August 16, 2023 — Cleveland — More than 100 leaders from across government, education, social services, and community organizations met yesterday for the city’s first-ever daylong training session focused on increasing school safety and scholar well-being for the 2023-2024 academic year. The session — convened by Mayor Justin M. Bibb in partnership with Cleveland Metropolitan School District and MyCom — served as an important step towards ensuring a healthy and secure learning environment for all students.
“Over the last 18 months as mayor, I have seen so many examples of how our ecosystem in Cleveland is resource rich but connection poor,” said Mayor Bibb. “A lot of our systems are fragmented in ways that make it hard for people to connect to the supports that they need. Today’s session was intentional about ways to alleviate that as we work together to be more collaborative and coordinated.”
Held at Tri-C Corporate College, the day included a keynote panel focused on scholar success moderated by Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) Chief of Schools Chief Lisa Farmer Cole and featuring CMSD Chief of Safety & Security, Lamont Dodson; CEO MyCom, Kasey Morgan; City of Cleveland Director of Community Relations Board, Angela Shute-Woodson; CMSD Chief of Equity and Culture, Dr. Trent Mosley and Dr. India Birdsong-Terry, CEO of the Regional Transit Authority.
Mayor Bibb and CMSD Superintendent and CEO Dr. Warren Morgan also spoke to the group about their vision for supporting the city’s youth, both in and out of school, with a focus on safety and violence prevention.
Five workshops, designed to cross-train professionals across the ecosystem, were also offered, including:
- City of Cleveland Youth and Family Success Portfolio
- Cleveland Metropolitan School District Safety & Security: Things You Need to Know
- MyCom: Violence Interruption - Expectations & Engagement
- Cleveland Metropolitan School District Crisis Response & Humanware: Navigating School Crisis Response and
- Cleveland Metropolitan School District Systems Overview & Coordination: How to Engage with Cleveland Metropolitan School District
“We extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who dedicated their time to engage in yesterday's Cross Systems Crisis Training,” said Cleveland’s Chief of Youth and Family Success Sonya Pryor-Jones. “It is so important that we are able to work as a coordinated team, especially in a crisis situation, and it’s inspiring to see the commitment all the partners have to create a safer environment for our youth.”
