Last month, Attorney General Mike DeWine toured Citizens Academy, one of the eleven charter schools in the Breakthrough Schools network. Breakthrough, whose schools rank among the top in the state, serves 3,300 Cleveland students in grades K–8. Founded in 1999, Citizens Academy is among Ohio’s oldest charter schools and places special focus on both academic excellence and responsible citizenship. We at Fordham spotlighted Citizens as one of Ohio’s high-performing, high-poverty schools in our 2010 report Needles in a Haystack. The charter school has also been named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education and has received honors from the Ohio Department of Education. Today, the school educates approximately 440 pupils, almost all of whom come from low-income families.
Attorney General Mike DeWine poses for a photo with Citizens Academy students
Attorney General DeWine’s visit to Citizens Academy is especially fitting, as he has championed initiatives to rebuild Ohio’s urban neighborhoods by promoting economic development and neighborhood and school safety. High-performing charter schools like Citizens and its Breakthrough counterparts play a vital role in creating safe, sustainable neighborhoods where families want to live, work, and play. In fact, Citizens Academy is located in a previously vacant school building that was in serious disrepair prior to Breakthrough’s purchase of the site. This threatened the safety and wellbeing of the surrounding neighborhood’s residents, especially children. But the once-blighted property is now home to one of the finest charter schools in Ohio.
DeWine has publicly praised Breakthrough’s work, most recently at a Cleveland City Club event last December. Throughout DeWine’s visit, Citizens Academy staff and students showcased the school’s dual focus on academic excellence and citizenship development. John Zitzner, the president of Friends of Breakthrough and one of the network’s original founders, said, “We appreciate Attorney General DeWine’s commitment to protecting Ohio families and kids and his support for high-quality education as a means to both personal success and vibrant, sustainable communities.”
We agree. Kudos to Attorney General DeWine for recognizing this deserving public charter school. Kudos also to Citizens Academy for their contribution to revitalizing Cleveland’s communities—and most of all, for making a big difference in the lives of thousands of young people.
Attorney General Mike DeWine visits Citizens Academy classrooms with Lyman Millard and other Breakthrough staff
