour of the sprawling Heights High complex on a recent Saturday morning, a dozen “tourists” learned little known facts about its design, construction, and current condition.

Students at Fairfax and Canterbury Elementary Schools have new, sturdy handmade picnic tables and benches thanks to the generosity of Heights High graduate Mackenzie Brubaker.