CLEVELAND — It’s a fast pace to keep up with the rate of change at WKYC’s adopted school, Harvey Rice Wraparound, in Cleveland’s Buckeye neighborhood.
“This is a first year for me, so it's a lot of new,” says Lawanda Jackson, who is beginning her tenure as a first-time principal.
Jackson’s building leadership team also includes a new assistant principal and an additional dean of engagement.
“We all play an important part in achieving the goal,” Jackson shares.
One objective this year is to increase the attendance rate for the 470 children enrolled in this pre-kindergarten to 8th grade building.
“We have a lot of students that come in tardy,” Jackson says.
According to Ohio’s latest School Report Cards, the attendance rate at Harvey Rice is at 82.2%. The Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s rate is at 82.8%.
In an Instagram Reel, the new CMSD CEO, Dr. Warren Morgan, reports the average attendance rate at 84%, with similar districts at 90%.
“I know that parents don't get up in the morning saying that ‘ok, I don't care about my child being late to school.’ That's not what they're saying. Life is happening,” Jackson explains.
The school’s City Year AmeriCorps Mentors will also play a part this year in getting children and their guardians excited about coming to school.
“We're telling them ‘Hey, we're here. We're excited to see you. We're excited to have you here. We're going to have a great day!’ And it just starts the morning off on such a good note,” says City Year AmeriCorps Member Nora Vinson.
Jackson’s goal is to get the attendance rate at Harvey Rice up to 85% this year.
Attendance data from the past five years shows Harvey Rice at an 88.3% attendance rate for the 2018-2019 school year, going up to 91.2% just before the pandemic. However, the attendance rate for Harvey Rice dropped nearly 20 percentage points to 72.4% during the 2020-2021 COVID school year. The rate then rose to 80.6% and 82.2% for the next two years.
WKYC’s Advocacy Team will meet with Harvey Rice leaders to help them develop a plan to reach their goals.
Jackson says the top three areas that need to be addressed at the school are providing social and emotional support for students and teachers, increasing the attendance rate, and gaining additional stars on Ohio’s School Report Card system in math and literacy. Currently, the school has one out of five stars in the “Achievement” and “Early Literacy” categories.