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!!

The Times they are a changin'

A New Dawn in Catholic Education

Archbishop Lyke School

 On September 8, two diocesan schools begun instruction under an historic  management agreement with Partnership Schools.  The excitement o

St. Thomas Aquinas School

f the staff and children really was palbable!

 

 I was talking with parents at pickup one day last week.  There was a young couple, first in line in their car (thirty minutes early).  The scene in front of us was three classes outside.  One was playing some sort of kick ball game (still learning gradeschool lingo and games), a second one was dancing in a circle (well spaced), and a third was reciting and whenever possible acting out the nursery rhyme, "One two, buckle my shoe."  I blurted out to the parents, "Behold!  Gradeschool!"  We all had a good laugh.  

Scenes from our first day!

Click here to read a blog with plenty of pictures to give you a sense of what happened on September 8!

A picture is worth...

Brothers after a great day!

Masks up! With their new
Partnership Cleveland T-shirts!

Buildings repainted, social distancing circles

This door welcomes our scholars!

Here we go!

Synopsis of our plan

Below is a one-pager (well, front and back of one page) that gives you an overview of who we are and what we hope to continue to accomplish.  If you wish an digital copy of this document to distribute to your friends, email me at richard.clark@partnershipcle.org.  I am also available to talk with anyone interested in person, on phone or zoom.  My mobile number is 216.409.7018.

A tiny whispering sound...

 

Partnership Schools Cleveland team featured on Sounds of Ideas

This past week, Portia Gadson, Enrollment and Recruitment Coordinator; Christian Dallavis, Assistant Superintendent; and Rich Clark, Founding Director of Partnership Schools Cleveland, joined Rick Jackson on WCPN for story about us!   This link will take you to the whole show, our segment runs from 11:10-37.38.  Portia, Christian and I are the staff for Cleveland.  Portia has led the charge on enrollment and our numbers are strong!  Christian has been working closely with our two principals as well as the faculties of both schools.

Mission Forward!

Our mission is to teach, love, and care for our community.  We believe that great schools are guided by faith and values, grounded in rigorous content, supported by quality professional development, and

animated by a clear vision.  The first day of school for Cleveland Partnership Schools is September 8, 30 days from now.  Our plan is to accomplish that mission in the best way possible.  Sans COVID, in person school would never be in question.  Now, in order to accomplish our mission, we may have to creatively find ways to reach our goals.  Presently we are ready for opening school with in school option.  We hope that through good community health practices and citizens working hard to prevent the community spread of the virus, we can safely do that!  As with all schools right now, we are planning for multiple and in some cases simultaneous methods of accomplishing our mission.  I don't pretend however to know the status of the world 30 days from now!!  I think our growth in enrollment (up 10% over last year and still growing) can be explained in part by our willingness to listen and work with families with the understanding that we are committed to make the best of this horrific health crisis

Why ignore the crisis??

When I read of parties in the Ozarks, on Long Island, or AirBNB house parties I shake my head with disbelief.  The spread continues and in some places it even worsens.  I have mentioned a wonderful podcast series called Cautionary Tales before.  This most recent season was 5 shorter shows concerning how the past can shed light on what is going on now in our pandemic.  The one about a nightclub fire in Beverly Hills helped me understand our strange response to this killer virus.  Click here to listen!

Something small...

The reading today from the Hebrew Scripture is one of my favorites.  It is the story of Elijah encountering God.  He was told to leave the cave he was in for shelter because the Lord will be passing by.  First there was a strong and heavy wind that was rending the mountains and crushing rocks...but the Lord was not in the wind.  Then an earthquake...but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  Then there was fire...but the Lord was not in the fire.  After all that, there was a tiny whispering sound and that was the

A tiny whispering sound...

Lord!  A tiny whispering sound after all those big and noisy events...the Lord was in the whisperings.  This is reminiscent of Adam and Eve hearing the rustling sound of footsteps in the garden.  Many stories by Jesus use small things that grow or have big effects:  yeast, salt, and mustard seeds to name a few.  So too am I called to leave the safety of the cave and listen for that tiny whispering sound amidst all the cacophony of our daily world.  Echoed even in today's Gospel the call from Jesus on the water, "take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."

We need your help in spreading the word!

Please consider subscribing to this blog and passing the link on to your friends.  If you wish, you can share other emails with me for people you think might be interested.  In the upcoming weeks we are going to have a digital "Launch Party" and I will give you that information and will really need you to pass that along to all your friends.  That's how small things grow!  I am also available for calls, tours of the school buildings, Zoom or in person (outside, socially distant) meetings.  My email is richard.clark@partnershipcle.org or mobile number is 216.409.7018.

We only have five loaves and two fish

Cleveland featured in Partnership Schools Blog!

The Ozannes!!

As we are busily working on Archbishop Lyke and St. Thomas to renew the physical structures, Ozanne Construction has been a local leader for us.  Here is the link to the story behind the man https://www.partnershipnyc.org/catholic-school-impact-one-cleveland-family/.

  This Thursday Partnership Schools Cleveland will be featured on Sound of Ideas!

I met with Mike McIntyre last week outside at some picnic tables at the Stinchcomb Monument in the Rocky River Reservation.  We talked for about and hour and a half and he said he definitely thought there was a story here!  We are working out the details, but we are tentatively scheduled to be on Sound of Ideas (aired between 9AM-10AM) on this Thursday, August 6, with Rick Jackson.  Please tune in and call in!!  Of course, the show will also be available in the archives.

Two mindsets:  Scarcity and Abundance

Yesterday's Gospel, commonly referred to as the "Feeding of the 5000,"  sends a strong message about how God works.  The disciples tell Jesus to send everybody home, we can't possibly feed them we only have 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish!  Jesus says matter of factly, bring me what you have.  They did, and the rest is the story of God's abundance!  Partnership Schools Cleveland is bringing to God what we have and are beginning ot reap God's abundance. 

The painting begins with twice as much paint as we could afford!  Ozanne Construction takes over the project and showers us with generous donations of time and materials!  We already experienced the abundance of God's help through raising $3.14M dollars in 4 months during a pandemic!  What more do we need to see to believe.  Today's reading has Peter asking Jesus to invite him to walk on the water.  Jesus' reply is quite simple: "Come!"  He does for few steps and then fear takes over and he begins to sink.  The constant message of the Gospel is proclaimed to Peter:  Do not fear!  Just have faith!  I am continually challenged by those words.  I pray that someday I can rid my self of fear and just have faith.  In the meantime, I am constantly reminded of God's abundance and thank God that he has so much patience with me.

What lessons are we learning?

School nurses, well lit and airy school buildings, school lunches are all lessons that were learned in 1918 from the pandemic that rocked the world then.  A recent PBS News Hour segment  looked back at the outcomes of the so-called Spanish Flu pandemic.  What are we learning from the COVID-19 pandemic with regards to schools? 

Children at home in 1918

Certainly the universal need for connectivity is becoming more and more apparent.  The importance of a strong sense of community, the need for families to have support, the increased need for after school programs and nutritional assistance as well as the central need for schools to educate are some of the ideas surfacing now.  We are in the middle of this now, but the challenge is to find solutions for the problems that are being brought to light by the disease.

Cautionary Tale Podcast 

Please subscribe and share!  Please contact me for further info or to talk more:  richard.clark@partnershipcle.org  or 216-409-7018

Partnership Schools Cleveland is born!!

Diocesan Announcement

            

Click here!!!

Thank you to Dr. Frank O'Linn and Fr. Don Oleksiak for believing in this model.  To cast their nets out into the deep at this time demonstrates how faith can indeed move mountains.  Here is a link to the Partnership Schools NY announcement:  https://www.partnershipnyc.org/the-partnership-expands/.

My first contact with Partnership Schools was in December of 2017.  As of this week, two and a half years later, we have officially launched Partnership Schools Cleveland!  Here is the first mention of our new entity in a national publication, The Washington Post on June 12.  The article was talking about how closures of Catholic schools are hurting the minorities that attend them:

Here is why we do it!

Twenty percent of students in the nation’s 6,000 Catholic schools are minorities, including Hispanics, African Americans and Asians. The numbers are much higher in what’s called the Partnership Schools, a network of nine Catholic schools in Harlem and the South Bronx in New York and in Cleveland. In addition to the coursework usually found in public schools, schools in the partnership stress four core values — integrity, humility, hard work and service. 

Enrollees at these nine schools are 67 percent Hispanic and 31 percent African American.

So at a most crucial time in Catholic education, particularly in city settings, Cleveland brings a new model to bear on the problem!  Starting with two schools this coming year, our hope is to grow to as many as six!

Thank you!!

As many of you know we needed to secure in cash or pledges a total of $3M by June 1.  We could only begin actually asking for significant gifts once the agreement was approved by then Bishop Perez which he did on February 13, 2020.  Three and one-half months later we got our last commitment on  May 28 to get over the mark!

What now?

We are working on several fronts.  Next week we will begin to work on some of the physical improvements and repairs that we have identified.  Our hope is to have our buildings ready by August!

Enrollment is also a front-burner item.  Presently both schools have strong re-enrollment numbers (~90%) and total enrollment is at last year's level.  As with many city schools, summer is still a time where more families enroll.  Our hope is to increase enrollment at both schools and it appears we are on track. Professional development of leadership and faculty will continue with more emphasis on the new curriculum in the upcoming weeks.

Upcoming weeks

I will begin to set up shop in St. Thomas and Archbishop Lyke!  Our hope is to bring people for visits, practicing the latest safety guidelines from the CDC (bring your mask).  We are considering some sort of digital town hall.  Let me know what you think about that.  We would present more specific plans and begin to introduce our team.

Final Reflection

In response to the trauma and pain, we rely on our belief that we are made for each other in the image and likeness of God. The Trinity, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, are the epitome of community; no one is greater than the other as they all serve a specific purpose. The world needs more of this idea of solidarity.

Read more from Vincent Hale, a teacher from New York Partnership Schools  https://www.partnershipnyc.org/whats-going-on/.

 

Public education is the great equalizer...

The following appeared in the Chicago Tribune:


By Tara Malone Tribune reporter (Chicago)
December 11, 2008
Fewer than 2 in 10 of the nation's 8th graders are on track to be academically prepared for college, and high school may be too late to bring them up to speed, according to a study released Wednesday.The report found that how students fare in middle school is a leading predictor of their ability to succeed in college or the workplace after high school. Research by Iowa City-based ACT suggests that students who are not academically prepared going into high school are unlikely to make up ground even with rigorous schooling and academic help. The trend cut across demographic and economic lines."What we're saying is college and career readiness is a process that includes high school but is not exclusively a high school issue. It's a K-12 issue," said Cyndie Schmeiser, president of ACT's education division.The findings reinforce a recent study of Chicago Public Schools students. The University of Chicago's Consortium on Chicago School Research looked at the correlation between how 8th graders fared on the state's exams and how they performed three years later on the ACT. The report found that students who earned average scores in 8th grade had only a one-in-four chance of scoring high enough on the ACT to go to college—typically considered at least a 20 out of 36 points."We should be looking all the way back. If we want kids to be at a certain level in Grade 12 or 11, where do we need them to be in middle school or elementary school?" said John Easton, executive director of the consortium.
His research found that regardless of their achievement level in middle school, students did benefit from attending high schools with strong academics and challenging course work."I don't want to take high schools off the hook entirely, but on the other hand, it's hard for high schools to deal with severely underprepared kids," Easton said.The ACT report tracked 216,000 teenagers nationwide who completed the college-entrance exam and its two precursor tests given in Grades 8 and 10. Those involved graduated in 2005 and 2006. The sample did not include teenagers who left high school, leading Schmeiser to call the findings a "best-case scenario."Only students who scored high enough on the 8th-grade exam to reach academic targets set in reading, English, math and science typically went on to earn high enough marks on the ACT as juniors to be considered ready for college in all four areas.The Elgin school district, the state's second-largest, began offering the three-exam ACT series four years ago and now tracks how students progress from one exam to the next.Recent results, for example, show that many students who attend Elgin School District U-46 improved between Grades 8 and 10. But about 40 percent did not progress as expected between Grades 10 and 11.District test consultant Ed DeYoung said the results helped the Elgin district focus its efforts—though he said the onus is not on high schools alone."Each [school] level's responsibility is to raise the rigor of what they are doing," DeYoung said

So this issue goes so deep it is scary! Today, with President-elect Obama's appointment of new Education secretary, we heard that public education is the great equalizer...well I would agree if what is meant by that is education of the public is the great equalizer...the difference is students across this country are being let down by enormous numbers by public education if by that we mean simply public schools. We need to change the spin...we need to focus on education of students by any means that is successful. Preparing 2 out of 10 for college success is cause for national alarm! Pioneering high performing schools must join across all lines--public, private, religious, charter to combat this sad state of affairs.