The East Cleveland Narrator 2015 Issue 2, February

FEBRUARY 2015 FREE LEARN BLACK HISTORY 365 DAYS One Community, Telling Our Own True Stories Digital Edition Extras on ECNarrator.com The East Cleveland Narrator Students, parents and teachers take part in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) activities at a meeting at Heritage Middle School to introduce the new STEM labs in East Cleveland City Schools District's six k-8 schools January 22, 2015. he lab pictured is at Heritage. (ECN Photos/Bryan Fisher/Staﬀ Photographer) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ DONATE THANK YOU, DONORS! Mitchell Blanton • Charles Durham • Michael Gibson • Trevelle Harp • Bertha Idom • Marie Moore See Page 2 to add your name here. Evangeline Parnell • Arrie Pass • Frances Smoot • Rose Terry SIX STEM LABS COME TO EC SCHOOLS PUBLISHER M. LaVora Perry, Publisher David Kasahara 1936 – 2011 he late David Kasahara was my favorite Buddhist teacher. In New York City, about twentyive years ago, he told a group of us young women that there are four types of people: People who know what's wrong but don't anything about it. People who talk about what's wrong but don't do anything to change it. People who don't say a word about what's wrong but work hard to ix it. And people who talk about what's wrong and what they're going to do about it -- and work hard to do it. Kasahara asked us young wom‐ en to be the fourth type of per‐ son -- talkers and doers. We're already into the second month of 2015. How about you and I ask ourselves, "his year, which of the four types of peo‐ ple will I be?" By phone, the Narrator recently talked with East Cleveland City Schools District (ECCSD) su‐ perintendent Myrna Corley. he topic was the district's new science, technology, engineer‐ ing and mathematics (STEM) labs located in the district's ive elementary schools and Her‐ itage Middle School. he labs, furniture and training for teachers aids cost $900,225, according to Corley. She said the plan is for Shaw High School to have a lab at the start of the 2015-2016 school year. Here are parts of the talk: ECN: How and when did you learn about the opportunity to have STEM labs in East Cleve‐ land schools? ment of Education had, maybe a couple of years ago, given dis‐ tricts an opportunity to apply for what they called the Straight A grant. STEM labs are some‐ thing I've always wanted for the district. I thought it would be a good idea for us to make appli‐ cation for the labs then. So we began to work on that. CORLEY: he Ohio Depart- (Cont. Page 5) _______________________ _______________________________________________ BANKRUPTCY, MERGER DISCUSSED DURING TWO TELEPHONE TOWN HALL MEETINGS Two recent telephone town hall meetings with East Cleveland residents and Mayor Gary Nor‐ ton, Jr. explored two diﬀerent possibilities for East Cleveland's future. he irst possibility -- iling for Chapter 9 bankruptcy --was "Thirteen or 14 cities in Ohio have been put into fiscal emergency in just the last two years. We're not hearing about those cities the way we're hearing about East Cleveland." -Attorney Sherri L. Dahl INSIDE • "Merger" History Lesson...2 • Seniors: Keeping Warm & Safe... 2 • Valentine's Day: His & Her Dating Advice...4 • Shaw Student Wins BBB Scholarship...4 • Creative Mornings CLE...5 • Poetry Slam at EC heater...5 • "Re-Imagine" Patterson Park...6 • Silverman's Closing...6 • Voicing & Action Project Ends in EC...7 • "I Am Mom": K-8 Common Core Test...8 (Cont. Page 6) _______________________________________________________________________ SENIOR ACTIVITIES' NEW HOME he Helen S. Brown Senior Center closed December 30, 2014 due to lack of funding. However, senior activities will restart this month. hey will be held at across the street from the center at New Life Cathe‐ dral church at 16200 Euclid Av‐ enue. he Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging other (Cont. Page 2) The Narrator is a monthly platform for all community members—whose views are diverse and sometimes opposing—to provide factual information and tell our own true stories of East Cleveland.