The Plain Dealer

12/20/2007

Scott Stephens

Plain Dealer Reporter

There’s an old joke that the only thing Rip Van Winkle would recognize after years of slumber is the American high school.

On Wednesday, the local philanthropic community decided to give old Rip a wake-up call.

The Cleveland Foundation and the George Gund Foundation have pledged $1.65 million to the Cleveland school district to support academies that would offer specialized programs ranging from medicine to industrial design. Each of the foundations chipped in half.

To underscore that pledge, schools Chief Executive Eugene Sanders announced the grant at Ginn Academy, one of five single-gender academies he opened this year and the centerpiece of his school-options program.

“A year ago, this school didn’t exist,” Sanders said. “Today, we’re in a position to dream about what can be.”

The foundation money will first be used to create an Office of New Schools, a new agency in the district bureaucracy that will oversee current and future specialized academies.

The grant dollars also will help launch two new high schools next fall. One will specialize in science, technology and engineering.

The other will partner with Cuyahoga Community College and the Cleveland Institute of Art to focus on industrial design and technology.

In a broader sense, the initiative will help position the district to recruit students in an increasingly competitive market.

Last year, nearly 77,000 city students were enrolled in school, but only about 53,000 of those attended the Cleveland public schools. More than 12,000 went to Catholic schools and almost as many went to charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately run.

“Innovative, rigorous curriculum and fresh thinking make such schools a draw for parents who might otherwise look elsewhere for their children’s education,” said Cleveland Foundation President Ronn Richard.

The money will also help the district open schools aligned with a job market that has little in common with a high school model that has existed for 150 years.

Ideally, it will help the district evolve into a school system that will keep - and attract - students.

“The schools need to be a competitive asset of the city,” said David Abbott, Gund’s executive director.

The next two specialty schools will be modeled after versions that have seen successful elsewhere in the state.

The proposed STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) academy is a concept embraced by Gov. Ted Strickland and the legislature to keep Ohio competitive in the global marketplace.

Such schools are often public-private partnerships involving universities, corporations and public schools. They give students on-the-job experience through internships and fellowships.

The other new school will be an early college program involving the art institute and CCC. Students in that program could earn both high school diplomas and associate college degrees.

Earlier this year, Sanders drew heat from some parents and community leaders for converting neighborhood schools into single-gender academies. But he pledged to push forward with the reform.

“We have to force ourselves to use innovation for improvement,” Sanders said.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

sstephens@plaind.com, 216-999-4827

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