School Selected for Excellence and Innovation in Secondary Schools
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Digital Learning Day, the Alliance for Excellent Education will recognize Cleveland, Ohio’s MC2 STEM High School as one of three recipients of the Excellence and Innovation in Secondary Schools award and feature the school during the organization’s Digital Learning Day Live! event at 2 p.m. (ET). Created in 2012 by the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington, DC non-profit education reform organization, Digital Learning Day (#DLDay) is a nationwide celebration that highlights great teaching and demonstrates how technology can improve student outcomes.
“From small, rural towns to large, urban cities, Digital Learning Day spotlights educators, policymakers, and others leading the charge to close the digital divide in their communities,” said Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia. “After a national search for schools and school districts that are making a difference for students in socioeconomically disadvantaged and traditionally underserved communities, MC2 STEM High School rose to the top not just for its effective use of technology, but also because of its success preparing students of color for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.”
“We are so honored that the Alliance for Excellent Education recognizes the hard work that MC2 STEM’s teachers, students, community members, and partners have put into making MC2 STEM a successful, innovative environment for our students,” said Feowyn A. MacKinnon, head of school at MC2 STEM.
Consistently graduating more than 90 percent of its largely African American student population, MC2 STEM was created through a public-private partnership, which includes Cleveland State University and General Electric, to provide real-world learning experiences for students in STEM fields.
MC2 STEM places a large emphasis on internships and job shadowing, and students are assigned job-site mentors at each campus, allowing them to connect with a STEM professional in an impactful way. Much of the work completed at MC2 STEM is project-based, pushing students to work collaboratively and across subjects.
Today at 2 p.m. (ET) during Digital Learning Day Live!, MacKinnon, Debbie Jackson, associate professor at Cleveland State University, and Amanda Smith, community programs coordinator at Nela Park, General Electric Lighting and Current, will join moderator Rafranz Davis, executive director of professional and digital learning at Lufkin Independent School District (TX), for a live digital discussion on Diversifying Students in STEM.
MC2 STEM was selected to receive the Excellence and Innovation award after a rigorous review process that included more than five dozen schools and districts. The two other award recipients were Warsaw Community Schools in Indiana and the Santa Ana Unified School District in California.
Learn more about Digital Learning Day at www.DigitalLearningDay.org.
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The Alliance for Excellent Education is a Washington, DC–based national policy and advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all students, particularly those traditionally underserved, graduate from high school ready for success in college, work, and citizenship. www.all4ed.org.
