A new school year is almost here, accompanied by new CMSD services.

While most schools won’t start classes until Aug. 22, some high schools that operate year-round will welcome ninth graders on Monday, Aug. 1, and other students on Tuesday, Aug. 2. Several other schools return Monday, Aug. 8.

New this year:

• CMSD will soon introduce PowerSchool, a new easy-to-use online location where parents and caregivers can access their children’s records, communicate with teachers and submit consent forms.
• Yellow buses will be equipped for Wi-Fi, enabling students to stay connected from home to school and back.
• The District will install interactive Clevertouch screens in more classrooms, starting a two-year plan to ensure all of CMSD’s 3,000-plus classrooms have the screens.
• Say Yes Cleveland family support specialists will now be in all buildings, organizing services that help students and families overcome barriers to success. Say Yes also will expand after-school programming from elementary to high schools.
• The conversion of media centers into community, college and career planning centers will expand from high schools to PreK- and K-8 schools.

The year will bring further development of CMSD’s Vision for Learning, a new approach that is designed to be more personalized, relevant and engaging for students.

The Planning and Career Exploration or PACE, program will expand, helping all students identify careers that align with their passions and pay a living wage.

CMSD also will increase the visibility of its Get 2 School, You Can Make It! Campaign, which began in 2015. The goal of the relaunch is to improve attendance that has suffered during the pandemic.