Parents, teachers rally to save Cleveland school after recommendation to close it

    CLEVELAND (WEWS) -- On Wednesday afternoon, parents, students and teachers rallied outside Newton D. Baker School of Arts.

They hope the Cleveland Metropolitan School District reconsiders a recommendation to close the school at the end of the year.

Late last month, News 5 reported that on April 15, the district’s board of education was expected to vote on the matter due to “ongoing facility challenges,” with the district stating that a leaky roof has gotten progressively worse.

Crystal Taylor said the school, located on the city’s west side, is a home away from home. Her daughter is a fourth grader and has been attending Newton D. Baker School of Arts since pre-K.

“Even when I moved to the east side with my mom, I still kept her here,” Taylor said. “I fought to keep her here. This is a really good school."

Taylor said her daughter has autism, ADHD, and selective mutism and has excelled in the art-infused curriculum due to dedicated teachers.

The school earned a three-star rating out of five in the most recent state report card.

"I don’t want her to have to go to a new school and start all over again,” Taylor said.

But that’s the reality for more than 300 students and their families, and there’s concern about breaking up stability and impacting learning.

"I just feel that there has to be a more creative way of handling a situation like a building that needs some structural repairs,” said Jan Kappenhagen, who has two great-grandchildren who’ve attended the school for years.

Ladonna Ruffin has three students ranging from kindergarten to third grade at the school.

“I go to great lengths for my kids’ education,” Ruffin said. “Considering the fact that this was considered to be the best of CMSD, it was a good fit for us.”

She said her children have enjoyed coursework in the areas of dance, art, drama, music, and more, which are not offered everywhere. Her kids play instruments and chess.

Ladonna Ruffin said her children have flourished at Newton D. Baker School of Arts.

She said the teachers always go above and beyond.

“These students are being challenged, and they have expectations above the standard means of what’s going on today,” Ruffin said.

At this time, she doesn’t know where she would send her children to school should the Newton D. Baker School of Arts close. Nor does she want them separated from the environment they’ve come to know and thrive in.

“My greatest fear is that my kids are going to decline academically.”

CMSD’s recommendation to close comes as the district is already looking into budget cuts to offset a projected $96 million deficit by the end of the 2027-2028 school year.

"The teachers are feeling blindsided,” said Natosha Czuba, an intervention specialist at Newton D. Baker School of Arts. She’s also the chapter chairperson for the union at the school.

I asked her what teachers are asking of the district.

"They can fix the roof, but that's the problem, and that's what we were promised, or they can merge the school with another school,” Czuba said.

But she said so far, the district hasn’t seemed to take note.

"The district is saying there's not enough space in other schools, but we have already done our research,” Czuba said. “We know there's space at various schools in the district."

The teachers have collected more than 800 petition letters and signatures demanding that if the school closes, its teachers and students be kept together and moved to another school site.

I reached out to the district, requesting an interview with the superintendent, but didn’t hear back.

Christopher Malinoski is a science teacher at Newton D. Baker School of Arts. He’s been with the district for decades.

“The roof's been leaking for the nine years I've been there,” Malinoski said. “It's just gotten progressively worse due to general disrepair and lack of what's necessary maintenance.”

He said the recommendation to close has left him feeling “gutted, horrible… let down by the district, by a corporate district that's more concerned about the ledger than children.”

Krystal Swiney stands ready to keep advocating for her son, who’s a third grader. She said he has special needs and accomplished something big recently.

“When I got my son when he was one (years old), I was told he was never going to walk… he was never going to talk,” Swiney said. “For the first time ever, he read a book to me this year, and I think with that, it is nothing short of kudos to the teachers and the paraprofessional and those that we’ve built this rapport with, because it takes a village to raise any child.”

She said Newton D. Baker is a community that’s proven itself, and at the very least, teachers, staff, and students should move forward together to a new site.

I asked Czuba if she’s hopeful that leaders will hear their message.

“I’m hopeful that they will hear that we’re serious,” Czuba said. “But I’m not holding my breath because they haven’t listened to us thus far.”