CLE students greeted with new rule on first day

CLEVELAND (WJW) – It’s the first day back to school for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and CEO Dr. Warren Morgan is making the rounds.

He was greeted with a lot of smiles at Whitney M. Young on the city’s east side, and the students were welcomed with cases to lock up their phones for the day.

He said, “If you don’t need to bring your cell phone, don’t.”

That’s the new policy this year. No cell phones during school hours.

Students walked in, signed up for their cell-phone pouch and that’s it. No cell phone access until the school day is over.

Dr. Morgan said the transition to the new policy has gone smoothly in the year-round schools. And he expects the same for the rest of CMSD.

Other districts, like Akron, have found students are more focused and attentive without the distraction.

Dr. Morgan has only been CEO for a year but he knows well the challenges Cleveland faces.

He noted, “I was here about 10 years ago in the district so to come back now and lead the system, it has been a great journey. “

The Chicago native worked in Cleveland in the early days of the Cleveland Plan, overseeing some of worst performing schools in the district.

He remarked on the progress he’s seen, saying, “When I was here before I led the investment schools and these were our turnaround schools, our last chance schools. And some of those investment schools are our 3, 3.5-star schools, meeting state standards so it’s really exciting to see the growth and the progress. See how the district has grown. We have a long way to go. When I talk about every school, every scholar, every neighborhood, that’s what we are aiming for. But we’ve made incredible progress.”

Dr. Morgan also talked about the budget deficit and the cuts the district has had to make.

The primary goal, he said is to protect the instructional core. And that will be first in his mind moving forward.

He touted the successes he’s seen over the past year.

“Attendance is up. College applications are up and I’m excited to see how much more these schools can grow.”

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