ISA Partner School Honored with
Statewide Award

For the third year in a row, ISA partner school Glenville High School in Cleveland has been awarded a Momentum Award by Ohio’s State Board of Education. This award recognizes schools for exceeding expectations in student growth for the year. Schools must earn straight As on all value-added measures on the report card, with two value-added subgroups of students, which includes gifted, lowest 20% in achievement, and students with disabilities. Congrats, Glenville!

Glenville HS Language Arts Team
Presents in Baltimore

Yes, more about the fantastic team at Glenville High School. ISA English and language arts coach Dr. William Kist and teachers Shannon Davis, Ga-Vita Haynes, and Shanita Horton from Glenville presented at the conference in Baltimore for the National Council of Teachers of English. With a packed room on the Sunday morning of the conference, they presented about the unit they developed on the novel The Hate U Give and about work Glenville students undertook around the little known Glenville Riots, which took place in July 1968 and shaped that community to this day.

Shabazz High School Unveils
Newark’s Fifth Career Academy

On December 4, ISA partner school Malcolm X Shabazz High School in Newark unveiled its engineering-focused career academy. Shabazz students can now enroll in classes at it and earn college credit for their work from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Students also get paired with industry mentors, such as from corporate partner Stryker Corporation, which is in the healthcare sector. ISA staff members Betty Greene-Bryant and Dynell Kellyman attended the event, along with Naseed Gifted, Shabazz’s principal, and Roger Leon, Newark’s superintendent, who cut the ribbon and reinforced the direction of the academy model at Newark Public Schools.

Our New Year’s Resolutions

What are our education-related resolutions for the new year?

• Ebony Green, Senior Director of Programs, Equity and Access: “My resolution for 2020 is to focus on deepening my understanding of the Latinx experience in school. Additionally, I’d also like to further deepen my understanding around how districts are currently supporting those students separate and apart from how they are supporting black students.”
• Abner Oakes, Director of Outreach: “I need to read more education-focused books this coming year. I also want to better understand the state of K-12 ed tech in 2020.”
• Janet Price, Senior Director of Programs: “Triangulate evidence! Don’t jump to conclusions/solutions based on one test score, one class visit, one hall sweep. Try to use quantitative and qualitative evidence, including context, to thoroughly understand a problem and choose the best solution.”
• Keith Look, Senior Director of Programs, District Services: “I am resolute in helping those within education organizations see themselves as part of a living organism, whereby any change to one function will impact other(s).”