CLEVELAND — Wednesday was the final day of classes at the Newton D. Baker School of Arts on Cleveland’s west side.
The school that has helped shape the lives of generations of students is closing after a recommendation from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District due to ongoing facility challenges.
“I'm upset because this school is like one of a kind, you know, the programs, the culture, the environment, the things that they do. I'm not going to find that in a different Cleveland public school,” said Kelly Hankins, who’s had three children attend the school, including her daughter Kylah.
“Since the school is shutting down , it's kind of hard to move on because you know I've been here so long,” Kylah, who’s a seventh grader, said. “It's important to me.”
On Wednesday morning, I was at the school where several people said it was going to be an emotional day.
“There are tough roads ahead for the teachers. And I really hope the district learns from it. And I really hope that you know they buck the trend of what has been done in the past and actually make a better attempt to combine schools instead of breaking them up,” said Mark Steinbrunner, an intervention specialist at Newton D. Baker School of Arts.
He’s also a trustee with the Cleveland Teachers Union.
“They have to understand it takes years for teachers to build these relationships," Steinbrunner said. "It takes a lot of time to build relationships with the kids, the families, and even other staff members.”
He said, despite the closure, the school celebrated many successes together.
“It's amazing what we accomplished,” Steinbrunner said.
My reporting on the Newton D. Baker School of Arts began on March 21, when News 5 learned that CMSD was recommending the Pre-K through eighth-grade school be closed.
RELATED: Cleveland Metropolitan School District recommends closing Newton D. Baker School of Arts
The facility challenges the district pointed to included a leaky roof that leaders said had become progressively worse over time, which led to mold and other problems that required immediate remediation.
RELATED: CMSD gets air quality results for Newton D. Baker School of Arts following mold concerns
In early April, I reported on a rally where parents, teachers, and students called for the district and school board to rethink their recommendation to close.
Ahead of the rally, Crystal Taylor told me her daughter, who has special needs, thrived at Newton D. Baker School of Arts because of supportive classes and dedicated teachers.
RELATED: Parents, teachers rally to save Cleveland school after recommendation to close it
“Even when I moved to the east side with my mom, I still kept her here. I fought to keep her here. This is a really good school,” Taylor said at that time.
But on April 15, the school board’s vote cemented the recommendation to shut the doors, leaving several hundred students and their families with the task of finding a new school.
RELATED: The fate of Newton D. Baker Elementary School has been determined
CMSD told me most families have settled on their students going to either Clara E. Westropp Elementary School or Wilbur Wright Elementary School next school year. The district said about a third haven’t registered yet.
Teachers were given the option to transfer to new schools.
CMSD’s Building Brighter Futures plan is currently reviewing facilities and current needs, and while school closures are part of that discussion, the district said there are no changes for next school year.
The district reiterated that closing Newton D. Baker was a separate decision, and it will be determined in the future if perhaps the building will be sold or redeveloped.
