Since the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) announced a sweeping plan to merge and close schools, parents have campaigned to keep their schools open, teachers and staff have urged the district to fully include them in planning for the changes, and public officials and community leaders have stumped on behalf of Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, rallying support in churches and barbershops across the city.
While adults have vented worries or pushed civic agendas, student concerns about the plan — minus a few public comments — have been more muted. In conversations with nearly 30 high schoolers, Signal Cleveland learned that students are less focused on the big picture reshaping of the district to save money and improve academic offerings and are more keyed in on the details that might impact their daily lives next year.
They want to know if they’ll be able to access the same extracurricular programs next year, if they’ll be able to finish out their academic or career training programs and how the district plans to navigate competition for class rank, clubs and internships in larger schools. They’re also curious about things the district hasn’t addressed yet – like if they’ll all be able to fit into the cafeteria for lunch at the same time or how the bell schedule will look. Many have never visited the buildings they’ll be transferring to or met students from that school and want to know what the environment and culture will be like.
In many cases, students are anxious about the unknown. Will there be fights at schools with students from different neighborhoods? Could they get hurt on the way to school in an unfamiliar area?
The mergers seem like a good idea to students who want more options for classes or electives. Some also told Signal that while they are nervous about the merger of their school, they think it’s important for the district to take action to address its ongoing budget deficit and enrollment decline.
For students who would have to transfer buildings, the proposed mergers have prompted feelings of loss as well. They worry about being bumped down in class rankings, and they know that next year they may no longer attend school with people who matter to them.
Hear directly from CMSD students about how they’re processing the potential changes.
Some students worry they won’t be safe at their new schools. They’re going elsewhere.
Safety concerns are causing some students and families to think about options outside of CMSD next year. They worry about fights inside school due to inter-neighborhood rivalries as well as how they will safely get to their new school when doing so requires traversing neighborhoods they don’t know, often early in the morning or late at night.
In some cases, that might mean leaving for a different school district in Cleveland’s suburbs, as Brown described above. For other families, leaving CMSD means applying for the vouchers such as the Cleveland Scholarship or EdChoice Scholarship to help pay for a private or religious high school next year.
Beyond safety, students feel as though there are a lot of unknowns about the things they care most about
For students who aren’t switching buildings because their school is merging with other schools co-located on the same campus, transportation isn’t as much of a concern. Students want to know how the district plans to navigate issues like school culture, school traditions, clubs and academic rank.
They also worry that they might lose the relationships they’ve built with administrators, guidance counselors or teachers after their schools merge.
CMSD has said staffing for teachers largely depends on how many students attend their welcoming schools. It is also governed by the contract the teachers’ union has with the district. That contract states that, when schools merge, seniority and advanced licensure are factored into teacher placement. The district has also said that, next year, all high schools will have a guidance counselor and school nurse but some administrators will likely be laid off.
Students are also apprehensive and curious about how kids from different neighborhoods and schools will get along. Some told Signal they haven’t ever met anyone who attends their merging high school and they think the chance to meet students from their new school — in a casual setting like a field trip or brunch — before next year would ease some anxiety.
A lot of students feel as though they’ll be losing something. Those feelings vary by grade
Students described feelings of loss and frustration with the merger, even if they acknowledged benefits.
Ninth graders, for example, said they felt as though they chose one school last year and now might end up in a school they didn’t choose.
Eleventh graders, on the other hand, don’t want to miss out on senior year traditions and the chance to graduate from the school where they have spent three years.
