The Shaker eNews is a weekly roundup of important information including District events, school newsletters and District, PTO Council, Shaker Schools Foundation and City news. Be sure to read the entire Shaker eNews each week to stay informed!

Visit our District Calendar online for a complete list of upcoming remote learning student activities, virtual events and athletic competitions.

The School Newsletters will return next Friday, October 23.

As you know, Cuyahoga County yesterday returned to a Level 3 (Red) on the Public Health Advisory Alert System. 

Today, Shaker Heights Schools Superintendent Dr. David Glasner shared this message with families to share information about the considerations that are informing District decisions moving forward. 

Congratulations to the Shaker Heights High School Varsity Volleyball team, the undefeated (12-0) Lake Erie League Volleyball Champions! The team earned their title Thursday, October 15 with a 3-1 victory over Maple Heights! Congrats to the players—Autumn Roberts, Devin Cutri, Tana'Zion Lucious, Allana Appleby, Erin Williams, Kendall Davis, Ayanna Brown, Lissan Aklog, Juilya Taylor, Kyla Crawford, Chloe Brown and Sophia Ehlers—and their coaches Head Coach LaToia Gaiter and Assistant Coaches LaKea Gaiter and Derria Grant! Way to go Raiders!

This week, the District began sending a daily COVID-19 update to all families and staff as a notification of important COVID-19-related information. The Daily COVID-19 Update will be sent each weekday evening excluding holidays when District offices are closed. You can find an archive of the Daily COVID-19 Updates on the District's COVID-19 Dashboard page.

As part of this year’s Shaker Rising detracking initiative, the District has released seven Shaker Rising videos featuring District administrators, teachers, parents and community members, and hosted the panel discussion Shaker Rising Roundtable: Detracking. We hope these videos and the panel discussion have helped our school community better understand why detracking is important, how it will be implemented at our schools and how it will positively impact our students’ success.

In the meantime, we encourage you to visit the Shaker Rising Video Project archive to watch our previously released videos. You may also submit questions and feedback on detracking with Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder, Executive Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, at dei@shaker.org.

To prepare for a return to onsite learning at the end of this month, all families with students who will participate in onsite learning should review these Student Health and Safety Guidelines with their students. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone six months of age and older should get an annual flu vaccine by the end of October.

Flu vaccines will not prevent COVID-19, but they will reduce the burden of flu illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths on the health care system and conserve scarce medical resources for the care of people with COVID-19. Read more about flu vaccine benefits.

FACE shares the following resources, which may be helpful to families:

Shaker Heights Schools and AVI Food Service will continue delivery of breakfast and lunch for students at 20 locations throughout the District during the remote learning period. Learn more at 2020-21 School Year Remote Learning Food Service:

The November 3 election is less than three weeks away! The Board of Elections began mailing ballots to voters who requested vote-by-mail ballots on October 6. You can track the status of your ballot online at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections:

PreK-4 Spirit Week is October 19-23! Join PTO CommUnity Buildings for Spirit Week as we approach a new phase of learning! Students are welcomed to participate by wearing these silly suggestions for their virtual classmates to see:

We are embarking on a new initiative, to look at how PTO raises and allocates funds, and if we are equitable across the district. Our work will include an analysis of how and why we raise money, ways we allocate funds, discrepancies between buildings, and new ways to partner. If you have questions or are interested in joining us in this work, please email: ptocouncilpres@gmail.com.

We are committed to building a more supportive and beloved community during these challenging times. Through our coordinated PK-8th Grade initiative, caregivers should be able to better connect with each other and their child’s teachers & school. Read more and sign up here.

Shaker Engagement with The 1619 Project

Want to learn alongside your Shaker student? NewONEShaker and The Shaker Heights Public Library are pleased to announce "Shaker Engagement with The 1619 Project," a 4-week series focused on The New York Times Magazine project and podcast which aims to reframe the country's history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative. The Shaker series will include an examination on the effects of slavery in American schools, with district leaders. For more information and to register, click here. 

The Shaker Heights Schools PTO has a new website: www.shakerpto.org! Sign up for the PTO Directory and email:

The PTO regularly updates this Shaker Heights Family Resources Roundup, which includes helpful resources for child care, learning and libraries, outdoor activities, community engagement opportunities and more.

Since the Shaker Schools Foundation was established in 1981, we have raised more than $6.5 million dollars, benefiting students in every grade level and building. Some of those funds come from grants we secure from other foundations, such as the Cleveland Foundation and the Jennings Foundation. Generous funding also comes from annual corporate sponsorships that are pledged from companies and organizations in our area. We also raise funds from special events that we host throughout the year, most notably, A Night for the Red & White, which raises approximately $100,000 each year. (Stay tuned for more information about this year’s event!)

But you may be surprised to learn that the largest source of our funding comes from individual donations in all sizes! Individual donations can be made to a particular fund that matches your area of interest, or to our annual appeal, which serves the area of greatest need. Learn more about the ways you can direct your gift to the Foundation. And remember, all donations are tax-deductible and can be made in honor or memory of a loved one or classmate. Don’t forget to check if your employer offers a matching gift program! Thank you for supporting learning for all Shaker students.

The City of Shaker Heights is working to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in our community, particularly as these issues intersect with the work of the City. The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion webpage will serve as a repository of information about this important work.