Community School Proposal for East High

NeighborhoodCleveland Metropolitan School District

Written by Kirsten Mahovlich and Michelle Perez

Developed in collaboration with Lisa Donahue, Ruth Ann Horowitz, Shirley Reeder, Lena Boswell, Anne Galetta,

Vanessa Jones, members of the class of 2011, various AST staff members, various community members, and Attevo

With appreciation to The Knowledge Works Foundation for many of the ideas outlined in this proposal

WORKING DRAFT

The East Side Community Academy

Proposal and Program Overview

The Vision

The East Side Community Academy will blend a hi-tech academic program with a full-service community center and recreation facility that will prepare students for real-world job opportunities and post-secondary education options while simultaneously engaging in community building through outreach and economic development.

The Plan: The Physical Divide

Divide the East High building along a North/South axisRepurpose the Western half of the building for use as a hi-tech vocational and college prep programRepurpose the Eastern half of the building for use as a community center and recreation facility

The Plan: The No-Violence Pledge

Because the entire goal of this facility would be to promote healthy mental, physical and economic growth and development in the Hough/Superior neighborhood, all parties in anyway connected with The East Side Community Academy would be required to take a No-Violence Pledge. This pledge would apply to activity both inside and outside the building walls. The concept is that by providing a state of the art facility with both rigorous and relevant academic opportunities as well as practical and appealing community services, this campus becomes a highly prized and respected asset where the seeds of community leadership can be sown and spread exponentially.

The Plan: Two Worlds, One GoalThe Academy of Hi-Tech Vocational Arts

Possible Program Offerings• Tech/Customer Service

Possible partnership with Attevo and/or other community businesses

• Sound Engineering & Recording Possible partnership with the Rock-n-

Roll Hall of Fame

• Center for Wellness and Environmental Studies

In partnership with Nguzo Saba Gardens

• Hi-tech Foreign Language and AP Lab

Funds may be available through EEFT grant currently under review

The Community AcademyPossible Program Offerings

• Cleveland Clinic Satellite service• Cleveland Public Library Satellite

service• Adult Education/GED classes• Child care/Elder care program

(local providers)• Low-cost lease space for local

entrepreneurs and non-profit agencies (small business incubator)

• Full-service recreation facility in partnership with The City of Cleveland

• Market Gardens

The Academy of Hi-Tech Vocational Arts

Technology and Customer Service: As an alternative to international outsourcing, Attevo is pursuing partnerships with community colleges and school districts to create a hands-on, hi-tech training center to prepare students for real-world job opportunities in technology and customer services, immediately upon graduation, regardless of their ultimate career goals. This program could possibly be extended to adult community members through a twilight program. Cleveland becomes a front-runner in the push to link public and private sector interests for mutual benefit.Sound Engineering and Recording: Perhaps through a partnership with the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame as well as an intensive grant-writing and fundraising campaign, Cleveland becomes the first city in Ohio to offer a state of the art sound engineering and recording program to students. With its ample auditorium space, The East Side Community Academy becomes a venue for all local performance artists who are willing to take the No Violence Pledge.

The Academy of Hi-Tech Vocational Arts

Center for Wellness and Environmental Studies: In partnership with Nguzo Saba Gardens, an already established community organization, the entire campus becomes a state of the art “green” school that is the first of its kind in an urban setting. The center prepares students to enter “green” jobs or to transition into “green” programs at the college level. Possible program offerings include: Photo Voltaic Installation, Energy Auditing, Urban Agriculture, HVAC, Market Gardening, and Bio-Diesel Technology. Possible certifications in the area of wellness include: Fitness Trainer, Exercise Physiology, and Nutrition Education.Hi-Tech Foreign Language and AP Lab: Through a proposal already under review at the state level, a hi-tech lab is created that will offer diverse language options as well as a wide variety of AP courses in a distance learning format.

The Community Academy

The Community Center: In an on-going effort to involve and engage community members as well as develop and support economic opportunity, space will be made available to any local agency, business, community group, or institution of higher education willing to adhere to guidelines conducive to a space shared with young adults. With enough collaboration, space could be offered for lease at nominal fees, allowing fledgling businesses to take root as well as providing after-school internships and employment opportunities for students.

The Recreation Facility: In a partnership with The City of Cleveland, our gym, track and pool areas are renovated and improved to provide convenient access to healthy activities for both students and community members. Possible economic development connections might include the opening of a Curves franchise by a local entrepreneur or the addition of a Yoga studio by a local practitioner.

The Community Academy

The Green FocusBecause health is a major concern in our community and unemployment is an ever-growing reality, The East Side Community Academy will give students and community residents an opportunity to participate in a wide-variety of health and wellness programs as well as providing summer jobs for students.

Possible Programs and Initiatives:• Learning Garden

• Market Garden (local produce available for local sale)

• On-site Greenhouse and Fruit Orchard

• Rain Barrel Water Collection System

• Landscaping

School Status:District Operated Charter

In a partnership between CMSD administration, the CTU and a cohort of teachers, students, parents and community members (The Legacy Cohort) a request for charter is filed with the Ohio Department of Education and an extensive grant-writing and fundraising campaign begins

School status is negotiable based on collaboration with district, community and business stakeholders

The Learning Model: Situated Learning

Situated Learning was introduced by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger

In a situated learning model, “learning takes place in the same context in which it is applied” (Lave and Wenger, 1991)

This theory suggests that students learn best through relevant instruction that takes place in real-world settings. The “journeyman-apprentice” relationship is a perfect example of this model.

The Learning Model: Instructional Approach

Situated Learning: Students learn in a setting that is both relevant and rigorousTeachers use a combination of research based teaching models

Rigor and Relevance (Willard R. Daggett)Classroom Instruction that Works (Marzano, Pickering, Pollock)Differentiated Instruction (Tomlinson and McTighe)

Literacy and Numeracy Instruction is embedded in every content area through the implementation of a school wide Literacy Triage Plan (Knowledge Works Model)Technological and Environmental Literacy is placed at the forefront of the school-wide mission

The Learning Model: Embedded Literacy Instruction

Literacy Triage PlanAll students’ literacy needs will be assessed upon entryAll students whose reading levels are significantly below grade-level will be automatically entered into an intense reading remediation program to continue until they are reading at or above grade level

• Based on individual student need, the following options will be available:

Personal reading tutors Reading intervention classes Use of reading remediation software

The Learning Model: An Individualized Approach

A full range of special services will be providedSelf-contained classrooms

Resource classrooms

Full-inclusion classrooms• Co-teaching

• Case management support

Behavior and academic modifications

AP program offerings

Social and academic interventions

The Leadership Model: A Collaborative Approach

McREL Balanced Leadership Model implemented within the framework of a teacher-lead school to create an Academic Leadership TeamImplementation of KWF Non-negotiables

See PDF “Non-Negotiable Attributes”

Creation of a Collaborative Leadership Board where local leaders and community developers can provide program insight and critiqueBusiness/facility manager provides whole program oversight (including The Community Academy)

Teacher Responsibilities*Extended school year for teacher planning and professional developmentWeekly embedded professional development and team meetings (if possible, with early release for students)Quarterly grade level team release days (with sub coverage) for data analysis and data-driven planningMaintenance of a student advisory period in place of homeroom duty

*Compensation to be negotiated between District and Union

Modified SchedulingPossible extended-day or twilight service for studentsPossible flexible-scheduling or late-start options for students with legitimate transportation conflictsModified block scheduling optionsStudent-guided, personal scheduling service with interest-focused course selection and career planning portfolio

The Legacy Cohort

Whether at East High or at an alternative location, current East High 11th grade students would have the opportunity to work and learn together with a cadre of teachers devoted to the implementation of this proposal. The goal would be to involve these students in every step of the process from grant-writing and fundraising to staffing and program development. In the Spring of 2011 they would graduate as the final class of East High, their legacy being the gift of a new, groundbreaking community school that will serve to develop the Hough/Superior neighborhood and strengthen the city of Cleveland for years to come.

Timeline and ImplementationSpring 2010

District/Board approval of plan

Selection of teachers for legacy cohort (collaborative selection process to be determined)

Summer 2010Selection of planning year

implementation site (possibly at East High, reduced usage)

Grant Proposal/Fundraising Writing process begins

ODE application for charter process begins

Possible implementation of “The Green Focus” (learning gardens, market gardens, landscaping projects)

Fall 2010Class of 2011 begins academic year with

Legacy Cohort teachers at selected site

Grant Proposal/Fundraising Writing process continues

ODE application for charter process continues

Possible implementation of prospective Attevo partnership

Possible set-up Hi-Tech Language Lab (pending EEFT grant award status)

Fall/Winter 2010The Legacy Cohort works to engage

public and private interests in the leasing and utilization of The Community Academy space, establish a student governance board and continue the work of fundraising and grant-writing

Depending upon relationship established with the district, interior and exterior space in The Community Academy could become available for space renovation and program development

Spring 2011Receipt of prospective charter from ODE

Establishment of school leadership components

AAP development and opening year planning

Graduation of the Legacy Cohort class from East High School

Pending funding and resource availability, renovation of classrooms and facilities for the Academy of Hi-Tech Vocational Arts

Full staff teacher/leadership hiring process begins

Summer 2011Full program implementation

Finalization of all leadership, financial and academic details

Active pursuit of commercial and non-profit leasing opportunities

Full implementation of “The Green Focus” projects

Proposal Rationale

While closing East High school may appear to be a financially sound decision, the students and community members of the Hough/Superior neighborhood will be severely and unnecessarily negatively affected by this proposed closure. We concede that current enrollment trends have greatly impacted the East High student population and that a change is necessary for the growth and development of both the school and the community. Closing this building will inevitably lead to the creation of a private charter school or the expansion of an existing charter program that may not serve the best interest of this neighborhood, our students, our teachers, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, or the City of Cleveland as a whole. If we want to protect public education in this city and in this nation, we must learn to innovate, collaborate, and create truly purposeful learning communities within the context of public school systems. This can only happen when all voices have a place at the table.

Request for ProposalsAs a small core of teachers and students, we have put considerable time and energy into the creation of this proposal. However, we recognize that our plan is not the only possible plan for East High. We respectfully request that the district put into place a process by which proposals such as our own could be considered in a formal and equitable manner. While the district has made considerable efforts to provide forums for feedback regarding the proposed transformation plan, these venues have not provided for a serious exchange of ideas. An RFP would allow students, teachers, non-profit agencies, community groups, and local businesses to participate in the redesign of not only this building, but in all buildings slated for closure or repurposing. The task that the district has undertaken with this transformation plan is immense and its success hinges on the degree to which this district is prepared to unite and engage all stakeholders in the change process.