Community “wraparound” services are helping to raise test scores, attendance and parental involvement while reducing disciplinary problems at Robinson G. Jones and 24 other targeted schools, according to reports from Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD), with partnerships with local lead agencies. BPDC is the United Way lead agency for RG Jones and GCNCA provides funds to help with this initiative.

A site coordinator at each school organizes outside assistance ranging from tutoring, mentoring and arts enrichment to food and clothing, and at RG Jones it is Mary Jo Cotner, a BPDC employee. Many efforts, including SCORES and Art House, Inc. afterschool, are a part of the overall wraparound strategy BPDC is responsible to implement at RG Jones as part of the CMSD Investment Schools strategy.

“If we ask them [principals] what is the one thing you cannot give up if we scaled back … it unanimously is, ‘We cannot give up the wraparound school model,” CMSD News Bureau reports CMSD CEO Gordon said at an event at Tri-C.

Principal Melissa Watts will be featured on a television program about turnaround schools that was filmed this in December at WVIZ studios downtown. Principal Watts was selected to represent R.G. Jones (out of all 23 CMSD Investment Schools) and speak about success as a turnaround school. The program was called Making Connections: Leading School Improvement and it was produced by the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL). It may air on WVIZ/Ideastream early in 2016.