To:         To Potential CMSD Arts Education Strategic Planning STEERING COMMITTEE members

From:         Dawn M. Ellis, Consultant to the Cleveland Municipal School District
        Dawn M. Ellis & Associates

Re:         Invitation to Serve on the Cleveland Municipal School District
Arts Education Strategic Planning STEERING COMMITTEE

The time has arrived for a visionary strategic plan for arts education for the Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD).  At the invitation of The Department of Arts Education of the Cleveland Municipal School District, we of Dawn M. Ellis & Associates are beginning to conduct a brief research-based, youth-centered strategic planning process between now and the end of June 2007.  What emerges from our process in this short time can then inform the developing education plan for the whole district.  Context and timeliness lead to the potential for implementation.

We invite you to be part of a 12 to 14-member STEERING COMMITTEE of individuals who bring multiple perspectives, depth of knowledge of Cleveland and arts education, and a willingness to collaborate to the conception of this plan.  A larger Stakeholder Insights / Big Vision process has begun to solicit vision, priorities, and ideas from a wide array of groups invested in the futures of Cleveland’s young people and the role arts education can play within it.

To participate in the committee, we ask that you volunteer your time and experience, be willing to think big and beyond yourselves, read in preparation, and be prepared to plan.  We also ask that you commit to at least four ofsix working meetings in 2007 on the following dates and tentative times:

These dates will provide the input we need, using face-to-face time for the most collaborative, higher order thinking work, while harnessing technologies to connect remotely during other interactions and plan development.  To accommodate varying work and family schedules, committee members can join conference calls a little late or leave a little early, provided they are prepared and listen carefully to contribute to the ongoing discussion.  After May, we will not need you to participate in an in-person remote conference call, but rather communicating instead by either e-mail or telephone on pertinent matters.  The plan will be completed by the end of June.

To respond to our invitation and register your commitment to being part of the strategic plan, please contact by e-mail to ArtsLearning [at] comcast [dot] netwith your full name, school, grade band (K-8, High School), and your contact information.  We hope you join us in making the most of this tremendous opportunity, as part of a community of people developing a vision for the arts’ role in the successful lives of Cleveland’s young people.  You make a difference.

2007 Arts Education Strategic Planning for
The Cleveland Municipal School District
Dawn M. Ellis & Associates