Monday, October 26, 2009

Department of Education launches dollar 650-million innovation competition for school districts

Following quickly on the heels of its $43 million grant to the Teacher Quality Partnership program, the U.S. Department of Education announced this week the launch of a $650-million innovation competition aimed at closing the achievement gap in the U.S. educational system.

The competition, called the Investing in Innovation fund (i3), falls under the $5 billion investment in school reform from the America's Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

The competition will award grants to individual school districts, groups of districts, or school districts with nonprofit partnerships that want to start or expand research-based innovative programs aimed at closing the achievement gap and improving outcomes for students.

"We're making an unprecedented investment in cutting-edge ideas that will produce the next generation of school reforms," U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. "We're looking to drive reform, reward excellence and dramatically improve our nation's schools."

The grants are divided into three categories: scale-up grants worth $50 million for innovations that have already been proven to improve student achievement; validation grants worth $30 million for existing, promising programs that are looking to improve their evidence base and expand their impact; and development grants worth $5 million to support new and high-potential practices whose impact should be further examined.

Grant recipients will also need to match their federal funds with public or private dollars, and must demonstrate how their programs will remain sustainable after their federal grants have finished. Proposals will be accepted in the spring of 2010 and all money will be obligated by September of that year.

This competition is in addition to the Department of Education's Race to the Top competition launched in July, which awards a total of $4.35 billion grants to states that pioneer school reform.

City Year

Hello Friends of City Year Cleveland –



I share recent comments by City Year CEO and Co-Founder, Michael Brown, and U. S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, regarding the challenge to add scope and impact to our collaborative efforts with local school districts, principals, teachers and parents.



Last year, just over 80% of the Cleveland elementary and middle grade students with whom we worked in coordination with teachers and principals showed improvements in literacy and math (Benchmark Tests and Ohio Achievement Tests).



These are good results but we look to expand our impact this year. Cleveland school specialists, principals and teachers have helped strengthen our academic support and behavior coaching for students at K-8 schools. In addition, a team of 10 corps members is providing Ohio Graduation Test tutoring to an average of 45 juniors and seniors every day at Collinwood High School.



Please read the remarks below and respond with any comments or questions.



Yours in service,



David W. Anderson
Deputy Director

City Year Cleveland
The Leader Building

526 Superior Avenue, Suite 408 | Cleveland, Ohio 44114

T: 216.373.3413 | C: 216-255-1897 | F: 216-574-3401

danderson@cityyear.org | www.cityyear.org

give a year. change the world









www.cityyear.org




Dear City Year Community,

As we embark on a new school year, all of us at City Year renew our commitment to mobilizing diverse young leaders in full-time service to help keep students in school and on track to graduate.

Every 26 seconds a student gives up on school in America. More than 12 million students are projected to drop out over the next decade, resulting in more than $3 trillion in costs. The statistics are staggering and this is a national challenge which demands bold action.

In June, City Year held a National Leadership Summit to launch In School & On Track: A National Challenge, an ambitious initiative to reach at least 50% of all students falling off track in the 20 U.S. locations in which we serve.

We were honored that United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined us at our National Leadership Summit, and challenged us to dramatically scale our impact across the country:



"As we think about what City Year can do going forward we need greater scale so that in all of your locations, we think about doubling, tripling, quadrupling your presence.... I'm convinced that City Year is perhaps uniquely positioned to be our partner and to be the partner at the local level to transform schools that have historically struggled."

We are energized and motivated by his call to action and we pledge to do whatever we can to ensure that students in high poverty schools across the country can succeed.

I have shared below and on our Web site the complete transcript of Secretary Duncan's remarks. You can also click here for a video of his talk.

Earlier this month, 1,500 City Year corps members pledged 2.5 million hours of service to help increase the nation's urban graduation pipeline in the 20 communities where they serve.

From the beginning of the school day until the last child leaves the after-school program, diverse teams of City Year corps members leverage their near-peer relationship with students to focus on reversing the early warning "off track" indicators -- low attendance, poor behavior and course failure in math and English -- that research has proven are strong predictors, as early as 6th grade, that a student will not graduate with his or her class.

We are inspired by their commitment and their idealism, and grateful for your support for their work.

We look forward to working with you in the months and years ahead to help students in high poverty communities succeed in school and life.

Your in Service,



Michael Brown
CEO & Co-Founder
City Year, Inc.

Remarks by Secretary Arne Duncan
City Year National Leadership Summit: A National Service Response to the High School Dropout Crisis

Washington, D.C.
June 9, 2009

Thank you so much. Wow, what an introduction. I try not to have an entourage but like having a City Year entourage, I've got to figure out how to take them with me more places. I'm really honored to be here.

I'm probably one of the biggest fans that you're ever going to find of City Year for a number of reasons and I know I'm preaching to the choir here but there are so few opportunities for our children who live in impoverished backgrounds who often live in segregated impoverished backgrounds to get the chance to get to know and to work with and to have as mentors and role models a diverse set of people who are absolutely committed to seeing them be successful and its hard for our children to experience a better life, it's hard for our children to think about working in an integrated setting if they never see people who don't look like themselves and don't look like each other working together so what City Year has done for our children around the country I'm just so absolutely grateful for.

When I ran the Chicago public schools I pushed very hard and was pleased over time to sort of convert all of the City Year teams there just to work in schools, I was a little bit selfish. They were doing lots of other great work in the communities and the hospitals and other things but I kept saying if we're really going to make a difference we've got to have you in our schools and the tangible difference that we saw some of our toughest schools on the south side and north side of Chicago was absolutely remarkable.

We have an opportunity today I think and maybe I'm overly optimistic, maybe a little naïve, I think that we have an opportunity to transform education in our country and let me tell you why. We have a President, we have a First Lady, we have a Vice President, we have his wife, who are absolutely committed to education. And it amazes me that day after day week after week despite fighting two wars despite the toughest economy since the depression they keep coming back to education. Absolutely, consistently - what are we doing, how are we getting better. Secondly we have a bipartisan congress, both sides of the aisle, are welcoming, both sides of the aisle know how much further we have to go, despite some successes our dropout rate is far too high, our graduation rate is far too low. We have to get better. We also have more good ideas, more great schools than ever before. In the past 5, 10, 15 years we've seen this flourishing of non-profits like City Year, great success stories, charter schools, and places in inner cities, urban, rural, toughest of communities where the vast majority of students are succeeding. We have absolutely put the lie in any myth that poor children can't learn, that children of color can't learn or can't be successful.

So we've got leadership at the top, we have got bipartisan support from Congress, we have more great ideas out there we just need to scale that up, we need to make sure we're investing in those groups that are making a great difference and then finally and not insignificantly we have a few dollars to play with, we have $100 billion in new dollars going to education, that's a staggering number, it's never going to happen again. At every level - $5 billion dollars to early childhood, $7 billion dollars k-12, north of $30 billion to higher education so we will never have this kind of opportunity again and so I'm unbelievably hopeful but I also feel a huge sense of urgency.

Can we be smart enough, and frankly can we be courageous enough? Can we have the political will to make the hard changes so that every child has the chance to be successful? And our simple task I think is to take to scale what works. We have these pockets of excellence, these islands of excellence - how do we turn these islands into systems of excellence? How do we make sure every child has the chance to be successful? And what I'm absolutely convinced of is that for all the hard work we're going to try to do and for all of the hard work that states and districts are going to try to do, we can't do it alone we need all hands on deck - we need cities, we need states, we need nonprofits stepping up and helping us get where we need to go.

We have a set of schools around the country that are the best in the world. Unfortunately, at the other end of the spectrum we have a set of schools that are basically perpetuating poverty and perpetuating social failure, they are part of the problem: dropout factories where the vast majority of students don't graduate each year.

As we think about what City Year can do going forward, I'd like to put a couple of challenges on the table, first we need greater scale so in all your locations around the country how do we think about not just 2% growth or 5% growth or 10% growth - how do we honestly think about doubling, tripling, quadrupling your presence and then if we can do that (and it's easier said than done) but if we can do that can we work with you? Can we partner with you to go into our toughest communities, where I would argue, where the education system has done a disservice to the community and has perpetuated these social inequities often for decades - not for 2 or 3 or 5 years but for 10, 20, 30 years? Can we partner with City Year to go in there and fundamentally turn those schools around?

And it's actually interesting, if we were just to take the bottom 1% of schools nationally, leave the other 99% alone, the bottom 1% of schools nationally, could we take 1,000 schools a year, 1,000 out of 100,000 and come back with much higher expectations, come back with new teams of adults, and come back with teams like City Year to show our students how much we care about them, to be the role models, to be the partners, to demonstrate the great difference that service can make in their lives. If we could do that, if we could fundamentally turn around 1% of our school each year and do that year after year after year, think about that, we'd basically be eliminating the bottom piece of our portfolio. It would be gone. Schools that for decades have been part of the problem would disappear and we would replace them with schools where routinely 90 - 95% of students graduate and routinely 90 - 95% of those that graduate go onto college.

Why do I know it's possible? Because it's happening all over the country, we have pockets of excellence all over the country. When I was in Chicago I definitely did not think Washington had all the good ideas, now that I'm in Washington I know Washington does not have all the good ideas. The good ideas are always going to be out there at the local but we have to take them to scale. We have to take them, we have to invest in them and build upon those best practices.

I'm convinced that City Year is perhaps uniquely positioned to be our partner and to be the partner at the local level to transform schools that have historically struggled. And I'm so hopeful again, not because I'm naïve but because I've seen it happen. I saw what City Year did for my children on the south and west side of Chicago. I saw year after year marked improvement. This is not a feel good story. I look at the data, I look at the results. And it's great to have role models, but it's great to see graduation rate going up, it's great to see test scores going up, it's great to see schools becoming community centers that are open 10, 12, 13, 14 hours a day.

So I just want to commend City Year's leadership for this absolute, laser-like focus on keeping students in school, keeping them on track. I think the partnership we can develop at a national level will be something that will transform educational opportunities for our children around the country. And what I think all of you know, and what the public doesn't quite yet understand, is that if we give our children, it doesn't matter what background, doesn't matter the race, doesn't matter the socio-economic status, if we give our student long term support, if we have the highest of expectations for them, and if we give them real opportunities to learn and grow and develop and again be exposed to role models - what you guys do every single day - our children can beat the odds and they will beat it on a consistent basis. Not one child out of a thousand, not some miracle story but systemically - class after class, grade after grade, year after year, our students will start to beat the odds and become the norm, not the exception. So I thank you for your extraordinary hard work, for what you have done for our country so far but I think in these next couple of years we have a chance to fundamentally break through and I expect City Year to be with us there every step of the way leading the country where we need to go.

Thanks so much for your hard work. Thank you for your commitment. Thank you for your service. You represent the best of what our country's about. I look forward to our continued work together. Thank you so much.




City Year unites young people of all backgrounds for a year of full-time service, giving them the skills and opportunities to change the world. As tutors, mentors, and role models, these young leaders make a difference in the lives of children and transform schools and neighborhoods across the United States and in South Africa.

Founded in Boston in 1988, City Year has established programs in Boston; Chicago; Cleveland; Columbia, SC; Columbus; Detroit; Little Rock/North Little Rock; Los Angeles; Louisiana; Miami; New Hampshire; New York; Greater Philadelphia; Rhode Island; San Antonio; San Jose/Silicon Valley; Seattle/King County; South Africa and Washington, D.C. City Year is a proud member of AmeriCorps.

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Legal Aid Free Advice Clinic - Monday, October 26
On October 26, 2009, Taft Stettinius & Hollister has agreed to host a Brief Advice and Referral Clinic for the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland as part of National Pro Bono Week.
Taft attorneys will volunteer and staff the “drop-in clinics” and give general advice, assist in completing pro se materials, and make referrals.
Legal assistance is the critical factor that enables many Greater Cleveland area families fight homelessness, receive earned wages, or protect at-risk children. The need for free legal assistance to low income and vulnerable Greater Clevelanders has never been greater.
The Brief Advice and Referral Clinic will run from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at East Technical High School, 2439 E 55th Street, Cleveland, OH 44104. Secured parking is available at the school.


Hello education advocates,
There has been a change of date for the next meeting of the Cleveland Education Committee, CEC.

It will now be Thursday, Oct. 29th at 6:30 p.m. at the Flora Stone Mather Building, 1400 E. 55th St. (just south of Goodrich Gannett Neighborhood Center). Parking is available in the lot next to the building.

Guest speakers will be Principal Donald Jolly, the principal of John Adams High School, and Don Slocum, Executive Director of Neighborhood Leadership Institute, NLI. The meeting will conclude at 8:15 p.m.

Thank you,
Ian




Ian Heisey
Mediation Coordinator
Bellaire-Puritas Development Corporation
14703 Puritas Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44135
216.671.2710
i.heisey@bpdc.org







http://www.cmsdnet.net/


A. for Academic Plan

click on

1. Academics
2. Curriculum
– 2009-10 CMSD Academic Achievement Plan
– 2009-10 Scope and Sequence


B. for Finanical Forecast

click on

1. Board
2. Board Calander
2009 -2010 Cleveland Board of Education Meeting Schedule
3. Board Agenda 

* Locations are subject to change.




Tuesday, August 25, 2009 
Board Work Session - 4:00pm 
Board Business Meeting - 6:30pm 
Board Room 
Board of Education Administration Building 
1380 East Sixth Street, Cleveland 

Tuesday, September 15, 2009 
Board Work Session - 6:30pm 
Board of Education Administration Building 
Board Room 
1380 East Sixth Street, Cleveland 




4.Click on this date and then on 5.01 to get forecast
09/15/2009 - Cleveland Municipal School District Board Work Session Meeting-6:30 P.M.1. Location of Meeting


2. Opening Items


3. Minutes


4. Discussion - Academic and Leadership Update


5. Discussion - Financial Update

5.01 Adopting the Five-Year Financial Forecast of Revenues and Expenditures

5.02 Adopting the Fiscal Year 2010 Annual Appropriation Measure

5.03 A Resolution Approving a Real Property Tax Exemption Under Revised Code Section 5709.41 in Connection With the Development of Certain Property in the City of Cleveland and Authorizing a Compensation Agreement with the City, and Related Matters


Dear Horizon Friend,
We have been recognized by the State Department of Education as a School of Promise 08-09 for the second year in a row. This news has doubled my joy as I will also be heading to DC next month to represent Horizon Science Academy and Cleveland at the National Blue Ribbon ceremony on November 2 and 3. The following week on November 12 at 5:30pm we will be holding our local ceremony at the school. I will be honored to see you as our special guest, I hope your time avails you to join us.

I would also love to see you at our Basketball Fundraiser on November 6 at 6:30pm at the Cleveland State University Woodling Gym. This game will be played by Horizon Dragons high school team and Fox 8 News personalities VS The Fabulous Harlem Kings - a comedy basketball team composed of former Harlem Globetrotters.

I will be honored to host you at our both events on November 12th and November 6th, please let me know if you will attend.

We are and will continue making a positive difference at our school and in the community. Of course, this wouldn't be possible without your support.

Thank you so much for taking your time to read and have a wonderful week.

P.S. Press Release attached. Please click here on recent TV news coverage of our Blue Ribbon Award on Channel 3


Regards,

Cengiz Karatas
Director
Horizon Science Academy Cleveland High School
www.hsas.org



Dear Horizon Friend,

I hope everything going well in your life. I just wanted to share my joy with you that Horizon Science Academy Cleveland (HSA) was one of only 314 schools nationwide designated as a 2009 National Blue Ribbon School by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. The schools – 264 public and 50 private – will be honored at an awards ceremony on November 3 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC.

HSA is the only charter school in northeast Ohio to win this award and only the second charter in all of Ohio to do so.

Please see the attached Press Release and HSA September Newsletter for more information as well as the link below for the Ohio Blue Ribbon Schools article in the Plain Dealer.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/09/six_northeast_ohio_schools_hon.html


Regards,


Cengiz Karatas
Director
Horizon Science Academy Cleveland High School
www.hsas.org


United States Department of Education Designates Horizon Science Academy 2009 Blue Ribbon School
Horizon Science Academy Cleveland (HSA) was one of only 314 schools nationwide designated today as a 2009 National Blue Ribbon School by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. The schools – 264 public and 50 private – will be honored at an awards ceremony on November 3 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC. For the past 27 years, more than 6,150 of America’s schools have received this coveted award.
“These Blue Ribbon Schools have shown that all children can learn with appropriate supports,” Duncan said. “They are producing outstanding results for their students. Some have shown dramatic improvements in places where students are overcoming the challenges of poverty, and others serve as examples of consistent excellence that can be a resource for other schools. They are places where improved teaching and learning benefits every student, and where students are challenged to meet high expectations with the active support of teachers, parents and the community.”
The award honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools that are either academically superior, or have made dramatic gains in student achievement and helped close gaps in achievement among minority and disadvantaged students. Each year since 1982, the U.S. Department of Education has sought out schools where students attain and maintain high academic goals. Using standards of excellence, as evidenced by student achievement measures and the characteristics known from research to exemplify school quality, the Department celebrates schools, including those that beat the odds.
Said Cengiz Karatas, HSA Director, “We are thrilled to accept this award. It is wonderful to receive this recognition of the fine work of our staff and students.” HSA is the only charter school in northeast Ohio to win this award and only the second charter in all of Ohio to do so.
In its first decade of operation, HSA has long list of accomplishments including:
the School of Promise Award by ODE for 2007-2008,
a Bronze medal for outstanding achievement by US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT news magazine – best Charter School for 2008
a 100% college acceptance rate for the class of 2008 and 2009
National Title I Distinguished School Recognition 2009
Accreditation through AdvancED, representing 27,000 public and private schools and districts across the United States and in 65 countries

Horizon offers creative and unique programs that have proven highly successful. They include Saturday school, free after school tutoring for each class, a Summer Academy, and home visits by staff to families
NOTE TO EDITORS: A list of the 2009 Blue Ribbon Schools is available at http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/awards.html.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Farrah Gray to speak at US

http://www.us.edu/podium/default.aspx?t=107156&eid=1156404

Farrah Gray to speak at US
Date: 11/4/2009 to 11/4/2009
Shaker Heights Campus - Conway Hall Auditorium
Entrepreneur, philanthropist and author of The Reallionaire, Dr. Farrah Gray, is the next speaker in the US 2009-2010 Distinguished Speaker Series. Click here to register.

All lectures are free and open to the public and will be held at University School’s Shaker Campus, Conway Hall Auditorium, 20701 Brantley Road, in Shaker Heights. Click here for directions.

Author of the best-selling book, Reallionaire, Farrah Gray will present: "A Celebration of Youth Entrepreneurship."

Dr. Gray’s appearance is made possible through the generous support of the Burton D. Morgan Foundation, a Northeast Ohio resource dedicated to strengthening the free enterprise system by investing in organizations and institutions that foster the entrepreneurial spirit.

University School’s speaker series, entitled "Unleashing the Potential of Boys," features noted speakers discussing issues of significance and interest to boys, their parents and teachers, and others in the community.

An entrepreneur, philanthropist, author, and syndicated columnist, Dr. Farrah Gray has risen from poverty to international prominence as an entrepreneurial icon and pre-eminent speaker. Raised on the South side of Chicago, Dr. Gray defied the odds and became a self-made millionaire by the age of 14. At the age of 21, he received an Honorary Doctorate degree of Humane Letters from Allen University.

He has recently been featured by AOL Black Voices as making Black History 2008. The National Urban League’s Urban Influence Magazine also named him one of the most influential Black men in America. Ebony Magazine recognized him as an entrepreneurial icon, business mogul and best-selling author.

Gray is the founder of The Farrah Gray Foundation, a non-profit organization that launches entrepreneurship programs in inner-city schools across the country and provides scholarship and grant assistance for students from at-risk backgrounds.

He has appeared on Good Morning America, 20/20, and Oprah and Friends among others. As an AOL Money Coach, Gray gives advice to millions of AOL subscribers daily on leadership, personal development, diversity, strategic planning, creativity, business development and financial management.

He is a syndicated columnist for Oprah Magazine and the National Newspaper Publishers Association and is the bestselling author of Get Real Get Rich and The Truth Shall Make You Rich.

A book signing by Dr. Gray and a Youth Entrepreneurship Fair featuring students from E-City, Junior Achievement and US's Entrepreneur Institute will follow the lecture. Copies of Dr. Gray's book, including "Reallionaire," will be available for sale.

Other lectures in the series are as follows:

Wednesday, January 20, 7:30 p.m. - Mark Shapiro, executive vice president and general manager of the Cleveland Indians: "Maximizing Potential On and Off the Field."
Wednesday, February 24, 7:30 p.m. - Dave Taylor, coach and motivational speaker: "Internal Discipline through Motivation and Effort."
Wednesday, April 7, 7:30 p.m. - Bill Lishman, artist and pioneer in ultralight aviation: "Let Boyhood Dreams Take Flight."

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Cleveland CARES Event

http://caresmentoring.com/
http://www.100blackmencleveland.org/

Cleveland CARES event on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at the Wyndham Hotel/downtown Cleveland from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. BothSusan Taylor, Editor Emeritus of Essence Magazine and 100 Black Men of America, Inc. Chairman Emeritus Thomas Dortch, who is also Chairman of the National CARES Mentoring Movement will speak at this launch event and provide information and insights into mentor training and established national mentor programming. The purpose of the event is to highlight the need, and initiate programming of youth mentoring in the Northeast Ohio area.
This event is FREE to participants.

Annual Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) Award program

WHAT ARE THE SAMMY AWARDS ANYWAY?

The annual Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) Award program recognizes 25 high school senior student athletes who demonstrate excellence in academics, athletics, community service, leadership and include milk as part of their healthy lifestyles.

The unique scholarship educates teens on the importance of making smart choices - like drinking lowfat milk, eating right and staying active. Twenty-five winners will earn the $7,500 scholarship, attend an awards ceremony with celebrity guests at The Milk House at ESPN's Wide World of Sports, and appear in their own milk mustache ad in USA TODAY.

Each year a celebrity panel of Milk Mustache athletes help select the winners. This year Andy Roddick, Steve Nash, Mia Hamm, Michelle Kwan and Tony Hawk served as judges to help select this year’s winners.
HOW TO APPLY

High school seniors interested in applying for the 2010 SAMMY Awards program should visit bodybymilk.com in November 2009 for more information, or enter your email here and we'll send you a note when applications are posted. All applicants are required to describe in 75 words or less how they incorporate milk into their everyday life and training regimen.

http://www.bodybymilk.com/sammy_scholarship.php

2009-10 Cavaliers & FirstMerit Scholarship Program

2009-10 Cavaliers & FirstMerit Scholarship Program
We understand the importance of continuing your education!
The Cleveland Cavaliers and FirstMerit Bank are pleased to offer 10 graduating high school seniors from Northeast Ohio the opportunity to receive $2,000 scholarships through the Cavalier/FirstMerit Scholarship Program.
Scholarship Program Highlights
An applicant must attend high school in one of the following counties: Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, Summit or Stark; or one of the following communities: Ashland, Chardon, Huron, Kent, Middlefield, Orrville, Ravenna, Rittman, Sandusky, Streetsboro, Vermilion, Willard, or Wooster
Interested students must complete an essay under 500 words on the following question: "What's the most important lesson you've learned up to this point in your life and how do you plan to apply that lesson going forward"
Completed applications must be postmarked by February 15, 2010; the scholarship award announcement and presentation will occur on March 31, 2010.

http://www.firstmerit.com/personal/ads/cavsScholarship.aspx
http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/community/education.html

Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage offers scholarships worth $100,000

Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage offers scholarships worth $100,000
By Gabriel Baird
October 23, 2009, 10:13PM
By Gabriel Baird Plain Dealer Reporter
BEACHWOOD, Ohio -- Three area students with messages of peace and tolerance will share $100,000 in scholarships.
The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage in Beachwood is sponsoring the second annual "Stop the Hate! Youth Speak Out Essay Contest."
Last year more than 1,200 area students applied, and Matt Soble, a senior at Solon High School, captured the entire prize for his account of how he and other members of the B'nai B'rith Youth Group chapter helped a boy who didn't fit in.
Twenty other students also won prizes.
This year, the prize will be split among three applicants, said Judi Feniger, the executive director of the museum, which opened in 2005.
The goal of the program is to foster thinking and conversation about discrimination that students see in their everyday lives and how they can combat it.
Feniger expects the number of 500-word entries to increase this year because more people know about the contest.
"We're expecting an even bigger response this year," Feniger said.
The contest is open to students in middle and high schools in Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage and Stark counties.
Three high school seniors and juniors stand to win scholarships to an Ohio college or university. Their deadline to enter is Dec. 16.
The deadline for younger students is Nov. 4. They can win educational materials and money.
Each essay will be read by at least three of the more than 150 judges the museum has signed up to help grade the essays on the quality of writing, the originality of the content and the way they convey the theme of personal responsibility.
Finalists will read their essays at an award ceremony March 21, the night the winner will be announced.
More information is available online.
http://maltzmuseum.org/

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: gbaird@plaind.com, 216-999-5833