As Cleveland prepares to say goodbye to 18 school buildings that close at the end of this month, we wanted to find a way to acknowledge that the places hold more than classrooms. They hold personal memories for generations of Clevelanders — students, educators and neighbors.
We’ve spent time documenting some basic facts on when buildings opened, who they were named for and how they evolved over time. And, with the help of district historian John Basalla, we’ve assembled short stories on some of the schools, noting everything from Jesse Owens’ early days at Bolton School to the long history of Collinwood High to small neighborhood schools like Alcott that families fought to protect. (Read them all below.)
Those details only tell part of the story…