East Cleveland City School District has been released from state oversight, officials announced on Dec. 24, after more than seven years of work to improve test scores and catch up struggling students.
The news comes as the the district earned three out of five stars on its annual state report card in 2025, up from two stars the year prior. Youngstown City School District is now the sole district in the state still under the auspices of a state Academic Distress Commission, after Lorain schools were released in 2023.
Superintendent and CEO Henry Pettiegrew II celebrated the news during an interview following the announcement. He said the district's improvement on a number of measures was "a community effort" born out of listening to residents' feedback, regular meetings with leaders and teachers on best practices and high expectations for both students and staff.
"We also focused on, quote unquote, these 'sprints' that we had and supports for students," he explained. "So these are the targeted interventions that we jumped on the spot with every single student, to make sure that everyone was getting what they needed when they needed it."
Since Pettiegrew was appointed by the Academic Distress Commission seven years ago, the district has improved on many measures, including test scores and college and career readiness.
"More kids were earning industry credentials in areas like manufacturing, health care, cybersecurity, early childhood, cosmetology, culinary. And the list goes on and on," Pettiegrew explained. "We've even now introduced a film academy this year to just continue to add on to the opportunities for students to earn college and career readiness."
The district hit 16 of 20 academic benchmarks the state had set over the last three years, according to a letter from Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Director Stephen Dackin sent in late December to the school district.
However, the district, like many other urban schools across the country that serve high numbers of low-income students, still faces a challenging road ahead of it. Its graduation rate hovers at 81%, and it still received one out of five stars on early literacy measures.
"East Cleveland’s progress shows what is possible when a community unites around high expectations for every student," Dackin wrote. "We look forward to continued collaboration built on this incredible momentum as the district sustains these gains and continues to address remaining challenges in graduation rates, chronic absenteeism, and state assessments."
Pettiegrew said the district has a "flight path" forward to keep improving. He said that will mean more paths to careers for students and supporting breakthroughs teachers are making with students.
"The teachers are the leaders and everyone else, the administrators, the superintendent, everyone else supports the teachers as they're the closest ones to the student," he said.
East Cleveland is a rare case among national state takeovers, according to a recent report from Cleveland State University's Center for Urban Education. That's because it lasted longer than many others, and because the district kept its top leader for the entire time.
"East Cleveland’s receivership trajectory is unusual in its length, its leadership stability, and its evidence-based exit, placing it among a small subset of districts that demonstrated sustained improvement under state oversight," the report notes.
The district is planning to celebrate with students and staff in early January, followed by a ceremony with state officials later in the month.
