Category: OH

Things are heating up in The Land this summer.

Downtown Cleveland Inc. has a lineup of free events to keep you busy the next few months.

Public Square will have kickboxing, a concert series, splash pad fun, yoga and group sketching.

The events will repeat, and most of them run through August.

At Voinovich Park, you can enjoy a live orchestra, sand volleyball, a running club and Fourth of July fireworks.

And already happening every weekend from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., food trucks and live music at five different places around Downtown.

Public Square Downtowns Front Yard Dont miss all the action at downtowns favorite gathering space!

• Kickboxing on the Square (Mondays, June through August): Whether youre just learning to strike or have been bobbing and weaving for a while, youll love these multi-level classes for all ages!Check-in is at 6 p.m. and classes are from 6:15 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Public Square Concert Series, presented by Circle K (Wednesdays, July 9 through Sept. 24): Live music, great vibes and skyline views from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Grab a drink and dance the night away to local artists like Da Land, Paul Kovacs, Jul Big Green, and more.
• Public Square Splash Pad Fun (June through August): Beat the summer heat every day! On Fridays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. enjoy rotating activities from Cleveland Public Library, Cleveland Museum of Art and GCRTA.
• Namaste on the Square (Saturdays, June 14 through Sept. 27): Get Zen in the city with 45-minute traditional yoga classes for all levels and ages. Check-in is at 10 a.m. and classes are from 10:15 a.m. to 11 a.m.
• Sketch the Square: (First and Third Sundays, June through August) Tap into your creative side and try your hand at sketching and water coloring, whether youre a seasoned pro or a newbie! Supplies and instructions provided from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Voinovich Park Where the City Meets the Lake Popular programs return after a nearly $5 million dollar refresh to North Coast Harbor!

• Symphony at Sunset (Sundays, June through August): Pack a picnic and enjoy live mixed chamber orchestral performances by OPUS 216 from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
• North Coast Namaste (Tuesdays, June through August): Join Cleveland area yoga studios from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at North Coast Harbor. This series features 45-minute traditional classes for all levels and ages.
• Lakefront Leagues Volleyball (Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, June through September): Now, three nights a week, your favorite sand volleyball league just got even better! Sign up by July 16 for more chances to play, more teams to meet and more epic sunsets on the sand. 
• Harbor Hustlers Running Club (Thursdays, June through August): Join a friendly, coach-led run or circuit workout from 6:15 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. All paces and ages welcome! Runs begin and end in Voinovich Park, with routes varying week to week, so that you can explore all downtown has to offer while burning calories. 
• Light Up the Lake, presented by Circle K (July 4th): Downtown’s 4th of July fireworks and watch party return! Join Downtown Cleveland, Inc. for face painting, balloon twisting, bubbles, take and make crafts, food trucks, CLE Cotton Candy and DJ Smillz from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The annual Independence Day fireworks spectacular will begin at dusk after the sun sets and last for 20 minutes. 

Downtown Clevelands Food Trucks Series Conquer your Cravings  Be sure to also catch food trucks and local musicians every weekday now through September 30, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at five iconic locations across downtown, with 50-plus rotating food trucks.

• Memorial Monday: sponsored by The Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court at Fort Huntington Park (W. 3rd & Lakeside) 
• Food Truck Tuesday: sponsored by Benesch at Public Square (Rockwell & Ontario)
• Walnut Wednesday: Ralph J. Perk Plaza (E. 12th & Chester Ave.) 
• Truck Stop Thursday: One Cleveland Center Plaza (E. 9th St. & St. Clair Ave.) 
• Free Stamp Friday: Willard Park (E. 9th St. & Lakeside Ave.) 

CLICK HERE for more information from Downtown Cleveland Inc.

For two weeks, Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School students have been protesting the school district considering moving their year-round school year to a traditional calendar.

Local high school students fighting for year-round schooling to continue

It’s not just Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School that would be impacted, either. It, alongside 20 other Cleveland schools, would transition to an August through May school year.

CMSD is also proposing that all schools operate on the same number of instructional minutes as opposed to some schools receiving an extra 30 minutes/day.

The district said right now there are five different calendars for the 99 CMSD schools, and standardizing the calendar would save the district millions of dollars.

CMSD has identified a goal of saving $150 million over the next three years to maintain a positive cash balance forecast.

With the transition to traditional schooling, CMSD projects it will save at least $9 million per year, which equates to $27 million over three years.

This may feel like a large change to the students, but the real change is frankly financial, CMSD District Communications Officer Jon Benedict previously told News 5.

Many students, parents and educators took to the mic at the CMSD Board meeting Tuesday night to express their disinterest in moving to a unified schedule.

Xavier Avery, a junior at Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School, was in attendance. He’s been spearheading the previous protests against the proposal.

“I feel like the school board fails to see how crucial it is of these four weeks that they would be cutting out due to the fact that we are in Cleveland with the terrible weather that we have. There are many students in the aviation route who were planning to do their solo flights all the way from August to November, but they had to cancel all of their schedules from October and November because of how bad the weather was. For me working on the maritime side it’s the same thing,” Avery explained.

While Avery will soon be an alumnus of Davis, he said he is continuing to fight for a year-round schedule because his younger brother wants to attend the school.

“I have a little brother who wants to come to Davis and his goal is to make it into NASA and there’s a whole bunch of other students who plan to come to Davis due to other programs in the year on schedule, so I don’t want them to miss the same opportunities that I was able to have,” he told me.

Regardless of the several public speakers at this week’s meeting, the Board unanimously approved the unified schedule.

“Were looking holistically at the ways we need to do this without making a reduction of force in our teaching staff,” CMSD CEO Dr. Warren Morgan II said on Tuesday.

“I feel like we did as much as we could do in the short time that we knew. We only had about two weeks and we were able to get a lot accomplished. We had 900 signatures for our petition. I spoke at City Hall. I spoke today here at the board meeting, so I feel like we did as much as we can do and we just hope that the future of Davis continues to grow,” Avery stated.

Avery said he feels the decision was ultimately a money-driven one rather than one that’s best for students and the career paths they’re pursuing.

“I feel like at this point they’re mainly just focusing on the financial burden instead of the future and success of the students at CMSD or specifically at Davis,” Avery added.

While Owen Pennington, a junior at the Cleveland School of Science and Medicine, understands the decision the Board made on Tuesday, he told me he is disheartened by it.

The Cleveland School of Science and Medicine offers an extra half hour of instructional time each day, but will not after this school year finishes.

“Some of our board members grouped [the additional 30 minutes/day] up with other stuff, like dismissal and whatnot, but for our school in particular, these 30 minutes are very crucial to the flow of education within our school,” Pennington said. “I currently, as a junior, like many of my peers, take four AP classes. These advanced placement tests, they go off a different curriculum than normal, so that requires us to cram in a lot of information to take an achievement tests.”

He said he will continue fighting for quality education not only in his community, but across the nation.

“I’m not here to polarize myself against them (CMSD Board members), nor am I here to polarize the student body against them,” Pennington said. “I am here specifically to advocate for the students. While we have disagreements, I hope that our continued advocacy will inspire you all to hear us out and give us opportunities to really make change in the district.”

Avery’s message to the CMSD School Board members is also simple: “Just keep in mind the programs that we have and try their best to keep them going.”

The elimination of extended instructional time per day, as well as having every Cleveland school on a traditional school year schedule, will begin this fall.