Curriculum
A Message from the Chief Academic Officer
The primary goal of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District is to become a premier school district in the United States of America. To achieve this goal, the district will focus on earning the rating of Continuous Improvement from the state of Ohio on the district's 2008-09 School Report Card, and each school building will focus on either maintaining their rating of "Excellent" or improving their current state of Ohio rating by one rating in 2008-09. (To examine the current CMSD rating and achievement data or the rating and achievement data of any individual school, follow the School Report Card links below.) The district will take this first step toward our primary goal by focusing on the growth of every CMSD student. This focus on growth will result in the district's ability to increase our Performance Index Score of 72.9 to a minimum score of 80 in 2008-09, will increase our value-added score to "Met" or "Above Expected" student growth, and will assist us in closing achievement gaps measured by the No Child Left Behind Adequate Yearly Progress measures.
Focused strategies will be implemented in four key areas to help us achieve this goal: Leadership, Instruction, Engagement, and Support. Key among these strategies include the launch of an aggressive Scope and Sequence in Reading, Writing, Math, Science, and Social Studies for all PreK through 10th Grade classrooms, improvements to district benchmark assessments, focused building-level professional development with the support of instructional coaches in math and literacy, the full implementation of a research-based balanced leadership process, production of Family Friendly Curriculum Guides and Classroom Learning Posters that make learning goals explicit to students and the school community, continued focus on community engagement through Door To Door Literature Drops, Community Forums, Parent Round-Ups, and the active engagement of district School Parent Organizations (SPOs), continued focus on closing our achievement gap for third grade students, a focus on instructional strategies that meet the needs of middle grades children, and focused attention on the 9th grade achievement gap.
A detailed presentation of the district's 2007-08 Academic Achievement and our 2008-09 Continuous Improvement Plan is presented below. Links to other academic resources are also available for review. Visit this site often for up to date information about the district's current performance, updates on this continuous improvement plan, and resources for students, families, and our community. For assistance from the academic department at any time, contact the Academic Hotline by phone at (216) 574-TEST or by email at Academics@CMSDnet.net.
Sincerely,
Eric S. Gordon
Chief Academic Officer
Cleveland Metropolitan School District