Welcome to GCSSA's monthly eNews Communication featuring what you may have missed last month, and what's coming up in the near future. We hope you can take some time to read through the information provided to stay informed of insights and updates that have an impact on your district. As always, we appreciate your involvement and support! | | |
Skills-Based Approach to Occupational Mobility and What Educators and Business Leaders Need to Know
Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Location: ESC of NEO
Program Begins: 9:30 am
Join us Tuesday, March 10, 2026, for a valuable session presented by Kyle D. Fee, policy advisor in the Community Development Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. In partnership with the Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio, this session will explore how a skills-based approach can impact workforce development and collaboration between education and business.
🖊️ To register, e-mail Teri Hedrick at thedrick@osconline.org.
| |
“Facing History & Ourselves” with Dr. Desmond Blackburn
Date: Thursday, April 9, 2026
Session One @ 8:30 am
Corporate College East 
4400 Richmond Rd., Warrensville Heights
Session Two @ 11:30 am
City Club at Playhouse Square
1317 Euclid Ave., Cleveland
GCSSA, in partnership with the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, welcomes Dr. Desmond K. Blackburn, PhD, President and CEO of Facing History & Ourselves. Since April 2023, Dr. Blackburn has focused on expanding access to high-impact instructional resources and building organizational cultures that support educators and students.
| | |
Previously, Dr. Blackburn served as Deputy Chancellor of School Leadership for New York City Public Schools and as Superintendent of Brevard Public Schools, where the district earned consecutive “A” ratings and national recognition.
Superintendents will benefit from Dr. Blackburn's unique perspective as a former district leader who has led at every level, from classroom teacher to superintendent to senior leadership in the nation’s largest school system. His session will offer practical insights on advancing equity, strengthening leadership pipelines, supporting school improvement, and creating systems that empower educators to confront bias, build inclusive school cultures, and improve student outcomes.
🖊️ To register for one or both events, e-mail Teri Hedrick at thedrick@osconline.org.
| |
Recent Events & Updates ... | |
GCSSA Kicks Off 2026 With Two Powerful Virtual Events
From school-based health centers to systemwide coherence, district leaders explored practical strategies to support students and strengthen schools in complex times.
| |
GCSSA kicked off the new year with two high-impact virtual events in January that brought superintendents and education leaders together around one shared theme: how to better support students and schools in increasingly complex times. From community-based health solutions to systemwide instructional coherence, both sessions offered practical strategies and fresh perspectives for district leaders who could not attend live.
A District Success Story: Expanding Access to Care Through Schools
On January 8, GCSSA and the ESC of Northeast Ohio hosted a virtual conversation focused on the power of school-based health centers. Former Wickliffe Superintendent Joe Spiccia and Strategic Innovation Director Julie Ramos shared the story behind Wickliffe’s Family Resource Center, which was built after a deep review of student data and extensive community input revealed gaps in academic support, attendance, mental health, and basic healthcare access. “We were never failing students, but our systems were failing some families,” Spiccia said, explaining what sparked the district’s push to create a centralized hub of services. Since opening in 2019, the center has grown into a vital community resource, offering primary care, mental health counseling, dental and vision services, food and clothing assistance, and workforce support. Presenters emphasized that strong partnerships, targeted outreach, and blended funding streams have allowed the model to expand without drawing from the district’s general fund.
| |
How Coherence Can Drive Stronger Learning Outcomes
Later in the month, on January 22, GCSSA partnered with Cleveland State University’s Center for Educational Leadership to host “Transforming Learning: Building Coherence in Complex Times,” featuring internationally recognized expert Joanne Quinn. With dozens of leaders logging in, Quinn opened the session by inviting participants to share the challenges weighing on them, which ranged from funding pressures and enrollment shifts to social media, polarization, and the rapid rise of AI. She described fragmentation and overload as major barriers to progress and introduced coherence as a way to connect priorities, reduce initiative fatigue, and build shared understanding across systems. Through interactive breakout sessions and real-world examples, Quinn helped attendees explore how collective action and focused direction can lead to deeper learning and stronger outcomes.
Click to download presentation slides.

Together, the two January events highlighted GCSSA’s commitment to addressing both the academic and non-academic factors that shape student success. Whether through expanding access to health and family services or rethinking how learning systems stay aligned and focused, the message was clear: meaningful change happens when districts work collaboratively, stay rooted in data and community needs, and focus on strategies that remove barriers and create conditions for students and educators to thrive.
| | | | |
