At the Meeting of the Shaker Heights Board of Education on November 16, 1998, the Superintendent

November 17, 1998

At the meeting of the Shaker Heights Board of Education on November 16, 1998, the Superintendent of Schools reported the following:

• Forty-seven members of the Shaker Heights High School Class of 1999 have earned honors from the National Merit, National Achievement, and National Hispanic Scholarship Programs, once again placing Shaker first among Ohio public schools in these prestigious national competitions. More than one million high school students throughout the United States took the Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) in October 1997 and entered the 1999 Merit Program. Approximately 15,500 of the nation’s top performers were named Semifinalists on a state representational basis. They will have an opportunity to advance to the 1999 Merit Scholarship Competition. An additional 34,500 high performers were named National Merit Commended Students on the basis of high PSAT scores. The Commended Students are considered excellent prospects for selective institutions of higher education. For the sixth consecutive year, Shaker Heights High School led Ohio public schools in the number of National Merit Semifinalists named. The National Achievement Program recognizes the nation’s 1,500 top African-American seniors as Semifinalists and selects Commended Students as well. This year, Shaker Heights has more National Achievement Semifinalists than any other Ohio school, public or private. The newer National Hispanic Scholarship Program names just one group of scholars.

• The following students have received one or more honors through these national programs: Judah Ariel, National Merit Commended Student; Allison J. Artman, National Achievement Semifinalist and National Merit Semifinalist; Elyssa J. Auster, National Hispanic Scholar; Laura I. Bonem, National Merit Commended Student; Cullen R. Buie, National Achievement Semifinalist and National Merit Commended Student; Soren A. Burns, National Merit Semifinalist; Kamilah Butler, National Achievement Commended Student; Jason Callahan, National Achievement Commended Student; Zachary A. Davis, National Merit Semifinalist; Kelley M. Dean, National Achievement Semifinalist; Daniel R. Deming, National Merit Semifinalist; Lauren Dietrich, National Merit Semifinalist; Najah Farley, National Achievement Commended Student; Lewis T. Farmer, National Merit Commended Student; Daniel L. Gattozzi, National Merit Commended Student; Lisa A. Glazer, National Merit Semifinalist; Katharine C. Goheen, National Merit Semifinalist; Nora P. Gordon, National Merit Commended Student; Candace Hamilton, National Achievement Commended Student; John S. Hogg, National Merit Semifinalist; Koto Ishida, National Merit Commended Student; Devony Jackson, National Achievement Commended Student; Lindsey Jameson, National Merit Semifinalist; Jennifer Jones, National Achievement Commended Student; David Kent, National Merit Commended Student; Abraham R. Kinkopf, National Merit Semifinalist; Jeffrey P. Klug, National Merit Semifinalist; Chris D. Koler, National Merit Semifinalist; Jeannine B. LaGuardia, National Merit Commended Student; Michael S. Lee, National Merit Semifinalist; Djenaba K. Lewis, National Achievement Semifinalist and National Merit Commended Student; Landon Lockhart, National Achievement Commended Student; Benjamin G. Madorsky, National Merit Semifinalist; Michael McDermott, National Achievement Commended Student; Peter Morgenstern-Clarren, National Merit Semifinalist; Alan H. Murphy, National Merit Semifinalist; Meghann Okin, National Merit Commended Student; David Pearson, National Merit Commended Student; Josiah D. Quarles, National Achievement Semifinalist; Chalana Reeves, National Achievement Commended Student; Kira M. Ribar, National Merit Commended Student; Jonah H. Schein, National Merit Commended Student; Carolyn E. Shook, National Merit Semifinalist and National Hispanic Scholar; Sara K. Stuhan, National Merit Semifinalist; Erin R. Whitehouse, National Merit Commended Student; Marc S. Wood, National Merit Semifinalist; and Xin Xiaowen, National Merit Semifinalist.

• Partnership 2000, a project aimed at enhancing community and parental involvement in education, was kicked off on November 10. Throughout the day, approximately 75 members of “action teams,” consisting of faculty and community members representing each of the District’s eight schools, underwent training and formulated goals. That evening, community members were invited to participate in a forum, with keynote speaker Mavis Sanders, co-director of the School, Family & Community Partnership Program Center at The Johns Hopkins University. Partnership 2000 is based on a model developed at the Center. The program was jointly sponsored by the District, the Shaker Heights PTO Council, the Shaker Heights Teachers’Association, and Caring Communities Organized for Education.

• The Struggle for Integration, a documentary about Shaker Heights created by Shaker Heights High School alumnus Stuart Math (’65), will be aired on WVIZ-TV (Channel 25) at 8 p.m. on November 19. Following the broadcast, Shaker graduate Grayden MacLennan (’97), and current Student Council President Landon Lockhart (’99) will participate in a televised discussion.

• Native American singer-songwriter Jack Gladstone will have a one-day residency at Shaker Heights Middle School on Thursday, November 19. Gladstone, a member of the Montana Blackfeet tribe, uses music and video to relate tales of Native American history, mythology and ecology. After two performances for Middle School students, he will give a free concert for the community at 7:30 p.m. in the Middle School auditorium. His visit is sponsored by the Middle School’s social studies department.

• Several hundred parents, grandparents, Shaker residents, and prospective residents took the opportunity to visit Shaker’s eight schools on Tour Your Schools Day. Scheduled question-and-answer periods with the principals continue to be a well-received feature of the day, particularly with families facing transition years or considering the Shaker Heights schools.

• Earlier this month, Shaker Middle School presented a performance of “New Spoon River,” a musical based on the poetry of Edgar Lee Masters. Providing direction to some 50 student performers were Elizabeth Blakeslee-Vokes and Caroline Vickers of the Middle School’s music department.

The Board of Education approved the following:

• Personnel items, including appointments, salary reclassifications, changes in assignment, special assignments, supplemental contracts, substitutes, and resignations, for both certified and classified staff members.

• Program placement and tuition for students in the severe behavior handicapped, visually impaired, and early childhood special education programs.

• An appropriation of $160,000 for the purchase of a building at 3617 Lee Road to house the Data Processing division and the District Library Media Office. The relocation of these two divisions will free up space at the High School for instruction and student activities.

• Revised Board Policy BDDG (Minutes) › third reading and adoption.

• Financial statements for October 1998 and interim investments.

• Supplemental appropriations to accommodate State funds for textbook subsidies and for the SchoolNet Plus program.

• Student activity purpose, goals, and budget for Shaker Heights High School.

• The tax rate for the fiscal year beginning on January 1, 1999.

The Board heard the following:

• Welcoming remarks from Mercer Principal Patricia Heilbron.

• A presentation on the professional development program called the “Shaker Toolbox” by Hubert McIntyre of the High School faculty and Tom Kelly of John Carroll University.

The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, December 8, 1998, at Onaway Elementary School, 3115 Woodbury Road.