In the final round, Barratrous Orthographers outspelled our defending champions, representing Noble and Oxford PTAs, which misspelled makebate (one that excites contention, an instigator). That team included Lindy Burt, Kathy Soltis, and Toni Thayer.

The Reaching Heights Spelling Bee raises funds for programs that support academic and musical excellence in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights public schools. Twenty-five teams competed in this year’s event.

Reggie Evans, longtime active parent and citizen, was honored with the Friend of Public Education Award, and spoke about the value of our public schools.  U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Chief Judge Solomon Oliver, Jr., served as the Bee’s chief judge, working with CH-UH Superintendent Doug Heuer and Notre Dame College professor Tony Zupancic. CH-UH Public Library Director Nancy Levin served as pronouncer, Steve Titchenal projected the words for the audience for the 22nd time, and Big Fun impresario Steve Presser was the master of ceremonies. Kal Zucker took team photos.

Parents are invited to choose from a series of educational workshop selections and attend two 30 minute break out sessions. Some of the presentations include: Transition services, Alternate Assessment, Transition to Adult Services and a 2 part workshop on Parent Communication offered by the Ohio Coalition for Educating Children with Disabilities (OCECD). During the break out sessions there will be children’s activities. This will include a music therapy session taught by Ronna Kaplan, MA, MT-BC, Neurologic Music Therapist. And a movement workshop facilitated by independent dance artists, Jessica Hodges.

A light breakfast and a host of great give-a-ways are being prepared for ALL attendees! Information tables will highlight the school’s services with a strong and supportive presence from our community partners. Representatives from Career Tech and Cuyahoga East Vocational Education Consortium (CEVEC), The Boys and Girls Club, Open Doors Academy, Music School Settlement and The Centers for Families and children.

If you are considering attending please RSVP by calling 216.320.3064 or if you just want general information give us a call here at Reaching Heights at 216.932.5110.

Integumentary (referring to something that covers or encloses, especially an enveloping layer of an organism) was the winning word in the 22^nd Annual Reaching Heights Adult Community Spelling Bee, held April 17, 2013, at Cleveland Heights High School. The Barratrous Orthographers, a team representing the law firm of Squire Sanders with spellers Bonnie Bealer, Becky Bynum, and John Lazzaretti, spelled the word correctly in the ninth round to take home the Coveted Big Plastic Bee Trophy. Earlier in the competition, the eventual champs thought they’d been eliminated on kibitzer until a member of the audience asked the judges to check for an alternate spelling, kibbitzer, which is included in the dictionary definition. Given new life, the team spelled their way to victory.

In the final round, Barratrous Orthographers outspelled our defending champions, representing Noble and Oxford PTAs, which misspelled makebate (one that excites contention, an instigator). That team included Lindy Burt, Kathy Soltis, and Toni Thayer.

The Reaching Heights Spelling Bee raises funds for programs that support academic and musical excellence in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights public schools. Twenty-five teams competed in this year’s event.

Reggie Evans, longtime active parent and citizen, was honored with the Friend of Public Education Award, and spoke about the value of our public schools.

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Chief Judge Solomon Oliver, Jr., served as the Bee’s chief judge, working with CH-UH Superintendent Doug Heuer and Notre Dame College professor Tony Zupancic. CH-UH Public Library Director Nancy Levin served as

2013 Reaching Heights Spelling Bee Champions John Lazzaretti, Bonnie Bealer and Becky Bynum with the Coveted Big Plastic Bee Trophy.

, Steve Titchenal projected the words for the audience for the 22nd time, and Big Fun impresario Steve Presser was the master of ceremonies. Kal Zucker took team photos.

Charters are public schools, funded by taxpayers and widely promoted as open to all. But Reuters has found that across the United States, charters aggressively screen student applicants, assessing their academic records, parental support, disciplinary history, motivation, special needs and even their citizenship, sometimes in violation of state and federal law.

Full text of the story can be found here.

These first graders are physically active, academically engaged, and expected to manage their own behavior to a high standard. “My goal is to teach up,” explained VanNostran. “I try to challenge these students to reach to their highest abilities. I want them to read more, write more, think more and talk more about what they are learning.”

The morning began with the students seated on the floor in front of the Smartboard, an interactive white board. They sang a song about nouns and watched a quick music video about the vowel of the week, “O.” Students enjoyed the playful repetitions and writing the letter shape in the air with their hands. Next they reviewed spelling words that ended with ot, og, or op by standing up and moving their bodies while chanting the spellings. The teacher would call out a theme and the class would spell out the word together. There was “disco” with an arm raised to the right for the first letter and then the same arm pointing down to the left for the next letter, “frog” with a deep squat jump for each letter and “cheerleader” with call and response.

The discussion moved to reading comprehension and writing with a review of the concepts of setting and character. The teacher asked, “Who can tell me what a protagonist is and what an antagonist is?” Hands of these six- and seven-year-olds shot up and Van Nostran called on a student who said, “A protagonist is the hero and an antagonist is the villain.” Using a mystery bag, they began learning about main ideas and supporting details. Each item withdrawn from the bag was a supporting detail that offered a clue to the main idea. First a spoon, then a measuring cup, a pan, and a brownie mix. The teacher asked, “What’s the main idea?” and the students answered, “Making brownies!”

Later, students moved into small group work at learning centers around the room. In groups of two or three, they used computers to listen to stories and answer questions, used the Smartboard touch screen to sort words by their endings, searched for special words taped around the room, and constructed sentences and then wrote them on a worksheet. A larger group met with the teacher to learn more about main idea and supporting details with a game about placing houses (supporting details) on three streets (main ideas).

Then it was Snack and a Story time. Each student managed their own snack brought from home while the teacher read a funny book about what children think teachers do after their students leave school each day. Then it was back to the learning centers for two more sessions.

In the final ten minutes, the teacher asked her students to form a circle on the floor. She clapped her hands quickly and called, “All set?” Students answered in unison, “You bet!” To introduce descriptive writing, Van Nostran placed a handful of pencils on the floor and pointed to a sentence on the Smartboard that said, “I have a pencil.” As each new sentence was revealed, students searched for the pencil that had all the characteristics listed – yellow with a little bit of eraser and a sharp tip. Van Nostran held up the pencil and asked her class, “How could you describe this pencil so that I would know it was this pencil and not any of the others?” Several students offered parts of the answer. “Descriptive writing is better writing,” explained the teacher.

During this 90-minute ELA block, students could excuse themselves once to get a drink of water and once to go to the restroom. There were only two issues that required Van Nostran to pause her teaching; a student burst into tears because she wanted to finish her worksheet even though it was time to switch learning centers, and another student spent a little too long telling a story to a friend. Both were resolved quickly and learning continued.

– By Krista Hawthorne, Reaching Heights Assistant Director

After reading “Seedfolks,” the class watched an interview with Fleischman on the classroom’s Smartboard, an interactive whiteboard. Then Mr. Mendes asked all of his students to write a short play about people and a garden. He chose two of the plays for students to perform: “The Garden,” by Grace Mangano, and “The Mystery Mole,” by Mackenzie Hollis.

When I arrived in the classroom, a group of students were on the floor preparing for the first play by making character signs (“King Bean,” “Queen Carrot,” “Pea,” and “Old Man.”) Others gathered orange and green paper for carrot and pea costumes; another student made deer antlers out of rulers and wire. Mr. Mendes greeted me and asked a student to introduce me to the class. The student quietly asked my name and then turned to the class and confidently said “This is Ms. Hawthorne. Welcome to our Fourth Grade Class and thank you for coming.”

After the quick costumes were constructed, Mr. Mendes said, “I need everyone back to their desks in 5, 4, 3, if you are not moving back to your desks you are not following my instructions … 2, and 1,” and everyone was in their seats. He spent five minutes helping students visualize the performance space, imagine an audience’s reactions, and consider their own reactions to performing in front of a group. He said, “It can be kind of scary and you may feel nervous but if you say your lines with your full effort, everyone will love it.” The playwright, Grace, was asked how she felt about this project. “I always wanted to do a school play. Sometimes I can be shy but it will be fun. One of my favorite things to do is act.” After a quick demonstration of how to use a handheld microphone, each student tried it once. They all practiced a group bow following the instructions, “Head back, take a breath, lean forward together and count 1, 2, 3, then stand back up. If they keep clapping, do it again!”

And it was show time! Excitement built. Students moved quickly, following last second reminders from their teacher and classmates. The play tells the story of an old man who cares for a dying garden and brings it back to life. He loves his plants but they don’t love each other. The performance was brief and awkward (given the small stage and unfamiliarity of passing a microphone) but well received by the audience – mostly first graders and their lunch aides.

The theme of this book resonated with everyone since Gearity has a large learning garden. Students eagerly told me that they helped build the nature trail, that the vegetables they grow are offered to students during lunch, and that in science, they are learning to grow radishes with a battery. “The Learning Garden is an integral part of the school’s curriculum from Preschool through Fifth Grade,” explained Principal Michele Evans, Ph.D. “It’s a wonderful tool that fits into our STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) pathway.”

On October 13, the community pitched in at the Gearity Garden Clean-Up to install an eight-foot high deer fence, plant a perennial garden lined with pavers, pull weeds, spread mulch, and add soil to geometrically shaped raised beds. Kylin said that everyone at Gearity learns to plant and grow things but not everyone gets to write and perform plays about it. “This is an original and fun class. A one-of-a-kind class with a great teacher.”

Heights Summer Music Camp’s emphasis on ensemble work in an orchestra, a chamber group, a jazz band, a guitar choir, and a chorus is the camp’s strength. It teaches collaboration and demonstrates that a diverse group is not a problem; it’s a resource for all members to achieve at levels unimagined by many.

We know regardless of their future in music, our campers come away with great lessons for life. And the camp demonstrates that a diverse group of learners can achieve at high levels.

According to the English Language Arts teacher, Ms. Laura Preston, “We not only see results with the student’s academically growing but having an adult one-on-one who takes time to care is priceless gift.” Caring adult support from the community is the bedrock of this program. Although we have seen an 83% average growth rate across the district in the targeted reading protocols, it is really secondary to the rewards given and received by these dedicated volunteers.

On Wednesday May 9^th, Boulevard recognized the service of their tutors in a breakfast celebration.  No greater expression captures the gratitude and hard work of the Boulevard tutors more than in Susie’s invitation to tutors where she said, “Thanks to you our kindergartners know those sounds and letters and how to make words, and our first and second grade crew is much more at home with these core aspects of literacy. Many more 2nd and 3rd graders are moving forward with math and enjoying reading. We’ve touched a lot of lives, and I know these young learners have touched each of you. That is plenty to celebrate!”

Boulevard has had a lot to celebrate. Once again it has provided fertile ground for next year’s work for volunteers and remains a welcome place the community to support the journey of learning.

If you would like to sign up to be a Many Villages Volunteer or would like to simply know more information, please give us a call at 216.932.5110

Why I Think I’ll Be a School Volunteer Forever

By Susie Kaeser

Yesterday on my walk home from Boulevard Elementary School I ran into Hope (this is not her real name but it is what she represents to me), a first grader who I tutored last year as a Many Villages volunteer.
She was late for school but when she spotted me her worried face lit up and she opened her arms for a hug, something she has come to expect as part of our work together. As quickly as we met, we departed on our separate ways. My heart leaped. Here was the reward for my work as a volunteer: the smile and affection of a lovely young girl who is facing many hardships in her daily life and in her search for academic success.
Hope and I have a serious relationship. I was there the day she figured out that when you sound out letters slowly and then quickly you can make words. It is a remarkable discovery that made her excited and proud every time we met. And because of that time together, we are connected forever. She makes me feel important. I touched some one’s life and she touched mine.
Schools are about this human process. The Many Villages tutoring program helps our schools respond to something educators know very well but public policy makers seem to ignore: children are individuals. They come to school from different places with different levels of readiness and support, and different personalities. They learn in different ways and at different speeds. Their brains work differently. Something that is obvious and easy for one child can be a mystery to another.
Attention and encouragement and practice help. Patience, time and concern give individual learners some of the fuel they need to persist. Volunteers can provide that extra stuff that allows for individual difference in a policy environment and structure that all too often expects unrealistic uniformity.
Hope, like the other 350+ children at Boulevard, is unique. It is a privilege to be part of the school’s commitment to treat her that way; to expect a lot and to find the keys to her growth. Yes, education is about human development not widgets. Our school district’s commitment to individualizing instruction, a very complex and demanding endeavor, is inspired and not always easy to attain. By working within my neighborhood school I am a witness to our district’s commitment to practices that deal with the complexity of the individual, and I’m happy to be an active ingredient in their work.
Call Reaching Heights at 216.932.5110, or send an email at lisa@reachingheights.org to learn more about becoming a Many Villages tutor.
Susie Kaeser was exectutive director of Reaching Heights from 1992 to 2007.

With the encouragement of Scenarios USA and a grant from Reaching Heights, Jeff Glass’s Digital Media Production Class at Heights High spent the day filming a Behind-the-Scenes (BTS) video. Seniors Antonio Harper and Esli Israel worked directly with the production crew while other students documented the filming of Speechless and interviewed the participants.

Scenarios USA Producer Rob York explained that Heights High was chosen as the locale for filming Speechless because Cleveland Heights ideally met the writer’s criteria. “Roxanne envisioned the perfect American community,” York said. “She wanted the mix of cultures of America: White, black, Latino. So we started looking at locations around the area, and Cleveland Heights seemed to represent Roxanne’s story the best. It just had a great mix of people, a great school, the beautiful homes, and it seemed to fit perfectly.”

Lasker-Hall wrote her script to address Scenarios USA’s theme of “Gender, Power & Relationships.” Director Kusama said that the subject matter of Speechless – the emotional aftermath of teenage male-on-male rape – is a challenging one for a filmmaker. “The script is very unusual,” she said. “I think male-on-male sexual assault is extremely difficult to discuss for a young audience. There’s so much shame, fear, and humiliation involved in being open about it. It means boys and girls alike have to think so differently about our gender expectations.”

Harper, an aspiring filmmaker, was excited by the opportunity. “It was cool to learn how things actually happen on a set,” he said. “I liked watching how the director worked and how the cinematographer set up everything and how the actors were all paying attention. It was like everybody was on the same page. Now I know what to expect when I go to higher levels of making films.”

Senior Tyler Gamble, who interviewed the writer and narrated the BTS video, was also impressed by the experience. “I realized that it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be! I mean, it’s a lot of hard work, but then it’s really worth it in the end once you have the finished product.”

Not only will the Heights’ BTS video be available for viewing in the Cleveland Heights community, it will be sent to Scenarios USA so that Rob York can potentially use it as part of Media Campaign that the organization will conduct in high schools around the country. Following each showing of Speechless, guided classroom discussions and the use of teaching elements like the BTS video will help students express their feelings about the movie’s powerful themes.

Previously, a student was counted as a graduate in the year the diploma was awarded regardless of the number of years since s/he began 9th grade. Students who needed to retake required courses to receive a passing grade, or missed significant class time due to illness or injury, or had low attendance due to family issues could take an extra year to finish their coursework and earn a diploma.

Now, even students with disabilities are counted like all other graduates. If they finish within four years, they are counted as graduates. All others are counted as non-graduates. “Basically, if a student does not finish in four years, in the new graduation rate, they will never count as a graduate since they were a non-grad in their cohort” explained Sharon Drazdik, Education Management Information System Coordinator for the CH-UH City School district.

While special needs students can take Alternative Assessments in place of the Ohio Achievement Assessment (for students in grades 3-8) or the Ohio Graduation test (for students in grade 10) to show progress and graduate, only 1% of a school district’s test results based on Alternative Assessments can be counted on the State Report Card. The rule aims to prevent schools from abusing alternative assessments by issuing them to students who should be taking the general test. CH-UH City Schools Superintendent Douglas Heuer believes this limitation does not give an accurate picture of his students. “Our statistics tell us we are very successful when it comes to educating our special needs students, but not according to the standards the state is measuring on its report card. Every test beyond the 1% counts as a failure and ends up penalizing the district, especially when those students are scoring at the highest achievement levels.”

This change in the State Report Cards seems to favor districts with minimal challenges, wealthier populations, and fewer special needs students. It does not indicate a higher level of school effectiveness nor provide a useful tool for parents to use to determine school quality.
“What should be important is the quality of the education as measured by how well prepared each student is to transition from K-12 to either higher education or a successful career. A specific example is special education, where a student is legally entitled with an IEP to receive services that are appropriate until the age of 22, yet the new standard for graduation penalizes schools that opt to meet the child’s needs as opposed to a 4 year deadline in high school,” added Superintendent Heuer.

Ohio’s State and Local Report Cards released annually in August measure performance of districts and schools in four ways: 26 state indicators drawn from academic tests; Value-Added results, which show whether students meet the expected one year of growth for students in grades 4-8 in reading and math; a Performance Index which looks at the performance of individual students; and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), a federally required component that measures achievement of each student subgroup, including racial and ethnic components. For more information, go to the Ohio Department of Education website or the U.S Department of Education website.

– Krista Hawthorne

Krista Hawthorne is Assistant Director of Reaching Heights and a parent of two students at Heights High.