Talent Development

Several of the region's top schools are receiving a national honor for their continued work advancing the minds of Northeast Ohio's young talent.

10 Northeast Ohio schools have been named recipients of the US Department of Education's annual Blue Ribbon Award. The Blue Ribbon Award is handed out to schools that have proven superior academic performance and posted dramatic gains in student achievement.

This year 314 schools were honored nationwide, 10 of which are from Northeast Ohio (19 total schools in Ohio). The NEO Blue Ribbon recipients include:

• Watson Elementary School of Austintown
• Jackson High School of Jackson Township
• Lake Cable Elementary School of Jackson Township
• Louisville’s Fairhope Elementary School in Nimishillen Township
• Chagrin Falls Intermediate School of Chagrin Falls
• Horizon Science Academy of Cleveland
• St. Ignatius High School of Cleveland
• St. Joseph School of Cuyahoga Falls
• St. Paschal Baylon School of Highland Heights  
• Seton Catholic School of Hudson

To qualify for the award, schools must post scores that rank in the top 10 percent on state or national tests; or, schools where at least 40 percent of students are from disadvantaged backgrounds, must show dramatic academic improvement.

The winning schools will be honored at a November awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.

As a region, Northeast Ohio knows how to take an economic hit; we have been down that road before, and know how to bounce back. During prosperous times in our nation's economy, however, is where we fall behind the rest of the country. Why is that, and how can we better leverage ourselves coming out of the latest recession?

Brad Whitehead, president of the Fund for Our Economic Future has an answer: attract and support fast-growth industries.

As Whitehead tells the Cleveland Jewish News, "The road to economic vibrancy requires innovation and commercialization as well as entrepreneurship, education and foreign investment."

Partners in Advance Northeast Ohio and the Fund are working hard to attract companies, support entrepreneurs, and train the region's talent in these fast-growth industries so we can emerge from this recession strong and growing stronger.

The partners in Advance Northeast Ohio are committed to helping strengthen Northeast Ohio's talent development system and the region made a giant step forward this week with the opening of the Eastern Gateway Community College to serve the Mahoning Valley. Community colleges can help older students and younger students alike get the training and education they need to secure jobs in growing fields like health care, medical device manufacturing, advanced energy and advanced materials.

To learn more about Northeast Ohio's newest college visit its web site.

Summer is almost over and students across Northeast Ohio are gearing up for the start of another school year. For the students at Canton City Schools' Allen Elementary School, the halls will be filled with more teachers than last year.

Allen is Stark County's first professional development school. A professional development school is a partnership between a public school and a university, similar to a teaching hospital. In this case Allen Elementary is partnering with the University of Akron. The goal of the partnership is to develop and prepare the region's future teachers while increasing student achievement

“We are creating high-quality teachers in our district, while creating a pipeline to our district,” Canton City Schools superintendent Michele Evans told the Canton Repository.

In addition to having more teachers available to provide individual attention to students' needs, the school's partnership with University of Akron will provide for a regular exchange of information about innovative practices between teachers and university faculty.

This partnership is a great way to develop teaching talent in the region, new education practices for the 21st century, and at no additional cost to the school district, this program can be a model site for other educators across the region (and country) to visit and replicate.

Two talented Noretheast Ohio filmmakers, Kevin DeOliveiera and Dan Mizicko, set out to tell the real story of Youngstown; a city that embraces its history while transforming itself through fostering entrepreneurs, university investments, neighborhood based organizing and community development work, and strong political and civic leadership. The result is the feature-length documentary "Steel Valley: Meltdown," a movie featuring Youngstown's scholars, professors, residents and historians. Watch the trailer:

Steel Valley:Meltdown - Trailer 2 from Kevin DeOliveira on Vimeo.

It is good to see talented citizens empowerd to tell the region's true story. "Steel Valley: Meltdown" will hold its premeire Friday September 25, 7 p.m., at the DeYor Performing Arts Center in Youngstown. Visit the film's official website for more information.