If you clean it, they will swing!

 School starts today, enrollment up again!

After some pretty hectic weeks of cleaning, repairing, putting in new water bottle fillers and completely new furniture for classrooms and offices at both St. Thomas Aquinas and Archbishop Lyke, students return this Monday.  On the heals of an historic enrollment growth last school year (~40% up), this year as we stand yesterday, we are up 4%!  Typically we will admit more students in the first week or so.  From 2015 to the beginning of last year the two schools had suffered a 35% decrease in enrollment.

If you clean it, they will swing!

Yesterday, 15 volunteers descended on an abandoned playground adjacent to Archbishop Lyke School.  The Harvard Community Center received a beautiful playground several years ago.  They do fantastic work, but are under resourced to say the least.  They could not afford the proper mulch to pass their insurance inspection.  It was padlocked for over 5 years.  You can see the before and after pictures!

And so it begins...

Here come the volunteeers!

   

Backrow:  Dr. Susan Lasch, Maureen Bagley

From left to right: Mark Biche (Chief Playground Officer), Shana, Julie barry, Denny Dunn (looks like gorgeous George), Marc Ciccarelli, Matt Roggenburk, Steve Nock, Tom McIntyre, Neil Barry, Gerard Daher, and Mark McNamara

Inculding St. Dominic's second grader, Sam!

After!!

And before we could lock the gate, children materialized and went right to the swings!!

As a few of us were cleaning up the barbecue set up (yes, Riche Burgers were provided!), the maintenance man from Harvard Community came over and we offered him a Riche and he told us how great everything looks, then someone said, "We need a master gardener!"  He said, "Just a minute I have one."  He soon returned with Rich Goudreau who is a master gardener and Director of Community Development at Harvard Community Services Center.  All of this before noon!

This is why we do it!!

It's a Happy Day!!

Governor Signs New Two Year Budget--Voucher amounts increase!

After more than a year of working with state legislature, proponents for increases in the Cleveland Voucher program and the Ed Choice programs are celebrating the signing of the new biennium budget!

Cleveland Voucher and Ed Choice programs for grade schools increase just over 18%, from $4650 per student to $5500 a student.  High school vouchers increased 25%, from $6000 per student to $7500 a student.

Overall funding for public schools also has increased: "The budget settles on the Fair School Funding Plan from the House, which – simply put – would calculate state aid with 60% local property taxes, 40% income and would add $367 million to K-12 education over two years – though the full phase-in of the plan over six years was estimated to be at least $2 billion." (Statehouse News Bureau).

In talking with Yitz Frank of School Choice Ohio this morning he said it all, succinctly:  "It's a happy day."  Congratulations to School Choice Ohio along with the Ohio Catholic Conference and Superintendent Frank O'Linn for leading the charge with laser like focus over the last year.