Cleveland Public Schools
| Cleveland Metropolitan School District | |
|---|---|
 |
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1111 Superior Avenue E. Cleveland, Ohio 44114 United States |
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| District information | |
| Type | Public |
| Grades | PreK - 12 |
| Established | 1836 |
| Superintendent | Eric Gordon |
| Accreditation | AdvancED, Ohio Department of Education |
| Budget | $724.7 million (2015-16 school year) |
| Students and staff | |
| Students | 38,700 (November 2015) |
| Teachers | 2,079 (2015-16 school year) |
| Staff | 645 (2015–16) |
| Athletic conference | Senate Athletic League |
| Other information | |
| Website | clevelandmetroschools |
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.
CMSD is the only district in Ohio that is under direct control of the mayor, who appoints a school board. The Cleveland district is the second largest PreK-12 district in the state, with a 2015-2016 enrollment of about 38,700 students. 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.
The city's school district has a graduation rate over 50 percent, reporting a graduation rate of 56.1 percent in 2011. That same year, 2011, CMSD had a 5-year graduation rate of 63.3 percent. This five-year graduation rate increased to 66.1 percent in the subsequent 2011-2012 school year. In 2009 Cleveland Schools had the nation's third highest high school dropout rate and graduation rate following Detroit with the number one spot.
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.
The system passed a $1.2 billion school building construction/replacement bond issue, but repeatedly failed to pass an operating levy for 16 years until 2012. 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. CMSD's test scores showed modest improvement in writing and math scores and little or no improvement in reading scores. The district continued to improve its graduation rate over several years, increasing it from 39.5% in 2002 to over 50% of students graduating in 2004.and over 60% in 2012.
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. Current 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 2011. Under their leadership, CMSD successfully worked for passage of House Bill 525, otherwise known as "The Cleveland Plan", 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.
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