Future Bio Major Wins Jazz Scholarship

Congratulations to Eli Wildey, winner of the 2009 James Bane Jazz Scholarship, awarded to a member of the Cleveland Heights High Jazz Ensemble who works hard, contributes generously to the ensemble’s success, provides leadership to the ensemble, and can benefit from private instruction. The Heights High Jazz Ensemble, which has earned an outstanding reputation in recent year in the Cleveland area, and through Spring tours in the Eastern United States and Canada, is under the direction of Brett Baker. Eli, a junior at Heights High, is a proud alumnus of Coventry Elementary School and Roxboro Middle School. The scholarship, awarded since 1998, honors James Bane, former director of the Heights High Jazz Band. Reaching Heights gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Drs. Chris Brandt and Beth Sersig for making this scholarship possible. Eli spoke recently with Reaching Heights director Patrick Mullen:

Reaching Heights: What music did you listen to growing up, and what do you like now?
Eli Wildey: We listened to everything in our house. Today, I like anything but country. My favorites include 311 and The Police, or Sting solo.<

RH: When did you first play an instrument and which one?
EW: Piano, when I was 6 or 7. I started because my parents wanted me to, and found out that I enjoyed playing and got pretty good.

RH: Now you play sax. How did you end up there?
EW: In 4th grade, I wanted to play trombone but my mom didn’t want me playing anything big. So I started on clarinet, which I liked because I could play jazz or classical music. I switched to sax in 7th grade, after my orthodontist told me the clarinet exaggerated my overbite. I’ve been playing sax since, and added tuba to fill a need in the marching band.

RH: Ever attend Heights Summer Music Camp?
EW: Twice. I remember us putting on some of the best concerts I’ve played in. We were always doing music during camp, so we got pretty good.
RH: What are your thoughts on the Heights High music program?
EW: It’s how I’ve made a lot of friends. I pretty much know everybody in the program, which I like. And it’s fun to play music.
RH: As much as you know them yet, what are your plans for college?
EW: I’d like to go to a big-city college, and I’m leaning toward studying something in the area of biology. I’d like to have a little musical group on the side for fun.
RH: Any advice for kids thinking of starting out in music?
EW: Definitely do it. It’s fun. I’m able to play a lot of pretty cool songs. And I guess the old line is true that practice makes perfect.
RH: Thanks for your time, Eli, and best of luck in the future.
EW: My pleasure. Thank you for the scholarship.

Adolescent Literacy: A Call to Action

Our nation’s educational system has scored many extraordinary successes in raising the level of reading and writing skills in younger children. Yet the pace of literacy improvement in our schools has not kept up with the accelerating demands of the global knowledge economy. In state after state, the testing data mandated by No Child Left Behind reveals a marked decline in the reading and writing skills of adolescent learners.

So begins the executive summary of “Time to Act: An Agenda for Advancing Adolescent Literacy for College and Career Success,” (click on link for full text pdf) a new report from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The report highlights the importance of adolescent literacy, and outlines steps that, if taken by schools, school districts, and states, can prepare our adolescents for active citizenship, college and career readiness, gainful employment in the global knowledge economy, and lifelong learning. 

The executive summary continues:

School systems are now grappling with the fact that promising early performance and gains in reading achievement often dissipate as students move through the middle grades. As a result, many young people drop out of high school or perform at minimal level and end up graduating without the basic skills that they need to do college-level work, get a well-paying job or act as informed citizens.  The truth is that good early literacy instruction does not inoculate students against struggle or failure later on.

Beyond grade 3, adolescent learners in our schools must decipher more complex passages, synthesize information at a higher level, and learn to form independent conclusions based on evidence. They must also develop special skills and strategies for reading text in each of the differing content areas (such as English, science, mathematics and history) — meaning that a student who “naturally” does well in one area may struggle in another. We have a strong knowledge base of reading instruction for grades K-3. However, literacy supports for adolescents present greater instructional challenges and demand a range of strategies. [Read more]

Wiley Welcomes New Principal

With the beginning of new school year, Dr. Octavia Reid began her tenure as principal of Wiley Middle School. Dr. Reid earned her doctorate in Education Leadership, Management and Policy from Seton Hall University. She has held several educational leadership positions in the Cleveland area. Most recently she was the regional director of the Lighthouse Academy in Cleveland. She was the assistant superintendent for the Greater Heights Academy in Cleveland Heights and the principal for Giddings School in the Cleveland Municipal School District for four years. Welcome Dr. Reid!