Cleveland Schools - Essential Leadership

This past week, Eric Gordon, CEO of Cleveland Metropolitan School District announced the Cleveland Plan, a sweeping plan to take forward Cleveland schools.  I spent a whole day Thursday with Eric and looking at some of Cleveland's shining schools as part of Leadership Clevealnd.  What is amazing about the Cleveland Plan is that it was a team effort between Frank Jackson, Mayor of Cleveland, Eric Gordon, the teachers union let by Tracey Radich, and private charter schools.  They checked their egos at the door and put aside their biases to move Cleveland schools ahead. 

Mayor Frank Jackson is not an impressive guy individually.  You hear him speak and he doesn't strike you as someone who is super-intelligent.  But hearing a lot behind the scenes, you realize what kind of leader he is.  Eric relayed a story of how Mayor Jackson was meeting with the head of charter schools in Columbus.  Cleveland has over 90 charter schools, one of the largest areas for charter schools.  Many of these charter schools work and many do not work.  Jackson and Gordon sought to work with the charter schools.  In this meeting in Columbus, Mayor Jackson got a cold shoulder with little cooperation.  At 7:30 AM after just arriving in Columbus, it became apparent that he was not welcome at this meeting.  Mayor Jackson as relayed by Eric Gordon said emphatically "I have all day - I'm not leaving".  I have heard Mayor Jackson say that he has no other career aspirations - his final and last job is Mayor of Cleveland and Cleveland schools is his high priority. 

Cleveland schools superintendents and the Mayor of Cleveland haven't always seen eye to eye, but Eric and Mayor Jackson were partners in the effort to improve Cleveland schools from day one.  They partnered together to get Issue 107 passed and they partnered together to promote the Cleveland Plan.  As a lifelong resident of Northeast Ohio, it is so gratifying to hear about how this leadership is moving our schools forward.  I truly believe that as the schools goes, so goes the city.  We have our problems, but we are tackling them head on.  Do you think we can transfer some of this cooperative leadership to Washington?

Thursday was Leadership Cleveland's Education Day and we toured Cleveland Central Catholic, John Hay and its innovative small schools, and E-Prep, a state and private funded prep school.  We saw highly engaged students and successful institutions.  We saw hope - hope that is critical to our city.  I am very thankful for my LC classmate Eric Gordon and what he is doing in Cleveland schools.