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CMSD, ODE clarify process for determining assignment of state oversight
March 1, 2013: To ensure the people of Cleveland have accurate information on the process by which state oversight is assigned to public schools that qualify for assistance, CEO Eric Gordon and representatives of the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) have issued separate, official statements to clarify information.
Prior to the release of the official state report cards for Ohio Schools this week, Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD) officials had been aware that the school district would be assigned the rating of Academic Emergency, based on the District’s test score performance in the school year prior to passage of the Cleveland Plan and the Issue 107 school levy.
According to CEO Gordon’s press release, “We also knew that CMSD would qualify for assistance from an Academic Distress Commission, if that option, is deemed appropriate by ODE.
“Contrary to an early report that CMSD had been assigned to state oversight, that process of determination, for CMSD and other schools that qualify, has not yet begun. CMSD has been assured by representatives at ODE that the first step in the process--a letter to the qualifying districts--has not yet been sent and that, once sent, will not necessarily mean that a Commission will be assigned. CMSD remains optimistic that the district has the ‘Right Plan, Right Now’ for reforming its schools.”
“Because of our community’s broad support for system-wide reform, courageous, bipartisan support of Ohio’s legislators in passing House Bill 525, the overwhelming passage of Issue 107, and the clearly articulated accountability measures outlined in the Cleveland Plan, we have in place the right plan for Cleveland,” said Gordon. “I also expect that we will continue to be supported by the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio General Assembly.”
In a separate statement released, Acting Superintendent Michael Sawyers called the Cleveland Plan “an extraordinary step forward” in getting Cleveland’s schools back on track and said its potential impact would weigh heavily on ODE’s final determination of whether or not to appoint an Academic Distress Commission for Cleveland.
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