鈥楾is the season to reflect on what we鈥檝e done this year, and where we鈥檙e going. Right now, I鈥檓 thinking back on a busy last few months of education coverage in Northeast Ohio since I joined 91制片厂 in August.
Most recently, the topic of student misbehavior, discipline, safety and public order in school has loomed large at Akron Public Schools.
Parents and teachers have rightfully been concerned about high-profile incidents suggesting the safety of the schools has been compromised, from two students being arrested for bringing loaded guns into school to a student being stabbed. But there鈥檚 a broader, more nuanced conversation that I think has been missing from headlines that the entire district is having.
For one, it鈥檚 not just about physical security. Students have really been struggling mentally and emotionally since the pandemic-related school closures ended. But even before that, students from poor families (23% of Akron lives below the poverty line) experienced and are still experiencing no shortage of challenges: homelessness, hunger, parents in jail, losing family members to gun violence, the list goes on. The same is true of many Cleveland public school students.
The Akron Board of Education and Superintendent Christine Fowler-Mack have been having the hard conversations during recent public meetings about balancing safety and the need for accountability without criminalizing the district鈥檚 kids, who are mostly students of color. Research shows you can鈥檛 expel your way out of the problem.
But it鈥檚 going to take hard work 鈥� way beyond some new metal detectors and a few new programs 鈥� to create a positive, safe school environment that also helps kids through the tough things they鈥檙e dealing with, even as they鈥檙e acting out.
Meanwhile, negative perceptions of the district鈥檚 kids aren鈥檛 helping them. Check out from student board member D鈥橢ssence Jackson 鈥� a bright young star who鈥檚 on her way to big things 鈥� during the recent APS board meeting. It will give you a far better sense of it than I ever could give you.
Cleveland
Moving on to Cleveland, the story of the year so far has been one of transition, even beyond the ending of pandemic mitigation measures. CEO Eric Gordon surprised many 鈥� including folks with the Cleveland Teachers Union and others typically in the know 鈥� when he announced he would be stepping down in September.
Gordon and Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb presented a unified front during a recent City Club of Cleveland forum, with Gordon repeating he stepped down because the time is right, rather than any external pressures from Bibb or anyone else. And Gordon threw his support behind Bibb鈥檚 vision for a broader youth agenda, which his successor will likely have a big hand in helping to bring to fruition, considering Bibb鈥檚 approval will be needed in tandem with the school board鈥檚.
We鈥檝e been waiting for roughly three months to get records back from the city鈥檚 public records office on communications between Bibb鈥檚 office and the school district around the decision for Gordon to step down. We鈥檙e hoping those records won鈥檛 be heavily redacted. (The city better come up with a good reason if they are redacted.) It's our goal to share an inside look at the deliberations that occurred.
Unsilenced Voices
Finally, I wanted to wrap up this column with a note of gratitude. I volunteer my time to work with a group of CMSD students on that I started in a previous role in Cleveland with Report for America. I work on it in partnership with Gayle Gadison at CMSD.
It鈥檚 incredible to work with these students. They鈥檙e funny, smart, insightful, hard-working and keep me on my toes. Check out some of their recent work below:
- Chardon Black鈥檚 on how the district defines and supports diversity is great, and we played a portion of it recently on the "Sound of Ideas."
- Kayden Ferris is our resident poet and she .
- Aaliyah Abdul-Basit is a new addition this semester and she wrote a in high school.
And I want to take a moment to note how incredible Gayle is. She鈥檚 worked at CMSD for years and knows the district well. The Unsilenced Voices of CMSD blog would be nothing without her. On top of her normal job, she organizes the massive endeavor that is the Civics 2.0 civic engagement program at dozens of CMSD schools, and she takes time to really make the Unsilenced Voices of CMSD a successful program.
Through her efforts, the students are paid for their work on the blog (as long as they meet their deadlines!)
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