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School FAQ Research Committee
(Non-Advocate)

Last Updated September 22, 2000

Jump to Questions and Answers

To get your penetrating question answered:

  1. Post it at www.chuh.net/discus/messages/50/90.html
  2. E-mail it to schoolfaqs@chuh.net
  3. Paper mail it to:
      4. School FAQ
      1036 Pembrook Road
      Cleveland Hts, OH  44121
Include your phone number and other contact information with your question.

Your question will be assigned to a committee member. They will contact you to chat and start the research effort to get your answers.

This URL (www.chuh.net/school/FAQs) will have the links to all the questions and answers as they develop. The CH-UH Public Library will also maintain a paper version of your questions and answers.

 Introduction (About Us)

The main purpose of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) group is to provide an independent resource that researches issues and stimulates analysis of practices and decisions on any aspect of K-12 education for our community. We are non-advocate in our research and seek to present all aspects of the issues, independent of our personal beliefs or positions. We are volunteers and welcome new people to the research efforts at any time.

The second purpose of our group is to hear and respond to penetrating questions from citizens. The idea is to work iteratively with questioners to formulate questions that go to the heart of issues and develop the answers to a depth that satisfies the questioner. We trust that this helps us all to understand more and to make better choices for the education of children.

Our research will present information and facts from primary sources from all levels of government, academic sources, and other research organizations. We hope to present our findings in ways that assist citizens in thinking through their own positions and to avoid offering ready made decisions. Besides publishing our findings here we also publish our work in progress at the web site

Our children are the future, and our belief is that only through an informed and energetic community can we hope to solve the many education problems that beset us. Cleveland Heights/University Heights has a proud tradition of racial, ethnic and religious diversity, and a history of excellence in our schools. But it is now faced with new challenges. Our community has responded to the issues in the past, and is now being called upon to confront fresh, new realities. We believe that knowledge is power, and that only by recognizing and identifying the causes of our problems can we hope to achieve our goal of a truly successful, integrated community. Thus we of the FAQ group see our efforts as one small part of a larger effort to recreate ourselves into a remarkable community for the twenty-first century, a community that does not run from new challenges, but one that has resourceful and effective responses.

The committee members currently are:    (Join us?)
Last name First name e-mail phone (H)
Burdick Tim TSBurdick@aol.com 216-371-0328
Cheshier Bob cheshier@en.com 216-229-2946
Davis Loren lorenedavis@core.com 216-397-3302
DeGolia Rachel degolia@apk.net 216-371-8623
Hall Alison axh8@po.cwru.edu 216-321-5230
Heylman Katherine kheylman@apk.net 216-371-4424
Klein Ari A_Klein@staff.chuh.org 216-932-9907
Larson Brian blarson44@hotmail.com 216-371-8163
McFarland Anne amcfarland@uakron.edu 216-321-6397
Register Ron r_register@staff.chuh.org 216-321-0996
Rosen Jay  jaycrosen@yahoo.com 216-321-4564
Sullivan Ryan Entropan@aol.com 216-382-7978
Thurston Linda msthurston@netzero.net 216-321-7315
Wilkinson Allen aw@apk.net 216-382-7613

Technical Definitions (PDF file) for EMIS Report Card Database valid through 1998-99 school year.

Question and Answer set:

  1. Since the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District is weak on 4th and 6th State Proficiency Tests, what are the actual scores compared to other districts in Cuyahoga County
    2. Last Revised September 2, 2000
    The more complete answer to this question is now in the CH-UH library branches at the information desks. It can also be downloaded in PDF format at http://chuh.net/school/FAQs/pamphlet/proficiency.question.pdf
    In sharing this report with the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) some clarification of the reasons for the different student scores in 4th, 6th, and 12th grade versus 9th grade was provided by ODE: September 19, 2000
    http://chuh.net/school/FAQs/proficiency.trent.html
    [1] Data from State 1998-99 EMIS Report Card data downloaded from http://www.ode.state.oh.us/reportcard/rc_download.htm
    [2] Data downloaded from the Ohio Department of Education's Interactive Local Report Card for Cuyahoga County.
    [3] E-mail communication from Ohio Department of Education, Assement and Evaluation (614) 466-3224.
    [4] National Education website for Achievement Improvement: (www.achieve.org)
  2. Critics of the last levy suggested that CH-UH had too many administrators.  Since much of the school budget pays for staff, this seems an important issue. How does the staffing in this district compare with adjacent districts?
    3. [1] State 1998-99 EMIS Report Card data downloaded from http://www.ode.state.oh.us/RC_download.htm
    [2] http://chuh.net/school/FAQs/cuts.sched.html provided by CH-UH Schools.
    [3] Provided by Human Resources Department of CH-UH Schools as data available to them from State EMIS.
  3. There is a common perception that CH-UH school expenditures per  pupil (PPE) are very high.  How do they compare with other districts?  Have the recent cuts reduced them significantly? In what areas?
    4. [0] Ohio Department of Education: http://www.ode.ohio.gov/www/ims/www_vitals_graph.html
    [1] State 1998-99 EMIS Report Card data downloaded from http://www.ode.state.oh.us/RC_download.htm
    [2] Provided by CH-UH Schools.
     
  4. For the 1999 proficiency test, Beachwood schools had 104 4th graders tested on all parts of the test and 101 6th graders.  The best class size that I could come up with was 120 in each grade.   This means that  20% of their students did not take the test or their results were not counted.  In CHUH, 501 our of 561 fourth graders scores counted and in 6th 488 out of 546.  Due to the social and economic make up of the two schools, CHUH should have been able to exempt more students, but they don't. Why?  Also in one of the community meetings the treasurer of the CHUH BOE stated that it took 3.3 mills in CHUH to equal 1 millage in Beachwood.  If we are educating four times more students with one-third the industry tax base, should we not need 12 mills for every mill in Beachwood?
    5. [1] www.chuh.net/school/FAQs/disabled.cuy.html
    [2] State 1998-99 EMIS Report Card data downloaded from http://www.ode.state.oh.us/RC_download.htm
    [3] Whole Sub-Bullet Section provided by CH-UH Schools Evaluation Coordinator.
    [4]  Interim CH-UH Treasure Lowell Davis' Financial Overview in Spring 1999 provided by CH-UH Schools.
     
  5. Where can one find the details of Bargaining Unit Contracts with the School District?
  6. Having just stepped out of the corporate work force within the last year, I know that in almost every industry employees are now asked to contribute in some form to the benefits they receive (paying for a portion of their hospitalization, dental, vision plans, for example). I would like to know specifically, in dollars, what benefits the taxpayers are providing for both teaching and non-teaching positions.
    7. [1] All Bargaining Unit Contracts March 30, 2000, Courtesy of the Unions and the School District.



Data for your curiosity:
Nineth Grade Proficiency Performance vs. Years Taught by the CH-UH District and an Ethnic Comparison, 1998-99. This was provided by the Coordinator for Assessment in the CH-UH School District.

Reaching the Top: A Report of the National Task Force on Minority High Achievement
- Executive Summary
- Whole Report in PDF
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