Educators strive to provide rigorous curriculum and prepare students for achievement and lifelong success. Districts cannot accomplish their goals alone. Involving service providers - such as City Year Cleveland and the businesses and organizations - remain keys to accelerating improvements in education and the community in which we serve.
City Year Cleveland aims to align its and any business and partner resources on the Cleveland Metropolitan School District's 2007-2012 Strategic Plan, and, specifically, to:
Reach 75 percent graduation rate in the year 2012; and
Eliminate the early grade achievement gap for every student by the end of their third grade.
Civic Engagement Team
The Civic Engagement Team plays an important role in adding to City Year Cleveland's overall impact, businesses ability to work within Cleveland's neighborhoods and schools. This team has three basic functions:
- Plans and manage large scale all corps and business volunteer service days;
- Facilitates partnerships between businesses and Cleveland schools; and
- Delivers strategies that drive the communications plan, stakeholder engagement, volunteers and volunteer hours served and alumni relations.
Regarding point number two above, an assigned corps member facilitates a business/school partnerships by:
- Developing the master schedule of partnership activities (tutoring, career day, science fair, student attendance and performance incentives, guest speakers, etc.) with the principal, teachers and tutors;
- Designing and guiding an annual plan, assessment and evaluation;
- Communicating regularly with all business volunteers, tutors and school employees via an e-Newsletter;
- Being on site before, during and after all tutoring sessions and events;
- Incorporating "Successful Partnership Practices";
- Communicating CMSD priorities;
- Ensuring that students are prepared for activities and have teacher assigned tutoring materials;
- Performing tutor training sessions for all tutors;
- Developing collateral materials;
- Acting as the primary point of contact for the business and school regarding all partnership activities and
- Collecting quantifiable and anecdotal data to demonstrate the impact partnership activities have on student/school progress and performance.
Current schools and corporations engaged in Business/School Partnerships include:
- The Club at Key Center and SuccessTech Academy;
- Federal Executive Committee and Clark, Memorial and Wade Park PreK-8 Schools;
- General Electric and Henry Longfellow PreK-8 School;
- UnitedHealthcare Group and H. Barbara Booker PreK-8 School;
- Water Pollution Control and East Clark PreK-8 School;
- Bank of America and Miles Park PreK-8 School; and
- Huntington Bank and Nathan Hale PreK-8 School.
Strategic Business Partner Activities
As specified on page five of our Cleveland Initiatives brochure, businesses and organizations looking to become effective partners in Cleveland's schools should focus on the following activities:
Tools to Learn More
Click here to review brochure on what what activities businesses and organizations can sponsor in Cleveland's schools that promote high school graduation and help eliminate of the early grade achievement gap.
Many partners provide tutors to work with K-8 students. City Year Cleveland trains these business volunteers and helps manage tutoring programs in some schools. Click here to view the City Year Cleveland Tutor Handbook.
Read recent City Year Cleveland e-Newsletters.
Contact the senior program director for civic engagement, Lisa Fellows, for more information via email or 216-373-343.