3/21/09 

Plain Dealer 

Thomas Ott

The Cleveland School District has demoted six principals and three assistant principals, a shakeup that stems partly from a drive to make academic gains.

Five of the principals will become assistant principals next school year at buildings that will be determined; the sixth will teach. Two assistant principals also will teach and another was told that she can be a substitute teacher.

In addition, Jacqueline Schuenaman, principal of Adlai Stevenson Elementary School, resigned effective at the end of the school year, after Chief Executive Eugene Sanders said her contract might not be renewed. Also resigning will be Clarence Griffin, assistant principal at Lincoln-West High School. His evaluation said he did not meet expectations.

South High Principal Timothy Bigenho also will become an assistant principal. He said he asked to take a less-demanding job.

The changes affect 11 buildings, 10 percent of the system, and come as the schools try to boost performance. The district slipped from “continuous improvement,” the equivalent of a “C,” into “academic watch,” the same as a “D,” on its latest state report card.

Chief of Staff Pamela Smith said the demotions were ordered for various reasons, including the need for a “more robust academic focus.”

Bigenho said he asked to step down so he could spend more time with his 86-year-old mother. A letter in his personnel file, dated Jan. 23, confirms the request.

But a midyear evaluation, dated Feb. 5, takes Bigenho to task on South’s academic record. It says the program weakened significantly in the 2007-08 school year.

Bigenho said he declined the district’s offer to serve as principal at a smaller school. He said he hopes to eventually return to his job at South, but Smith said that would be a joint decision.

Nicholas Smith will be ousted after his first year as principal at John Adams High School. His evaluation says his “level of expertise is no match for the challenges of John Adams,” a school that deals daily with gang violence and other problems.

John Adams can’t seem to keep a principal. Smith is the third leader since the new building opened three years ago.

“Effective change would require continuity in leadership,” Nicholas Smith said. “I would have loved to have had the opportunity to continue on.”

The other administrators declined to comment or could not be reached.

Most of the affected schools are in academic watch or academic emergency. Donna Baynes will teach next year instead of serving as principal of Carl and Louis Stokes Central Academy, one of 10 so-called “turnaround” elementary schools. The schools could close if test scores don’t pick up by 2010.

School board member Rashida Abdulhaqq was upset that the board did not know about most of the moves until she asked.

“We need to keep the district stable,” she said. “We need to make sure we are treating people fairly.”