State of the Shaker Heights Schools: Strong, Though Challenges Remain

The challenges facing Shaker Heights schools are real, Schools Superintendent Mark Freeman said yesterday, but they shouldn’t obscure the district’s equally real achievements.

The system is slated to lose $8.3 million in state funds over a two-year period, Freeman said during his annual State of the Schools speech at . But finances are stable enough to delay a vote on a new operating levy to 2014.

Speaking to a room full of administrators, teachers and parents, the superintendent  shifted between points of pride and concern.

He was thrilled, for instance, to have 25 candidates for International Baccalaureate diplomas in the district's first year in the program.

But he was less enthusiastic about the facilities the students learn in, noting that there are "incredible challenges" associated with upgrading facilities while maintaining their architectural characteristics. The district’s newest school building, , is more than half a century old.

Still, Freeman's optimism outweighed his worries. The district is finishing its first full year of implementing a strategic plan focused on greater achievement, parental involvement and better teaching and technology. Freeman reported first-year action items from the plan, including Shaker Middle School adding more structure and staffing to its after-school homework center and progress in monitoring of students across the board.

The plan resulted in multiple achievements, including:

• Shaker Heights High School's class of 2012 outpaced the state and national SAT and ACT averages in areas such as math, writing and critical reading.
• A record 159 Shaker students were named Advanced Placement Scholars in 2011.
• Hundreds of middle- and high-school students won awards for performing well on national French, German Greek, Latin and Spanish exams.

Freeman said the district now carefully assesses incoming students to identify placement and support issues.

He also displayed data suggesting that students with three or more years in Shaker schools are more proficient than students with one to three years’ tenure. The greatest difference was found in fifth-grade math, where longer-tenured students were nearly 15 percent more proficient.

Boulevard Elementary Principal Colleen Longo said both teachers and students at her school noticed improvements in the first year of the strategic plan.

"Our students can see a difference in themselves and in their own work, so that's been exciting," Longo said. "All of the different plans that we've implemented, as far as student achievement, have been great."

The report Freeman provided with his presentation referred to the district's financial outlook as "robust."

The district has eliminated 70 positions since 2011, including 10 for the fiscal year ending in June. That means a savings of $709,000 this year.

The board of education also approved a three-year salary freeze for employees. The district, which spends about $70 million per year on salaries and benefits, would have spent $583,000 if employees had received a 1-percent raise this year.

Freeman said the district will continue trying to narrow the "digital divide" by using social media to connect with parents and expanding its online grade book. The high school and middle school are already wireless properties, and the elementary schools will soon follow suit. The district will also try to figure out how to attract and retain talented teachers.

"We want to do everything we can to support research, individualized instruction and to prepare students for the future," Freeman said.