American Indian Model Schools
Under the leadership of Ben Chavis (Lumbee), a Native American professor, AIPCS students made considerable progress in academic scores from 2000 to 2007, and enrollment increased at the school. The first middle school, AIPCS, received national recognition in 2007. Some of Chavis's disciplinary methods and his treatment of students and teachers generated controversy, and he resigned as principal in 2007. But the board voted to maintain him in an influential executive role at the school and with the model school system. In 2012 Chavis ended his ties with the charter system (although his children remained as students) and returned to his home state of North Carolina.
Cleveland Metropolitan School District
The former chairman of the Board of Education, Robert M. Heard Sr., was appointed July 1, 2007 by Mayor Frank G. Jackson, and CEO's appointed included Barbara Byrd Bennett and Eugene Sanders. Current Board of Education Chair Denise Link, led the board in its current transformation efforts, including the appointment of Eric S. Gordon as chief executive officer in 2011. Under their leadership, CMSD successfully worked for passage of House Bill 525, otherwise known as "The Cleveland Plan", to remove legislative barriers to school reform in Cleveland and to implement a portfolio strategy to: Grow the number of high-performing CMSD and charter schools in Cleveland and close and replace failing schools; Focus CMSD's central office on key support and governance roles and transfer authority and resources to schools; Invest and phase in high-leverage system reforms across all schools from preschool to college and career; and Create the Cleveland Transformation Alliance to ensure accountability for all public schools in the city.