New group: Community crucial for Youngstown school plan to succeed

By Denise Dick | October 16, 2015 at 12:08a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

A new coalition aims to ensure that the plan to reform the city schools is community driven.

Youngstown Educational Solutions members announced its formation Thursday at a news conference.

“Education is the foundation of the future of our community and our development,” said Tracey Winbush, a former city school board member and a YES member.

She supports the Youngs-town Plan, which will see a chief executive officer appointed to manage and operate the schools.

“I’ve seen the politics that’s gone on between superintendents and boards for years,” she said.

The CEO will develop a plan for improving the schools using input from people in the community. That plan must be approved by a new academic distress commission, also appointed through the new law.

The city schools spend about $13,000 per pupil, but test scores remain low, Winbush said.

The Youngstown Plan needs help from the community to be successful, and it’s up to people in the community to make positive change, she said.

That means parents, teachers and community members, she said.

“This is our community,” Winbush said. “It’s our Youngstown. We need to take back our city. This is a great place with great people.”

Tisha Brady, a Columbus resident who graduated from East High School and Youngstown State University, said education is essential to lift people out of poverty.

Both women acknowledged a need for more parental involvement in the schools, but Brady said parents need to feel that they’re welcome in the school and that their input is valued.

Getting the community involved in school improvement will take a grass-roots effort, Brady said.

“That may mean going neighborhood to neighborhood,” she said.

One group can’t be blamed for the condition of the city schools, Brady said.

“Everybody played a part in the downfall and the uneducation of our children,” she said.

StudentsFirst Ohio, a nonprofit education organization, also is involved in the effort.

“StudentsFirst Ohio is working to educate and empower parents and other individuals to advocate for policies that will ensure that all children, regardless of race, income or ZIP code, have an opportunity to receive a high-quality education,” said Matt Rado, the organization’s state outreach director. “We look forward to engaging residents about how they can have a voice in determining the future of the Youngstown schools.”

Winbush said anyone can join the effort. Those interested may email YES at YESYoungstown@gmail.com and follow organizers on Twitter at @YESYoungstown.

“We’ve invited everyone to join, but if they don’t, it’s not our fault,” she said.