Gov. Strickland’s Education Proposals

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland delivered his 2009 State of the State Address Jan. 28 in Columbus. The centerpiece of the speach is an outline of the Governor’s proposals for reforming public education in Ohio. Here’s what the Governor had to say:

I’d like to first recognize that one of Ohio’s great leaders, Senate President Bill Harris, was not able to be with us today. I know that he is in all of our thoughts and prayers, and we wish him a very speedy recovery.

Speaker Budish, Senate President Pro Tem Niehaus, Leader Batchelder and Leader Cafaro, Lt. Governor Fisher, statewide elected officials, members of the Cabinet, members of the General Assembly and the Supreme Court, distinguished guests, First Lady Frances Strickland, and my fellow Ohioans…

There was a time when Ohio State University played its football games on a dusty field surrounded by a humble collection of wooden bleachers.

Back then, OSU played teams from universities and small private colleges. They even scheduled a game against the soldiers from an army camp in Chillicothe.

Just after World War I came to an end there was a painful combination of high inflation and high unemployment that produced economic misery in Ohio and across the nation.

It was a truly frightening moment – hardly the time for a bold new idea. [Read more]

Scholarship to Honor Deb Delisle

 The Cleveland Heights High School Alumni Foundation and Reaching Heights are working together to raise funds for the Deb Delisle Scholarship Fund. This scholarship honors Deb’s achievements as Superintendent of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District, with gratitude for all she’s meant for our community. The scholarship will be awarded to a graduating Heights High senior who is a first-generation college student, as Deb was. Please join us in honoring Deb by supporting our efforts. Though sorry to see her go, we’re happy to gain a friend and advocate in Columbus. To make a donation, use this form. Gifts, payable to CHHS Alumni Foundation, with DDSF on the memo line, can be sent to the CHHS Alumni Foundation, 2155 Miramar Blvd., University Hts., OH 44118.

Calming the Common Spaces at Wiley

Each day more than 500 early adolescents arrive at Wiley Middle School, bringing their youthful energy, shifting moods and diverse needs that must be channeled into learning.

During significant parts of the day, large numbers of students are together in hallways, the cafeteria, and restrooms, outside the responsibility of any individual adult. How students manage themselves in these places can set the tone for the school. Typically, the bulk of office referrals at Wiley have been for behavior in these out-of-classroom situations.

This year Wiley is implementing a new plan designed to create a respectful and calm environment in common spaces. Evidence that it’s paying off can be found in an 80% reduction in disciplinary referrals for behavior in the halls, cafeteria, and restrooms compared to last year. [Read more]

Supportive Behavior Agenda Promotes Student Achievement

Student achievement and student behavior go hand in hand. That’s why the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School district’s commitment to high achievement for all students includes a proactive and supportive approach to student behavior. The district’s transformation agenda promotes both engaging instruction and positive student behavior as means to high achievement. Each reinforces the other.

Last year the district hired Dr. Jeffrey Johnston for the newly created position of Coordinator of Student Support Programs. He works with principals and school-based teams throughout the school district to create a three-tiered “pyramid of support” to ensure the optimal conditions for student learning: safe, supportive and nurturing learning environments in every school.

For Johnston behavior isn’t an irritating distraction from the real work of schools, but one more opportunity to make a difference in the life of students. [Read more]

Fairfax Elementary

 

My Time as a Tutor
written by Kailey Kowalics, AmeriCorp Service Member

After a few times of hearing her teacher ask me “Who do you need?” and me responding with the name Heather. She started asking, “Do you need Heather?” when I came into the classroom every Tuesday– I always smiled and worked with her first.

I had an understanding with Omari, who was eager to learn but highly energetic and easily distracted, that he could move around as long as he continued to work. So for each letter I held up, he would run in a circle around his chair while he said the sound and made the corresponding movement.

Londyn liked to take the stack of letter flashcards and quiz ME on them, and I would mix up tricky letters and sounds to give her the chance to show off HER knowledge by correcting me.

These are just a few anecdotes from my time tutoring at Fairfax. They’re the snapshots of my day I loved to share with family and friends– “Oh my gosh, one of my tutees did the cutest thing today!”– or with fellow tutors, thinking they might have a story too– “Man, isn’t that kid such a trip?” They’re the stories that show others– and remind me– how much fun it can be to help kids learn.

But there are other stories I gathered throughout the school year too, ones that unfolded over time. These are chronicles of progress; some of them reveal that students are making strides in knowledge and comprehension:

Carter went from grudging admissions of, “I forgot what that letter is,” to distinctly making every letter sound except that tricky short ‘e,’ to telling me, “That’s so easy! B-e-d spells bed!”

Omari and Heather began their tutoring time very enthusiastically– and Londyn and Cora began with quiet happiness– but they didn’t always remember or understand the sounds; each of them ended with the same energy and joy enhanced by confidence as they successfully sounded out two- and three-letter blends.

At the beginning of the year, Cameron seemed shy and unwilling to mimic the letter sounds and movements, but he soon opened up to show that not only had he grasped the sounds, he had caught on to blending as well.

Marcus and Jamie both showed disinterest for weeks, but that changed when Marcus and I started holding our sessions video-game style, with each two-letter blend being a level he could beat, and Jamie began forming long strings of letters into nonsense words for me to sound out as a quick break between the letters I put together for her to blend into words.

If the worth of the first stories is in showing the small joys of tutoring for me and other tutors, the second ones are useful in showing how valuable the program is for students.

*All student names have been changed for respect of privacy.

2010-2011 Results: John Carroll Students and community volunteers served  close to 350 service hours helping to support 78 students.  Results from the literacy-based Kindergarten Intervention showed that emerging readers tutored grew 50% in Letter shape and sound recognition. Thanks to our kindergarten teachers and the Fairfax community!! 

 To volunteer or for more information, contact Many Villages Program Coordinator Lisa M. Hunt at lisa@reachingheights.org or by calling 216.932.5110.

Gearity Elementary

Almost 50 volunteer tutor hours are in use at Gearity Elementary school each week. Thanks to Park Synagogue, an important part of the Gearity Village helping students reach their potential.  To become a part of their village, contact Nanci Stein at nancistein@hotmail.com

Oxford Elementary

 

At Oxford, Ursuline College student volunteers tutor while gaining required field experience.  To volunteer or for more information, contact Keesha Tolliver at lmtolliver1@yahoo.com

Roxboro Elementary

Many Villages incorporates a two-pronged approach with its program — intervention-based tutoring coupled with a general tutoring program which provides additional assistance to each classroom teacher.  Thanks to Roxboro parents and John Carroll students who make up the 47 weekly tutor hours.  To join this team of committed volunteers, contact Andrea Lynn at uberanna@hotmail.com or Caitlin Sullivan at joeandcaitlin@roadrunner.com

Welcome to the new reachingheights.org

We at Reaching Heights thought it was time to freshen up our web presence. You’re looking at the result. Part of our mission is telling the story of public education in our community, and linking you to our schools. We all have a stake in their success, and we can all be part of that success. Take a look around, and please let us know what you’d like to see that’s not here, or what you think about what is here. In the coming months, we’ll be adding audio and video clips that will help bring you a better sense of what’s happening in our schools. You’ll also notice that it’s easier to share your thoughts with us. So please do.