On Friday, December 3, the East Cleveland City School District received confirmation from the Ohio Department of Education that its academic improvement plan has been approved.

“This is great news for the students, families, and staff of the East Cleveland City School District,” said Dr. Henry Pettiegrew II, Superintendent & CEO. “Approval of this plan represents months of hard work and collaboration with teachers, administrators, board members, and local leaders. We know this is just the first step down our road to revitalization, but now we have a clear direction with concrete goals to measure and assess our progress.”

Under this plan which goes into effect on July 1, 2022, the Board of Education will resume all power granted to it under state law. Then over the next three school years, the District will be evaluated annually of its progress with a final decision to be made by the State Board of Education in June 2025 to determine if the majority of the academic improvement benchmarks were met.

“The East Cleveland Education Association (ECEA) is grateful for the opportunity to put our district back into the hands of the elected school board members,” said ECEA President Lillian Tolbert. “We are looking forward to working collaboratively to move the East Cleveland City School District forward for our community. The staff here continues to work tirelessly to provide our students with the best academic experiences so that they are prepared for the future.”

A full copy of the District’s academic improvement plan and the approval letter from the Department of Education can be found here