Collinwood High School is Saved

Dear parents, caregivers, residents, partners, and friends-

As you know, the District has engaged over the past year in long-term planning for our schools that included analyzing data and gathering stakeholder input.  Last month, I presented to you and to the greater Cleveland community a set of draft recommendations for proposed impacts to our K-8 and high school portfolio.

Following extensive community engagement on these initial recommendations at meetings across the city, and in discussions with our Board of Education, we have explored additional options with District staff.  Based on those steps, I am releasing a revised set of recommendations that will be presented to the Board of Education for their consideration on Tuesday evening.   The full set of revised recommendations will be available shortly at QualitySchoolsforCLEKids.org.

Although much of the plan proposed in October remains unchanged, I am recommending two significant amendments to our high school recommendations.

First, I will propose to the Board that any decision regarding New Tech Collinwood and the Collinwood campus be delayed for at least one year.  As part of this recommendation, we are asking the Greater Collinwood community to form a Friends of Collinwood High School community group to:

  • develop and implement a robust manufacturing careers pathway and post-graduation opportunities for scholars
  • create and implement a strategy for recruitment and retention of students to ensure program viability, and
  • identify community partners and businesses to assist in providing opportunities for the Collinwood campus to become a mixed-use asset for the Five Pointe area.

This recommendation reflects the strong desire of community stakeholders in the Greater Collinwood community to pursue innovative options to keep the campus viable.

It is important to note that I am still recommending the consolidation of the Martin Luther King, Jr. and Glenville programs at the existing Glenville campus.  This will allow us to continue enhancing our scholars’ learning experiences by eliminating excess capacity in outdated facilities and by using those operational savings to expand academic and extracurricular offerings.

Secondly, after extensive community feedback, I am withdrawing the recommendation to phase out and close New Tech West.  While my team and I examined alternative options for co-locating this model with another program, we found no options that will maintain the integrity of the program without adversely impacting other schools. I will therefore recommend continuing New Tech West in its current location to continue its progress on academic growth and enrollment viability.

I am grateful for the thoughtful input and participation of the school community in the long-term planning process.   I remain inspired by the passion of our school community that was evident at community meetings and in my personal interactions with many of you. 

I look forward to your continued involvement as we work together to provide quality schools for all of Cleveland’s kids.

Sincerely,

Eric S. Gordon

CEO, Cleveland Metropolitan School District

Read More on School News
Volume 11, Issue 12, Posted 6:21 PM, 12.02.2019