Dear Heights Families,

Our mission in CH-UH is to provide a challenging and engaging education to prepare all our students to become responsible citizens and succeed in college and career. Our focus on college and career readiness is stronger than ever, and I want to take this opportunity to share some new District developments in this work.

My colleagues in Maple Heights, Shaker Heights, and Warrensville Heights and I have been working to reorganize the leadership structure within the CTE consortium, now called the Heights Career Technical Planning District. Our first step was the creation of the new Heights CTPD Director position. The director will administer the program and provide guidance to all four of our school partners. The director will successfully lead strategic efforts, build partnerships with businesses and higher education, direct marketing efforts, and more.

I am pleased to announce that we have selected Mr. Joe Nicklos as Interim Heights CTPD Director. Mr. Nicklos has dedicated his career to education, having most recently served as an assistant principal at Cleveland Heights High School from 2015 until his retirement in 2020, and as the principal of Oxford Elementary School here in CH-UH from 2011 to 2015. He began his career as a high school teacher and counselor and went on to serve in assistant principal and head principal roles for 20 years. Mr. Nicklos brings a wealth of experience, dedication to student success, institutional knowledge, and relationships to this position, and the CTPD is excited to welcome him into this role.

Our national search for a permanent director continues, and we will keep you informed on the process.

After searching for strong leaders to support our district goals, we selected Ms. Kristin Riley. Ms. Riley went through a rigorous process and was interviewed by a diverse blue ribbon committee of district stakeholders. Ms. Riley was selected and most recently served CH-UH as Principal of Boulevard Elementary School, where her leadership and work ethic positively impacted Boulevard and our entire District. Prior to working at CH-UH, Ms. Riley served as the MTSS Specialist for the South Euclid-Lyndhurst School District. Ms. Riley was previously selected as teacher of the year in a school district in Texas, where she also worked as an assistant principal and held a variety of other school leadership roles. We look forward to watching Ms. Riley continue to positively impact students and families across CH-UH through her new position, and CH-UH is fortunate and pleased that Ms. Riley has agreed to serve in this new role.

Programs we offer, such as the Tri-C Associate's Degree Pathway, College Credit Plus, AVID, MSAN, GEAR UP (follow the GEAR UP Classes of 2027 and 2028 on Instagram), just to name a few, provide the tools our students need to build their futures. No matter what grade your children are heading into this year, it’s always a good time to explore options and take advantage of opportunities. 

Thank you, and we look forward to a successful school year ahead.

Sincerely,

CH-UH Schools Superintendent Liz Kirby