We need to listen to teachers, students, and parents systematically – in surveys and in person. I will work with Eric to visit our schools regularly, thank our students and educators, and provide a strong voice and role model on their behalf. I will show up personally.

The crisis involves all our kids, because all CMSD students have lost learning and learning time during the pandemic. They risk long-term negative effects on students, families, and all of our future workforce and economy. We must help them catch up.

I will work to ensure that we keep kids in school. They don’t just need urging – they need more intentional focus on supports and resources. We need health and mental health programs in every school, available to all our learners. We need to provide more food assistance and wrap-around family services. We need to make sure every student who has fallen behind can get the tutoring they need to keep moving forward. These are deep concerns and I’ll work with our educators and partners to do all we can to address them as such.

By getting more police off desk duty and increasing community policing, we can keep children safe whether they walk to school or wait at bus stops. I believe this will support student attendance and build confidence in school safety.

Going beyond the test scores, although pandemic falloffs are alarming - we need a sound strategy and set of tools to help an entire generation of students get back on track. I’ll work on priorities like these with our educators and families:

Getting more 3- and 4-year-olds into quality pre-school, because children in poverty tend to start school already behind and without the skills to succeed.

Sustaining and building on the nationally recognized CMSD attendance program to combat pandemic-caused declines in off track attendance.

Repeating the CMSD Summer Learning Experience every year, because it provided thousands of kids the opportunity to continue learning and being engaged all summer.

Expanding tutoring options throughout the school year and summer – including peer tutoring via the summer youth employment program.

Adding and promoting more after school and weekend instruction for intensive acceleration, enrichment for students who are on track, and year-round schools.

Developing more college and career pathways and partnerships (with local employers, organized labor, postsecondary education, and role models) so every student can see where staying in the game can lead them. This includes continuing curriculum alignment with the jobs of the future, as well shadowing and internship opportunities to get exposure to future local opportunities.

Doing the same with visitations to Tri-C, CSU, CWRU and other colleges in cooperation with Say YES, which is an incredible opportunity for our students.

Building on the relationships among schools, the Cleveland Public Library, University Circle cultural institutions, and our health and human services organizations, which maximizes support for student success in every way possible.

Solving three deficiencies the pandemic made an even higher priority: better internet connectivity in all neighborhoods and every student’s home; developing families’ skills to use connectivity for their education, health care, and job; and improving online curriculum and tutoring so students can move ahead.

Showing up, not only in schools, but in our community, in Columbus, with other Ohio educators, and doing whatever it takes to emphasize education and get the resources we need to succeed.