New programs come with new school year at CPS

MT. AUBURN - Thousands of children will head back to school soon as the Cincinnati Public School District opens its 57 schools.

The first day of school is Tuesay, August 16; and with the new school year comes several new programs and initiatives for 2011-2012.

Taft STEM Elementary

Taft Elementary, which was at risk of closing last year, will now be the first STEM elementary school in the nation. STEM helps students put theory into practice, with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math.

"The STEM focus in these schools will be comparable to The School For Creative and Performing Arts. While they get some science, engineering and technology, their focus is on arts and that sort of thing, where as here our students are going get a basic education but their focus will be on science, engineering and technology," said Dr. Stanley Broadnax, who helped bring the program to Taft as director of the Mt. Auburn Community Council.

A $250,000 grant will go toward technology and professional development among other things.

Community partners like Christ Hospital, Proctor & Gamble, General Electric, the Cincinnati Zoo, and the University of Cincinnati will help students apply what they learn with hands-on experience.

NASA will teach the students through video conference, as well as by having representatives actually visit the school.

The STEM program is also taught at Hughes STEM High School, and that is no coincidence.

"They can start as preschool here at Taft, go to elementary school here, then they can progress to STEM hughes high school, and on to UC and Xavie," said Dr. Broadnax.

"If you look at research, STEM careers will be about half of the new jobs that are coming up in the next 5 to 10 years," said Taft Elementary Principal Wayne Lane.

"It's so exciting. We're following them from preschool to college, and on into careers and that provides a steady flow of talent that we can keep in the neighborhood, in our institutions. They can be productive families, they can buy homes, they can open up businesses, so it's really a great economic development strategy," added Dr. Broadnax.

Principal Lane said the ultimate goal is to prepare students to compete in a global community.

We Need M.O.R.E

Another new addition this school year will be the African American male task force.

The We Need M.O.R.E (Men Organized, Respectful & Educated) program is to improve the academic and graduation rates among at-risk student groups.

African American males, and males in general, are underperforming at CPS; which mirrors national trends.

The initiative is focused on improving social skills development, good citizenship, improved health and wellness, and financial literacy

PRE (Performance Review Evaluation)

Teachers will be evaluated differently for the 2011-2012 school year.

The district is implementing PRE, which stands for Performance Review Evaluation.

Teachers will be paid based on student performance.

New School

Two former elementaries are turning into one newly-constructed building called The Evanston Academy.

Located of Fairfax Avenue, it will combine the former Hoffman and Parham elementary schools.

It will also continue the tutoring partnership with General Electric.

Overall, it looks to be a very busy school year for the more than 33,000 students within CPS.

Click here for the CPS website.