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! | |
The Shaker eNews is published weekly on Sundays. | |
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Visit our District Calendar online for a complete list of upcoming activities, events and athletic competitions.
Please note the following upcoming important dates:
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A Community Conversation on School Safety, Security & Belonging | Monday, February 26
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Board of Education Work Session | Tuesday, February 27, 5 p.m.
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District Kindergarten Information Night | Thursday, February 29, 7 p.m.
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A Night for the Red & White | Saturday, March 2, 7 p.m.
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Middle School Musical | Thursday and Saturday, February 29 and March 2
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Rising Grade 7 Information Night | Tuesday, March 5, 6 p.m.
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Webinar: Detracking Data and Research | Wednesday, March 6, 7 p.m.
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Rising Grade 6 Information Night | Thursday, March 7, 6 p.m.
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Click on the appropriate link below for school-level and building PTO news:
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Use these Quick Links to access the following District information:
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Join a Facilities Webinar on Wednesday, February 28
Tune in to a District facilities webinar on Wednesday, February 28, at noon. Hear updates on the timeline, decisions to date, ask questions and receive information on the working process for this exciting and transformative project for the Shaker Heights Schools!!
Watch the webinar here.
This webinar will be recorded and shared via a facilities update email with all families and staff.
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Community Conversation on School Safety, Security & Belonging
The Shaker Heights City School District, in partnership with the Shaker Heights PTO, invites all families, staff and community members to ‘A Community Conversation on School Safety, Security & Belonging’ on Monday, February 26.
The event, which will take place from 6-7:30 p.m. in the Shaker Heights High School Upper Cafeteria, will include an overview of safety information and a review of the student supports available. Participants will also have opportunities for engagement during the event.
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District to Host Research Panel Webinar
The District has partnered with NWEA and Rowan University, to conduct data analysis and research for the District’s detracking efforts. Representatives from both institutions will join the District for a webinar on Wednesday, March 6, from 7-8 p.m. Participants will include:
- Dr. Scott Peters of NWEA (the nonprofit organization that administers the Measures of Academic Progress - MAP), who will be providing a comparative analysis to better understand Shaker student performance in relation to other similar districts and children.
- Dr. Margaret Thornton of Rowan University, who will be leading a mixed-method research design consisting of interviews and focus groups to understand the lived experiences of teachers, students, administrators and families. These qualitative approaches will put assessment data into context by uplifting the voices of participants to guide further development.
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://shaker.zoom.us/j/96580578014
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Board of Education Approves Academic Calendars for 2025-2026 & 2026-2027
The Shaker Heights Board of Education voted to approve academic calendars for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years at its February 13 meeting.
The adopted calendars are listed below for family and staff reference. They may also be found at shaker.org/CalendarsBellSchedules along with calendars for the the current school year and the 2024-2025 school year.
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Kindergarten Information Night on February 29
All incoming kindergarten families are invited to attend a virtual Kindergarten Information Night on Thursday, February 29 at 7 p.m. This session will feature all five K-4 elementary school principals and other key school leaders as they provide valuable information regarding the Kindergarten program, the registration process, events and activities that lead up to the start of school and more!
For the link to join the webinar, head to shaker.org/kindergarten! The session will also be recorded and posted on the webpage for any families that are unable to attend.
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A Night for the Red & White, Comes Home to Shaker!
Last Chance! We have room for a few more people to join our 400 Shaker friends at A Night for the Red & White on March 2, 2024 at the Shaker Heights High School at 7 p.m. Buy your tickets today!
Ticket sales close on Friday, February 23. Advance registration is required.
Join us for dinner, drinks and dancing as we raise funds to support Every Student, Every Grade, and Every School.
Can’t attend? There are other ways to support:
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Purchase a raffle ticket: Win a trip to Paris or London or one of two Bourbon Barrel packages. The raffle closes at 10 pm on March 2. Anyone can purchase a raffle ticket. Need not be present to win.
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Bid on an item in our silent auction. Our online auction opens next week. Anyone can preview and bid on items.
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Make a donation to support our students and staff.
Many of our teachers, students and staff personally invite you to join us in this FUN Video message.
For more information, visit our website at shakerschoolsfoundation.org/redandwhite/
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Shaker Heights Families Enjoy a Sweetheart Dance
Shaker Heights families with students in Grades K-4 came together at Shaker Heights Middle School to dance the night away with friends, classmates and neighbors at the annual Sweetheart Dance. Families arrived dressed in their best and adults and kids alike could be found throughout the night on the dancefloor showing off their best moves!
The Sweetheart Dance brings together families from all five K-4 elementary schools in a great community building event!
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From the Margins to the Center
The History and Contributions of African American Physicians in America, Vol. 3
Trina Jones
Districtwide Family and Community Engagement Liaison
Racism in medicine is a historical continuum that has affected people of color’s health and the way they have received healthcare for centuries. As a result of racism, African Americans have the most unfavorable healthcare and the worst healthcare status and outcomes than any other racial or ethnic group in the United States. In this volume of "From the Margins to the Center," we celebrate African American pioneers in the medical field.
During the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, many distinguished doctors, scientists and philosophers created and immortalized racial inferiority traditions and stereotypes in schools and their medical practices. Biased educational practices led to unethical and deadly experimentation, medical and scientific abuse, and unethical surgical procedures of African American people for teaching and training purposes.
In 1847, The American Medical Association (AMA) was founded in Philadelphia as a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. The AMA played a pivotal role in creating inequities and harmful practices in healthcare and spent years discriminating against and excluding Black physicians from joining medical societies. The AMA acknowledges this history in its account of Reckoning with Medicine's History of Racism.
Despite the many barriers placed against Black physicians, they still overcame and contributed to groundbreaking medical advancements.
Born enslaved, James McCune, MD became the first Black man to receive a medical degree in 1837 and the first Black physician to publish in a U.S. medical journal. In 1981, Alexa Irene Candy, MD became the first Black neurosurgeon in the United States and eventually rose to the ranks of chief of neurosurgery at Children's Hospital of Michigan. Charles Drew, MD, known as the “Father of Blood Banking,” developed blood preservation techniques. Daniel Hale Williams, MD, a graduate of Jackson State University, was the first surgeon to perform a successful open heart surgery on a human without the use of X-rays, antibiotics or modern surgery tools in 1893.
Despite the contributions of Black physicians, it wasn't until 2008 that the AMA made a formal apology for committing discrimination in the past and expressed that their apology is the first step towards healing.
Additional Resources for African American History
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PTO Council Meeting
Mark your calendar for the next PTO Council meeting on Tuesday, February 27, 2024! Links to meeting notes and the approved budget from the previous meeting on November 12, 2023 can be found below.
Approved Budget 2023-24
Notes
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Staying Connected
We want you to stay connected. In order to receive PTO emails and access to the directory, faculty/staff and families are asked to create an account on Membership Toolkit. There are no fees to join the PTO. A Membership Toolkit account will give you access to the district family directory. Once you are registered, you will have the opportunity to decide what, if any, of your family information is included in the directory. Visit www.shakerpto.org to register.
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Community Advisory Group Applications Accepted through February 29
Shaker Heights is establishing a Community Advisory Group (CAG) to provide feedback to City leaders on topics that could include:
- The implementation of recommendations from the community-wide Listening Project to start later this year;
- Policing policies and practices;
- The operation and expansion of the Mental Health Response Program; and
- Community engagement efforts by both the police and mental health professionals.
The deadline for applications to serve on the CAG is February 29, 2024. Learn more here.
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Extended Friday Night DJ Skate March 1
The month of March kicks off with an extended Friday Night DJ Skate from 7:45-9:45 pm, for an extra 45 minutes of fun, at Thornton Park Ice Arena. Public skating admission fees apply.
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