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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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