More than 8,400 participate in Summer Learning
The CMSD Summer Learning Experience drew to a close Aug. 6. For District students, it marked the end of a summer like no other and a shift toward school like they have not known it in the past.
Students who advanced from preliminary competition presented Demonstrations of Learning in the arts, humanities, STEM and a Cleveland-centric category called “Love the Land.” Winners received $50 gift cards.
Students competing at Willson School had to “hatch a business plan,” raising chicks and developing a strategy for selling eggs. First-place winner Elijah, a sixth grader at Campus International K-8, collaborated with a group of kids from other schools, and for him that was one of the best parts.
"It was a really fun experience,” he said. “I like hanging out with my new friends. And I like working with a team. It is hard doing stuff by yourself without anybody to be by your side."
Aaron, a fifth-grader at Miles Park, won a journalism competition at Mound School by drafting a social media campaign focused on preventing identity theft. He, too, said camaraderie was a highlight of Summer Learning.
“This is a team-based exercise,” he said. “My favorite part of this was working with my teammates.”
Judges from the District and community asked the presenters questions about their work, gave them feedback and scored the enrichment projects.
Retired KeyBank executive Margot Copeland helped rate the journalism projects at Mound. She encouraged students to show more confidence but was impressed with their research and organization skills.
“At the end of the day, you’re teaching them how to think and how to problem solve,” she said. “That’s critical, no matter what career they pursue.”
The CMSD Summer Learning Experience, promoted as a "summer like no other," was designed get students of all ages reconnected to school after a year of remote learning. More than 8,400 students were registered for a chance to catch up, get ahead or explore interests.
CEO Eric Gordon has called Summer Learning a prototype for a new District Vision for Learning that will better engage students by letting them go more deeply into subjects and participate in hands-on projects. Demonstrations like those presented Friday will be part of the emerging change.
Georgianna Orbany taught fourth and fifth graders at Willson during the summer, but when fall semester begins she will teach fourth grade at Douglas McArthur Girls’ Leadership Academy. She is excited about having these types of projects during the academic year.
"The emphasis on project-based learning is where our academic learning should be today and every day,” she said. “It ties in all the standards, all of what the students need to know, through an enriched curriculum."