Cleveland's Biggest Need (Valley View: renting, crime, how much)

[Cl3v3land]

What is Cleveland's biggest need to allow the city to gain population once again? The choices are on the poll and can you leave comments telling why you chose that choice? Thanks Also when I say neighborhood development I'm generally talking about the latter streets such as E.105th, E.152nd, streets not close to downtown.

[billmesh]

Better public schools

[Flee to the Cleve]

I believe that all must be taken into consideration, but I feel most importantly is more police and better public schools. The average Joe is not going to move into an area if they don't feel safe or feel that their children are not going to get a good education.

[Buckeyes440]

Originally Posted by Flee to the Cleve

I believe that all must be taken into consideration, but I feel most importantly is more police and better public schools. The average Joe is not going to move into an area if they don't feel safe or feel that their children are not going to get a good education.

When it comes to the poor education system, how much of the problem falls on the school district itself and how much falls on the parenting? I just don't see how you can fix the school district BEFORE attracting new, higher-income residents. The parents are a big reason why the Cleveland schools are so awful. You can keep throwing money at the schools, doing this and that.....but nothing will really change until you bring in students who have parents that actually value education and have control over their children. Basically you need more responsible parents and less trash.

[5Lakes]

I agree with Buckeyes440. The city has to fix its lack of a educated populous in the inner city before the schools can be improved. If more higher income and educated people move into the city it will be the first step to improving the schools. This is a nation wide problem anyway, and is not a glaring weakness that only Cleveland has. Poor urban schools are pretty much the status quo across the nation. People who usually point to this act like Cleveland should be competing with its suburbs, when in fact it needs to compete better with other cities across the country.

I think Cleveland needs to first concentrate on downtown development, including the core neighborhoods. This will bring an educated populous back into the city, creating a healthier environment that can than lead to reduced crime and more tax dollars for infrastructure and services. These improvements will eventually spread thoughout other parts of the city.

[Clevelander17]

Originally Posted by Buckeyes440

When it comes to the poor education system, how much of the problem falls on the school district itself and how much falls on the parenting? I just don't see how you can fix the school district BEFORE attracting new, higher-income residents. The parents are a big reason why the Cleveland schools are so awful. You can keep throwing money at the schools, doing this and that.....but nothing will really change until you bring in students who have parents that actually value education and have control over their children. Basically you need more responsible parents and less trash.

Ding-ding-ding-ding! Before I even read your post, I was going to post something similar in regards to the calls for "better schools." Sure the school infrastructure could be better in some areas, but beyond that, the "schools" aren't that bad. It's the kids, and particularly the families from which many of them come, that are the main problem.

[billmesh]

Originally Posted by Clevelander17

Ding-ding-ding-ding! Before I even read your post, I was going to post something similar in regards to the calls for "better schools." Sure the school infrastructure could be better in some areas, but beyond that, the "schools" aren't that bad. It's the kids, and particularly the families from which many of them come, that are the main problem.

I understand that point, and agree. However, I can guarantee the stigma of the Cleveland school system, regardless of validity, is one of the main reasons that someone looking to start a family would not live in the city.

I don't know, perhaps you institute educational programs specificially aimed at the parents. Make it a stipulation that if you require government aide of any kind, you need to attend some sort of life-skills training program which includes parenting.

[Flee to the Cleve]

I agree that many of the problems that the CMSD are facing are not its fault; regardless, people are not going to move to the city and attend those schools if they continue to have the problems they do.

No matter whos fault it is that the schools are in such bad shape, many families are still not going to send their kids there. And you can't blame them. The problem still remains no matter whos fault it is. Cleveland alreadly spends more per money per student than most of the suburbs do. So it is proven that throwing money at the problem doesn't work.

[Peregrine]

Agreed. It's an endless circle that cannot end well.

If everyone in Cleveland that sends kids to a private school enrolled them all in CMSD some schools would improve over night.
But they won't until the schools improve....

I am seriously considering putting my son in the Valley View Leadership Academy in Westpark. I want to be part of the solution.
It is one of only 2 grade schools in CMSD that got the highest ranking and one of the highest ranked IN THE STATE. They work very hard to encourage parents to be involved with the childrens education.



Blue is Valley View, Light blue (which you can bearly even see) is the average of the rest of CMSD and grey is the State of Ohio average.

I've never been a fan of same sex schools but it is hard to argue with results like that.

Article from a few years ago:
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008..._get_grea.html

Snippet:
The Cleveland and George Gund foundations, which gave the district more than $300,000 to launch the experimental elementaries in 2007, surveyed parents near the close of the school year. The results show satisfaction bordering on giddiness.

[marence]

Downtown Retail was my poll choice, but it was a difficult choice. I think we need a better looking downtown/midtown corridor - and by better-looking, I'm not talking about just streetscapes, which help, but actual businesses that bring people downtown. More business=more people, and getting rid of the abandoned feel that parts of downtown and most of midtown will help.

I also think that the schools need to be improved, but agree with Buckeyes440 that the parents need to step up and prepare their children for learning. And as Peregrine pointed out, some of the charter schools are doing better, statistic-wise, than most suburban schools. Back in the 90s, I moved into Cleveland proper with my daughter only because she was accepted at the School of the Arts - no way was I sending her to South High!

I hear two things from out of town visitors - first, that Cleveland has a lot more to offer than they thought (entertainment, jobs, recreation, low cost of living, etc.) and that downtown still looks like a ghost town, except for E. 4th.