Cleveland Metropolitan School District information

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Cleveland Metropolitan School District
Location
1111 Superior Avenue E. Cleveland, Ohio 44114 Cuyahoga United States
District information
Type	Public
Grades	PreK – 12
Established	1836[1]
Superintendent	Dr. Warren Morgan
Asst. superintendent(s)	Trent Mosley, Curtis Timmons, Wayne Belock, Christine Fowler-Mack, Patrick Zohn, Karen Thompson, Lori Ward[2]
School board	9 members[2]
Chair of the board	Sara Elaqad
Accreditation	AdvancED, Ohio Department of Education
Budget	$838 million (2017–18 school year)[3]
Affiliation(s)	Ohio 8[4]
Students and staff
Students	38,949[5]
Teachers	2659 (2016–17 school year budgeted)[6]
Staff	5303 (2016-17 school year budgeted total staff)[6]
Athletic conference	Senate Athletic League
Other information
Treasurer	Derek Richey[7]
Website	clevelandmetroschools.org

Cleveland Metropolitan School District, formerly the Cleveland Municipal School District, is a public school district in the U.S. state of Ohio that serves almost all of the city of Cleveland.^[8] The district covers 79 square miles.^[9] The Cleveland district is the second largest PreK-12 district in the state, with a 2017–2018 enrollment of about 38,949.^[5] CMSD has 68 schools that are for kindergarten to eighth grade students and 39 schools for high school aged students.^[5]

In 2005 and in years following, the system faced large budget shortfalls and repeated possibility of slipping back into "academic emergency" as rated by the Ohio Department of Education. The mayor was given control of the city schools after a series of elected school boards were deemed ineffective by city voters. The school board appoints a chief executive officer, the equivalent of a district superintendent, who is responsible for district management.^[10] CMSD is the only district in Ohio that is under direct control of the mayor, who appoints a school board. The former chairman of the Board of Education, Robert M. Heard Sr., was appointed July 1, 2007 by Mayor Frank G. Jackson, and CEO's appointed included Barbara Byrd Bennett and Eugene Sanders. In response to declining enrollment over more than a decade and the corresponding growth in charter schools in the city, the District took several steps to improve academic performance and increase graduation rates. In the 2007–08 school year, the District changed its name to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to attract students throughout the region.^[11]

The district has seen the graduation rate improve 22.4 percent since 2010.^[5] The 4-year graduation rate for students who entered the 9th grade in 2014 and graduated by 2017 was 74.6 percent.^[12] The 5-year graduation rate for students who entered the 9th grade in 2013 and graduated by 2017 was 79.6 percent.^[12] CMSD reports that the 4-year graduation rate for the class of 2018 was 74.6 percent.^[5]

In 2011, Board of Education Chair Denise Link, led the board in its current transformation efforts, including the appointment of Eric S. Gordon as chief executive officer. In 2012, collaboration with the community and Cleveland Teachers Union, the district designed "Cleveland's Plan for Transforming Schools" also referred to as "The Cleveland Plan."^[13] The purpose of the Cleveland Plan was to remove legislative barriers to school reform in Cleveland and to implement a portfolio strategy to: Grow the number of high-performing CMSD and charter schools in Cleveland and close and replace failing schools; Focus CMSD's central office on key support and governance roles and transfer authority and resources to schools; Invest and phase in high-leverage system reforms across all schools from preschool to college and career; and Create the Cleveland Transformation Alliance to ensure accountability for all public schools in the city. This included major changes in the District's contract with the Cleveland Teachers Union. House Bill 525 was then created and passed with a bipartisan vote of 27-4, to support the districts most aggressive reform strategies in history.^[14] Working closely with Mayor Frank G. Jackson and a coalition of concerned citizens throughout the city, Link and Gordon additionally led the district to passage of CMSD's first operating levy, Issue 107, in 16 years in November, 2012.^[15] The District moved its central office in 2013 to its current location at 1111 Superior Ave. E, Cleveland, Ohio 44114.

In 2013, Board Chair Denise L. Link won the Green-Garner "Top Urban Educator" Award, the highest honor given by the Council of the Great City Schools for significant contributions to urban schools and students.^[16] CEO Eric Gordon was a national finalist for the same award in 2012. In 2016, Eric Gordon won the "Urban Educator of the Year Award from the Council of Great City Schools.^[17]