Cleveland Heights and University Heights Observatory

What great news! The Ohio Teacher of the Year teaches at Gearity Professional Development School. Her name is Natalie Wester and she came to teaching later in her career. Lauri Gearity would be so proud because she was a believer in professional development and in hiring teachers who'd had experience in other fields first.

Now if we can just find a way to tell this to the world!

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm a former school board member (80s and early 90s) and my last kid is in private school. I so wish we could fix this problem of perceptions and reality.

Who has ideas?

I know Natalie from her past career; she was good at that, too. I'm pleased for her, Gearity and the district.

ReachingHeights is a non-profit that has taken on the objective of improved perception of the schools as part of its mission. It's going to be a long-term project. The new superintendent also seems to be keenly aware of the need to increase trust where it doesn't yet exist.

For as long as I've had kids in the district (12 years and counting, and they've all thrived), one of the great mysteries is why the current Cleveland Heights City Council, under Mayor Ed Kelley, so firmly believes it has no role to play in changing the perception, where it exists, that CH-UH Schools are to be avoided.
And for several years, UH Beryl Rothschild was extremely vocal in her discontent/distrust for the district - though she softened considerably when Deb Delisle was named superintendent. (And in her defense, though I resented the damage she might have been doing, she was most strident at times when the board had made some of its worst mistakes).

I think by their silence the two cities hurt the school district - and therefore themselves.

Shaker Heights has a great model for cooperation between its school district and city. And people tend to have a higher degree of confidence in the Shaker schools.

It's probably going to far to say that perception of the schools is a result of the partnership between the district and the city government. But it strikes me as reasonable to assume there's a correlation.

I'm not directly involved with ReachingHeights and cannot speak for the group, but I do know that it views the Shaker model with high regard.

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Lifetime resident
FutureHeights Board Member (speaking on my own behalf)
Site Moderator

I agree with you Bob. There seems to be a disconnect between both cities and the school. Here in UH, I believe it stems out of fear and ignorance, more than anything else. I don't know the explanation for CH.
Mayor Rothshchild's support of the school only came when she liked the superintendent. And the few times she supported a levy, it still failed in UH.
Shaker on the other hand seems to have more community support as a whole for their schools. I believe one of their sayings was "we are our schools." Never would find that in CH-UH. Too bad, because it could make a marked difference.