A Statement from Superintendent Elizabeth Kirby:

This has been a very difficult time nationally as we continue to manage the challenges of the pandemic, hear near-daily reports of mass shootings, and learn about police-involved deaths across our country. While the verdict in the murder of George Floyd this week may have brought a sense of relief to some, the recent police-involved killings of Adam Toledo in Chicago, Daunte Wright in Minneapolis and Ma’Khia Bryant in Columbus at the hands of police have brought a new wave of angst, grief, anger, and sadness. It has been heartbreaking and, quite honestly, overwhelming.  

Like many of you, I am most concerned about the impact of these events on our students. They may have questions about these events and its impact in our society. They may feel fear or anxiety as these events continue to unfold. They may wonder what, if anything, can be done to prevent these tragedies from occurring.

I wish that I could offer them easy answers and a quick, tangible solution. There is so much context and history to what we are experiencing in our world today; decades of policies, processes and beliefs to unpack, examine and interrogate. While I cannot offer easy answers, our team has assembled several resources, here, to help guide conversations in your homes and in our classrooms.

Providing a space for students to listen, be heard and build relationships is another important step to take. Heights High Criminal Justice Teacher Johnnie Lemons provides a great example of how we open up these conversations and build these communities. Today, he hosted a conversation with his Criminal Justice class and the Cleveland Heights Police Department, providing a venue for a dialogue, learning, and relationship-building. It was an incredible session and I learned a lot from the students and the officers in attendance.  

The times that we are experiencing right now underscore why a commitment to equity remains so crucial. As you know, we have an educational equity policy that guides our work to better serve all members of the school-family community. By the end of this year, all of our staff will have begun training on implicit bias thanks to the hard work of our Equity Task Force, and we will continue to provide professional learning opportunities to advance policy goals. This year we have taken a very intentional approach in examining and addressing our data through an equity lens, in order to monitor the impact of our actions on all of our students. We are committed to applying this policy to every aspect of our work in the CH-UH School District.  

In our community, the Cleveland Heights Police Department is holding a virtual forum on proposed departmental policy reforms and police-community relations. The first forum occurred on Tuesday, April 13 and the second forum will be held on Tuesday, April 27. You can register for the Zoom Town Hall meetings here. This past weekend, Heights Community Congress, a fair housing advocacy organization, held their second Groundwater Training open to all Cleveland Heights residents and District staff. Groundwater Training takes an unflinching look at systemic racism and is facilitated by the Racial Equity Institute. We will continue to share opportunities for members of our community to grow through our communication channels.

These initiatives here in the District and the community won’t change the world overnight. But they are an important part of shaping our world into what we want for ourselves and our children. They will help us heal as a community and grow into something even more beautiful. Thank you for being a partner in this mission.