Thursday, August 9, 2012
The work was done for free — a several-thousand-dollar value — by the district as well as Digital Scout Network.
The Lakewood City Schools website has gotten an overhaul. The site still carries the purple and yellow colors of the district. But that’s about where the similarities end. The idea behind the redesign was to update and “freshen” up the site, said Christine Gordillo, the spokeswoman for the district, who helped with the overhaul. She said the new site is also more user-friendly. “Everything needs updated every couple years,” said Gordillo. Digital Scout Network helped with the redesign at no charge, amounting to a several-thousand-dollar value. The site has its event calendar, as well as the news and announcements section — but the information is more cleanly presented. Among the new features are tabs “for parents,” “for staff” and “for …
Monday, August 6, 2012
Jeff Patterson is expected to make that pitch tonight to the Lakewood Board of Education.
With a sharp increase in students currently projected to enter the Lakewood City Schools, the district is going to need all the elementary schools that it’s got. That means that earlier plans to shutter Grant Elementary School may be put on hold — at least through 2014 — while district officials weigh their options. Superintendent Jeff Patterson said that he’s going to officially present a plan to the Lakewood School Board tonight, that will ask them to reconsider plans to close Grant. Instead, he hopes the board will consider urging the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission to pay for another enrollment projection. Patterson said that according to the US Census, the number of children from birth to 5 years old has spiked. “We’re going to …
Friday, August 3, 2012
District officials would first like to figure out how much voters could withstand before putting a measure on the ballot.
Would you support a school levy? How much could you afford? What are your thoughts on the Lakewood City Schools? These are a few examples of the questions being asked of Lakewood voters. On Wednesday night, a campaign began to randomly call 400 homes in Lakewood, asking residents (with landlines) to take a 15-minute survey to get their input on a new levy. Superintendent Jeff Patterson said that a new levy is “inevitable.” Now, he said, the district must figure how much voters could afford — especially given the current economic climate. “I know it’s a difficult financial time for all of us — for consumers, for businesses, for the city of Lakewood,” he said. “We need to be the best stewards of the public’s money.” In addition to the …
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
You can learn how any Ohio school district performs by using this easy online search form.
Every year the state of Ohio rates its 600-plus school districts by more than two dozen criteria, from graduation rates to how students perform on standardized tests in reading, math and other subject areas. Ratings for the school year that just ended won't be out until August, but you can get a good idea how things stand by looking at data for 2010-2011. The ratings are not without controversy, of course. Some argue that they force a "teaching-to-the-test" approach that undermines real learning. And districts with already high-achieving students say it's tough for them to meet requirements that they demonstrate year-over-year improvements. But faulty or no, the annual report card remains one of the few ways to make meaningful comparisons …
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Ceremony took place at Grant Elementary School on Monday night, with 20 graduates' family and friends cheering them on.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
We put our readers to the test. To help close a $12.4 million shortfall over the next five years, the Lakewood City Schools will shutter Grant, Lincoln or Roosevelt elementary schools.
To help close a $12.4 million shortfall over the next five years, the Lakewood City Schools will shutter Grant, Lincoln or Roosevelt elementary schools by the start of the 2013-14 school year. On Monday, Superintendent Jeff Patterson said that's part of his proposal to help balance the district's budget, following massive cuts in state funding last year. So, on Tuesday, we asked Patch readers — in a completely unscientific poll — which school they’d close. If it were up to them, Grant Elementary School would close. Lakewood Patch readers overwhelmingly voted to shutter Grant (57 percent), over the other two schools — Lincoln was next with 16 percent of the vote. The school board previously voted — as part of the Phase 3 construction plan…
Saturday, May 19, 2012
The new agreement — replacing the existing contract set to expire at the end of next school year — will save the district about $2 million per year through 2013-14.
In what is considered a big first step in belt-tightening for the cash-strapped Lakewood City Schools, district officials have wrapped up negotiations with the teachers union. And at a special meeting on Friday morning, the school board approved the contract with the Lakewood Teachers Association that will run through the 2013-2014 school year. The new contract — replacing the existing one set to expire at the end of next school year — will save the district about $2 million per year, according to officials. With the district looking to close an estimated $12.4 million budget deficit in 2015, the district’s labor unions agreed to reopen their contracts for negotiation. Teachers accepted a 0 percent base pay increase in 2013-2014; they’ll …
Thursday, March 15, 2012
We know it's sad to see those little ones enroll, but here's what to do.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Matt Kerrigan takes second place in the state and 18th in the nation during Cyber Foundations competition.
It takes someone who knows how to hack into a computer to catch someone hacking into a computer. That’s the case with Matt Kerrigan. The Lakewood High School sophomore admitted he’s gotten himself into “some trouble” with his knowledge of the inner-workings of computer security. But that’s all behind him now. Kerrigan is putting his talents to good use — and getting some recognition along the way. He recently took second place in the state and 18th place in the nation in the Cyber Foundations competition — sponsored by US Cyber Challenge — an online event aimed at getting high school students interested in a future with computer systems security. More than 2,000 high school students competed nationwide. “I wasn’t expecting to get that far…
Friday, December 9, 2011
School board selects finalists Thursday to replace Rick Berdine at the treasurer's post.
And then there were three. The Lakewood Board of Education narrowed its search for the district's new treasurer down to three candidates. Seeking to replace its current treasurer, the board whittled its candidate field from six to three finalists: Teresa Emmerling, treasurer, Massillon City Schools; Lewis Galante, treasurer, Perry Local Schools; and Timothy Penton, treasurer, Whitehall City Schools. "I think all the candidates we interviewed were excellent," said board president Matt Markling. "Narrowing the choices down was a difficult decision. We feel good about having three excellent treasurers to interview." The board started out with 20 applicants for the post. The six finalists were interviewed on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the …
Alexandra
8:59 am on Tuesday, August 7, 2012
It is a wave of refugees and people fleeing the Cleveland Public schools that are the reason they are contemplating keeping Grant open. What I want to know is where is the revenue going to come from to keep the school open? Most of the children coming in require LOTS of services. Many of these children are very far behind academically and the new group of cute kiddos on my street have limited … more ›