CMSD, CSU to create joint campus for 11th and 12th graders at MC2STEM High School

CLEVELAND – January 8, 2013 – KeyBank Foundation has awarded a $1.25 million grant that will enable the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and Cleveland State University to partner in creating a STEM school for 11th and 12th grade students on the CSU campus, officials from KeyBank Foundation, the school district and the university announced today. The grant agreement is expected to be approved by the boards of CMSD and CSU at their next meetings on January 8 and January 16, respectively.

The grant will fund renovations at Cleveland State's Rhodes Tower to create facilities for students from the Cleveland schools' MC2STEM high school. The high school, which offers a special curriculum emphasizing science, technology, engineering and math, has demonstrated significant success in preparing students for higher education. Its goal is to immerse high school students in a college environment, to better prepare them for enrollment at a four-year university. MC2STEM recently graduated its first class; 100 percent of those graduates enrolled at a university.

Currently, 9th grade students at MC2 attend classes at the Great Lakes Science Center, while 10th graders are taught at GE Lighting's Nela Park campus in East Cleveland.

"We are proud to invest in a partnership that we believe holds great value for Northeast Ohio as it prepares students for success in education and for advanced careers in a modern workforce," said KeyBank Chairman and CEO Beth Mooney.

The upgraded facilities at Cleveland State will include renovated classrooms, laboratories and a fabrication lab, or FabLab, where computers and production equipment are linked through sophisticated technology that allows students to create objects based on their own designs.

In addition to renovations, KeyBank Foundation's grant will provide scholarship support for students intending to take early college courses and enroll at CSU. ncludes bu It also idget support for CSU to provide professional development opportunities for STEM teachers, as well as graduate student support for STEM students.

"The long-standing partnerships maintained wit

h KeyBank and CSU have been instrumental in our ability to expand our high-performing school choices in Cleveland," said Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Eric Gordon. "Support from our business and higher education communities provides additional momentum for the implementation of the Cleveland Plan that complements levy support from citizens to propel us toward our transformation goals.

This gift is the latest in a series from KeyBank Foundation in support of STEM education at CMSD. In 2011, the Foundation awarded $700,000 to CMSD to fund STEM programming and support services at six elementary and middle schools in the District. In total, KeyBank Foundation has awarded CMSD more than $2.5 million to support STEM education initiatives. Key also announced today that they will be donating 1,900 computers to CMSD for use in classrooms and computer labs across the district.

"We are thankful to KeyBank Foundation for continued support of innovative educational programs and pathways to college for Cleveland students. The creation of the MC2 partnership would not be possible without this gift and the commitment of our faculty to the mission of preparing a new generation of students to succeed in college," said Cleveland State University President Ronald Berkman.

"In addition to offering a curriculum that prepares students for higher education, we are introducing them to a college environment, which contributes to a smoother transition after they graduate from high school," said Margot Copeland, executive vice president and chair of KeyBank Foundation. "And, because the STEM disciplines are so rigorous, they prepare students not only to enroll in a four-year college but also to graduate.

Contacts:

KeyBank:
Lynne Woodman
(216) 577-1374,
lynne_woodman@keybank.com

Cleveland Metropolitan School District:
Roseann Canfora, (216) 858-6510
roseann.canfora@cmsdnet.net

Cleveland State University:
Joe Mosbrook, (216) 523-7279
j.mosbrook@csuohio.edu