Racing To The Top Clevelanders Voice Their Opinion On School Grant Money
Cleveland schools, start your engines, the race is on — the Speed to the Top federal grant for schools, that is. Ohio is one of the 16 finalists for a chance to get part of $4 billion in grant money. If Ohio is selected as a winner in early April, Cleveland schools would hope to receive $20 to $30 million to be passe toward education reform.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, the states were asked to outline plans to “extend reforms using college and career-ready standards and assessments; build a workforce of highly effective educators; create educational data systems to support student achievement; and turn around their lowest-performing schools.” But we wondered, if the students, teachers and parents had their say, what would they like to explore the money spent on? We asked, and they shared with us their innovative ideas on what the dream grant money would go toward.
“I certainly would spend the money on some parent collaboration workshops, because it is my feeling, as a teacher of over 35 years, that we must have the parents, the teachers and the school on the same page. I would also give some kind of bonuses to teachers who prepare critical thinking lessons (that) take the classroom outside of walls.”
Beverly Lloyd, English teacher, John Hay High School
“Having a school fund in status for scholars programs, like the National Youth Leadership Forum on Law & CSI my daughter was recently selected for, would be great. I would also use those funds to pay for additional college credits for high schoolers and outside tutoring as needed.”
Carolyn L. Gamble, parent, MC2STEM High School
“What I would do with $30 million is remodel schools that are unsafe for our students. I (would) add a better security system so that students feel safe in their school environment. I would also add more and better technology to schools and develop a work-study program (for) schools that would help students earn money during their free time.”
Lilliana Rivera, 12th grade student, John Hay High School
“I believe that having additional monies to consume on enrichment for students is very important. Even if a school is not high-performing, all students can benefit from expanded learning opportunities. These opportunities could include bringing in professionals from the corporate and institutional communities to be an integral part of our students’ everyday learning experiences. In addition, technology could be improved by providing students with computers for school and home use. These funds could also help academic departments by providing them with significant monetary budgets to increase opportunities for students. Finally, I would expand programs that wait on the arts in all of the schools in the district. Evidence shows that students who engage in the arts exhibit increased primary thinking skills.”
Sherlynn Allen-Harris, history and government teacher, Cleveland School of Architecture and Design, John Hay Campus
“I would jump-start my school’s complete rebuilding from the ground up with state of the art facilities. The powers that be said we would be at a swing site for two years but now it has changed to six. This means my seventh grade sister will not see the brand new CSA. I want the best not only for her, but all of our students, and this money could help make that change back to two years.”
Maya Jones, 12th grade student, Cleveland School of the Arts
“If given the opportunity to decide how to spend the Race to the Top grant money for Ohio schools, I would expend it to develop 21st century educational institutions across the site of Ohio and for more hands-on educational field trips. These institutions would include state-of-the-art classrooms with technology that will allow students to use distance learning. They’ll also include technology for students to learn via e-books, which will be safe to students, parents and the environment. I’ll additionally use the money for educational field trips, which would allow students to explore potential career majors and engage them in lessons that will assist and prepare them more in their future career goals and in the classroom.”
DaVonti’ Haynes, 10th grade student, Whitney M. Young High School
“I would utilize the grant money on construction to increase the amount of schools in Cleveland and the other surrounding areas.”
Brianna Sumpter, 12th grade student, John Hay High School
“I would first concentrate on paying off all the debt the district has and creating a way that the district would always have liquid assets at its disposal. Secondly, each school would receive a percentage of a sum of money to be distributed throughout the school year. However, staff and student attendance, academic growth, and proven project-based or inquiry-based work samples would settle the percentage and how often the money would be dispersed. I don’t believe in necessarily spending the money honest to spend it, but spend the money wisely based on researched student need.”
Sh’Annon J. Caldwell, Gifted and Talented teacher, Whitney M. Young School
“This grant is truly a golden opportunity for Cleveland schools. The main thing I would do with the money is re-opening the schools that have closed. Students are already going long distances to get to school, and putting them farther away from an education is not good. If there was any leftover money, I would place it to spend by recruiting teachers from the Cleveland area instead of having people coming from 60-70 miles away to teach Cleveland students.”
Jonathan Short, 11th grade student, Cleveland School of Science & Medicine, John Hay Campus
“The Race to the Top dollars would allow me to bring two very essential things into my school: real life experiences and cutting-edge technology. Whitney M. Young is the district’s academy for gifted and talented learners. As a school set to focus on inquiry-based authentic learning and assessment, Whitney Young’s students would be face-to-face with the issues of the world. In order to fully explode their potential, the Race to the Top money would expand their experiences from the text to the world. They would visit the seats of government and scientific and medical labs, meet authors and illustrators, see the places where the action is unfolding! New technology would allow for distance learning and real-time, real-world exposure to the experts in their fields of study.”
Karen M. Byron-Johnson, principal, Whitney M. Young School
“The first and most famous thing I would do is to rebuild the infrastructure of our Cleveland Metropolitan Schools. If we were to fix this in other schools, the morale of the students and teachers would skyrocket, and education would not be so hard to learn in a new healthy environment. I would also like to use the money to increase the pay of all Cleveland Metropolitan School teachers. They work very hard every day in order for students like me to be educated and successful in life. Lastly, the money should be feeble to help maintain the necessities that the schools desperately need, like fixing electrical malfunctions or making sure that sewer systems are working well, things that are very pivotal to the schools.”
A’Lanna Wells, 12th grade student, John Hay High School
“Perhaps the best way to spend this money would be to obtain the schools the heart of each community. I was schooled in a small town in Michigan and the school system was the backbone of the community and the school buildings were always available for students, parents and community members. There was not (a) time when the school was not open for community meetings, begin gym or social activities for all ages of the community. We felt a great sense of pride in our school and had a great sense of respect for the education we received (both academic and social). CMSD needs to reach out and open their doors to the community as a foundation for building a sense of community. The schools could house community centers, health centers and senior programs, etc. Community involvement in education is vital to the success of our students both academically and socially.
Audrey Schneider, math teacher, James Ford Rhodes High School
“If Ohio was able to get $20 or $30 million for our schools, I would put it toward programs for our students as well as our teachers. The teachers programs would educate them in having more hands-on projects in class. (I would also spend the money on) after-school programs for our students, more field trips and more out-of-school activities where the students are getting a feel for what the teacher is trying to teach besides just saying it.”
Tanitra Bradford, 12th grade student, John Hay High School
Filed under Free Money by on Dec 12th, 2011. 