Greetings CMSD Families and Friends,
Happy Women’s History Month!
March is set aside annually to recognize and celebrate the extraordinary contributions that women make to the history and culture of the United States. A California school district conceived the idea as a week-long celebration in 1978, which morphed into a month-long event in 1987.
CMSD has long been active in the recognition, elevation, and celebration of female scholars and educators. The Cleveland Public School District (later renamed the Cleveland Metropolitan School District) was considered pioneering when it created the Girls’ Opportunity School in 1924.
That single-gender school was dedicated to teaching courses in Home Economics. Several years later, the Opportunity School changed its name to the Jane Addams School, named in honor of the Nobel Peace Prize winner, who founded the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. That school evolved its curriculum beyond exploring domestic duties to include courses centered on mathematics and nursing.
Throughout its 183-year history, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District) has had five women serve in the role of Superintendent or CEO. These women are:
- Harriet Louise Keeler (1912)
- Dr. Margaret Fleming (1982)
- Sammie Campbell-Parrish (1992-1995)
- Barbara Byrd-Bennett (1998-2006)
- Lisa Marie Ruda (2006)
The contributions of female educators and scholars to the growth and elevation of Cleveland and its history go far beyond the office of CEO leadership. Langston Hughes, the great American poet, novelist, and civil rights leader, who graduated from Cleveland Central High School in 1920, paid tribute to one such educator more than a half-century ago.
Months before his death in 1967, Hughes recognized Helen Maria Chesnutt, one of the District’s extraordinary English literature educators from the past century. Hughes sent educator Chesnutt a copy of the final book he had worked on, The Selected Poems of Gabriela Mistral. Hughes, who was fluent in Spanish, wrote the introduction for the book by Gabriela Mistral, an acclaimed Chilean author.
In more recent history, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a 1967 graduate of Collinwood High School, left an indelible mark on our city and nation. Ms. Tubbs Jones was the first African American prosecutor in Ohio history, and the first African American woman elected to Congress from Ohio. Today, when one walks through Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, its hard to miss the mural celebrating the achievements of the late Congresswoman and Collinwood High School Railroader.
To all CMSD female educators, scholars, and graduates, I salute you. Happy Women’s History Month!
Dr. Warren G. Morgan
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