“Learning to be Leaders” at Heights High

“We started doing things because they’re the right thing to do for our kids,” says Marc Engoglia, principal of the Legacy small school at Cleveland Heights High School. In “Learning to be Leaders,” a new publication from KnowledgeWorks Foundation, Engoglia and Legacy teachers talk about the work they’ve done adjusting to expanded roles that give them a greater voice during the first four years of small schools. “Learning to be Leaders” is one of five publications that share the day-to-day struggles and triumphs of educators and students working to create new high schools in Ohio. They cover the first three to five years of efforts to transform underperforming large urban high schools into small personalized schools or to pioneer schools that blend high school and college – revealing the missteps, lessons learned and successful strategies that are boosting graduate rates and sending urban students to college.

“These stories from inside classrooms demonstrate that making a significant difference is extremely challenging work. They also offer compelling tales of focused vision, determination, creativity, bravery and success.

“I encourage everyone who cares about the future of educating all of our students to read and reread these stories. You will gain wisdom from the journeys that these schools have undertaken. Absorb the feelings of hope that such reform holds and know that the changes that are required to meet our students’ needs will take the best that each of us has to offer. Join the journey, believe in all of our students, and support this challenging work!”

– Deborah S. Delisle
Ohio Superintendent for Public Instruction
Former Superintendent, Cleveland Heights – University Heights City School District

The stories of four other Ohio high schools – Brookhaven in Columbus, Libbey and Toledo Early College High School in Toledo, and Dayton Early College Academy are available here.

Redefining a Principal’s Job

“In the old days, principals managed buildings,” says Boulevard principal Lawrence Swoope. “Now, principals are front-line instructional leaders who use pedagogy and research to focus learning.”

To build an effective learning community, all stakeholders must participate, he says. “It’s a team effort that involves staff, parents, and the district.”

Mr. Swoope engages with teachers, instructional coaches, parents and students each day. At weekly grade-level meetings, teachers and instructional
coaches mine student data to help make teaching and learning more effective. Long before students arrive, he meets with teachers to discuss pressing concerns and to arrange student interventions.

When school starts, Mr. Swoope heads outdoors, greeting students and parents. Once school starts, he begins his morning walk-throughs. He tries to  get into every classroom every morning and afternoon, to observe learning in progress. During lunch, recess and dismissal, he’s visible, talking to students and parents. His focus all day is creating an atmosphere where learning takes place.

This story by Florence D’Emilia is in the current issue of the Boulevard Banter, one of seven Neighborhood Newsletters from Reaching Heights. You can also read about behavior in common areas, Mr. Swoope’s visits to classrooms as an instructional tool, art at Boulevard, a math mentoring program featuring volunteers from Progressive Insurance, and more.

Gaps in Health Strongly Linked to Education Levels

A new report supports the common-sense view that educated citizens are healthier citizens. The report, Reaching America’s Health Potential Among Adults: A State-by-State Look at Adult Health, is the first to rank states on differences in adults’ health based on their levels of education, and it shows that while people with more education are healthier, in some states these differences are much more dramatic than in others.

A webcast can be viewed here.

Here’s the printed press release from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation:

Across the country and in every state, adults with less education are more likely to be in less than very good health than college graduates, and adults in every state fall far short of the level of good health that should be achievable for all Americans, says a new report released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America.

In fact, almost half of all adults ages 25 to 74 in the United States report being in less than very good health, and that rate differs depending on level of education. For example, adults who have not graduated from high school are more than two and a half times as likely to be in less than very good health as college graduates, according to the report. Those who have graduated from high school but not gone to college are nearly twice as likely to be in less than very good health as college graduates.

The report comes a month after the Commission issued recommendations for removing barriers to good health in the United States, and adds to a growing body of research highlighting the extent to which social factors affect health. This report is a companion to one released in 2008 by the Commission—America’s Health Starts With Healthy Children: How Do States Compare?—that examined the fundamental role that family income and education play in children’s health.

A growing body of Commission research provides strong evidence that there’s more to health than health care, and that education, income and other factors outside the medical care system are important determinants of how healthy people are and even how long they will live.

“Access to affordable, high-quality medical care is essential but that alone will not improve the health of all Americans,” says Alice M. Rivlin, co-chair of the Commission. “What this report tells us is that education has a tremendous impact on how long and how well we live. Policy-makers need to focus on schools and education, as well as promoting healthier homes, communities and workplaces, to improve the health of our nation.”

The 20-page report shows that while the gaps between the least and most educated are the most dramatic there can be significant gaps in health even between those with some college education and those who have finished college. These gaps in health by education exist in every state—even states that rank highest when it comes to overall health.

Education and Adult Health

In the United States, 45 percent of adults reported being in less than very good health. This rate varies widely across states from a high of 53 percent in Mississippi to a low of 35 percent in Vermont.
The health gaps related to education can be seen within states as well. In Mississippi, nearly three-quarters of adults who had not graduated from high school reported being in less than very good health, compared with 37 percent of college graduates. Even in Vermont, which fares best in overall health of adults, 68 percent of adults who had not finished high school reported they were in less than very good health compared with 22 percent of college graduates. Racial and ethnic minorities were more likely to report being in less than very good health, but differences in health status by education level are still seen within every racial or ethnic group. Nationally, for example, 44 percent of African-American college graduates reported they were in less than very good health compared with 55 percent of those with some college, 62 percent of high school graduates, and 73 percent of those who had not finished high school. The report emphasizes that health is closely linked with both education and racial or ethnic group.

Narrowing Health Gaps

Researchers identified significant health gaps by education within states when comparing the rate of less than very good health in each state overall with the rate seen for the state’s college graduates. California has the biggest gap, ranking last in the country, while Delaware has the smallest gap and ranks first.

In California, 48 percent of all adults reported that they were in less than very good health, compared with only 28 percent of college-graduate adults. Thus, the health gap between college graduates in California and adults in the state overall is nearly 20 percent, the biggest difference in the nation. In contrast, 41 percent of all Delaware adults reported they were in less than very good health, compared with 32 percent of college graduates. The health gap between Delaware’s college graduates and adults in the state overall is only 9 percent, the smallest difference in the nation. “Regardless of where your state falls in these rankings, the news isn’t good,” says Mark McClellan, co-chair of the Commission. “Education is an important marker for an array of opportunities that can lead to better health. One of the most important things we can do for our nation’s health is to improve education quality and educational attainment.”

In Every State, Adults Could Be Healthier

In addition to the state rankings, researchers established a national benchmark for adult health, looking at the best level of health achieved in any state among college-graduate adults who also have healthy behaviors. This benchmark rate—a level of good health that has been observed and is thus achievable—was found in Vermont, where the rate of less than very good health was only 19 percent among college graduates who exercise and do not smoke. Comparing rates in every state against this benchmark reveals that U.S. adults at every education level and in every racial or ethnic group—are not as healthy as they could be.

“What this tells us is that there is room for improvement, not only as a nation but in every state, and that focusing on education is important for reducing these health shortfalls,” says Paula Braveman, M.D., M.P.H., a lead study author. Braveman notes that the findings for adult health mirror those seen in children’s health. Not surprisingly, health behaviors are an important component in adult health, but differences in behaviors explain only part of the differences in health by education, she adds.

Focusing on a key social factor that affects health, the report provides new national and state-level information on how healthy adults in this country are and how healthy they could be. An interactive online tool from the Commission lets viewers see firsthand the links between education and mortality for states and most counties. The Education and Health Calculator lets users examine the current level of education in their own county or state and determine how many deaths might be averted if a larger proportion of the population attended college.

 

Poetry Slam Enlivens a Spring Evening

On a Thursday evening in late April, 31 young poets and their fans gathered at Fairfax Elementary School for a celebration of the spoken word.

Sponored by Fairfax PTA and Reaching Heights, the Inaugural Cleveland Heights-University Heights School-to-School Poetry Slam featured a wide range of works, including reflections on dreams, haiku, observations of nature, and more.

While there was an element of competition to the event, the focus was on enjoying the talents of 4th and 5th grade poets as they took the stage and read their work to a packed house.

CH-UH School Board member Eric Coble, Saroya Queen-Tabor, Cassandra Franklin and Allison McClain served as judges, and Beth Armstrong was scorekeeper. Heights High student Siaara Freeman served as emcee.  She was a finalist on the Cleveland Youth Poetry Slam Team in 2008 and a semi-finalist this year.

Click here to read the Fairfax poetry and

 here to read the Boulevard poems.

Enjoy the poems
Marvelling at fertile minds
Of blossoming youths.

Coming in Fall 2009: video of the poets performing.

Gearity’s Stepping Stones

120 young learners are part of the Stepping Stones all-day preschool program at Gearity Professional Development School. The following article is from the Gearity Globe, one of seven Neighborhood Newsletters published by Reaching Heights.

by Tricia Springstubb, Reaching Heights volunteer

A tiny girl in a plaid jumper and ponytail rushes into the bright classroom, finds her nametag, and with the help of her teacher, names each letter. Minutes later, she’s giving directions to her classmates, playing teacher behind Miss Nicole’s back. What makes this scene all the more delightful is that a year ago, this preschooler had next to no language at all.

Gearity Professional Development School is home to the district’s Early Childhood Center, six classrooms housed in a separate wing and serving 120 young learners. Stepping Stones offers all-day, full-year preschool, while the other classes are half-day. In three of those classrooms, children with and without disabilities play and learn together.
 
Nicole Coatoam, a licensed early childhood teacher, collaborates with Rena Ellis, a pre-school intervention specialist, as well as two aides, to address each child’s needs. Today they’re deep into dinosaurs, in preparation for next week’s trip to the Natural History Museum. The children dictate dinosaur stories for their journals, become sand-table paleontologists and arrange toy T-Rex’s according to size. All this fun is keyed to the state’s content standards, building skills that include literacy, measuring, memory and observation.

The center is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Staff-to-child ratio is 1:10 or better. When a boy with behavioral problems has trouble during circle time, Miss Rena helps him re-focus without disturbing the other children’s concentration. “Our curriculum has many levels,” she says, “with opportunities for children to move up, and for everyone to succeed.”  Speech and physical therapists work in the classroom, their expertise benefiting all the students. Close communication with parents is part of the process.

The day before was dance class, and later this day the art teacher is due. But right now it’s snack time. A smiling girl leads the way, ponytail bobbing.

Help Your Student STRETCH This Summer

The Cleveland Heights – University Heights City School District is offering an exciting enrichment program this summer. All enrolled students who will enter grades 6-12 during the 2009-10 school year will be eligible to participate. The Summer S.T.R.E.T.CH. program, which includes various course offerings, will be held at Cleveland Heights High School (C.H.H.S.) from July 27, 2009 through August 7, 2009. This program has been designed to provide enrichment and targeted preparation and support for our students during the summer. Offerings vary in audience, meeting time, and content. We are hoping that your child will take advantage of this program. Please see the enclosed information which provides detailed information about course offerings and registration information. Enrollment in courses will be done on a rotational basis every 2 weeks, beginning on March 9, 2009 and ending on May 22, 2009. Student will receive confirmation of their enrollment in June. Depending upon enrollment, students may be able to register in more than one course.

Enrollment and registration information can be found here.