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CMSD monitoring report: serious incidents flat at mid‑year; district cites data cleanup, Wave program and partnerships
Summary
CMSD’s CEO presented a guardrail monitoring report showing mixed safety trends: long‑term declines in serious incidents but a flat mid‑year snapshot (about 1.2% as of Nov. 30, 2025), an increase in reported assaults on teachers, and use of interventions (Wave program, Panorama survey) and city partnerships to address issues.
At the board’s monthly monitoring session, Chief Executive Officer Doctor Morgan presented the district’s new dashboard and methodology for tracking 'serious safety incidents' and outlined progress, concerns and next steps.
Morgan described the ARMS incident-reporting system and a dashboard launched last year to standardize and examine incidents across schools. She said the district distinguishes 'serious safety incidents' (threats, incidents of harm or violence, major fights, significant property damage) from other reports and is working to ensure consistent categorization and data cleanup across reporters (principals, teachers, safety officers).
On trend data, Morgan said long‑term measures show decreases in serious incidents year over year, but the November 30, 2025 snapshot was flat at about 1.2% compared with a historical baseline and left the district 'slightly off track' from targeted declines. Morgan also cited a baseline of 3% last year moving to 2.7 in another comparison, noting some variation by school year labeling and that the dashboard is new.
Category highlights included reductions in high‑level fights and student assaults overall, while reported assaults on teachers have increased. Morgan said of 47 reported teacher‑assault incidents, 14 did not escalate to a higher level after investigation, and she framed that pattern as a prompt to strengthen de‑escalation training and reporting fidelity.
Morgan identified disciplinary trends and emerging concerns, including that possession/use of narcotics is down while drug paraphernalia (vape pens, gummies) remains flat or slightly up. She said 55 schools report using the Wave restorative program, and that schools using Wave reported resolving about 89% of conflicts through that approach.
Implementation challenges Morgan flagged included inconsistent reporting practices and coordination between behavior‑support teams and principals. She described partnerships with the Cleveland Police Department, transit police, RTA, Cleveland Public Library and city agencies for supports inside and outside school, plus planned redeployment of safety resources for the 2026–27 school year.
Next steps include continued data cleanup, tracking Wave program uptake and outcomes, integrating Panorama survey results for a 360° view of school climate (students, staff, parents), budgeting and staffing alignment for safety plans, and a return to board monitoring on this measure in May.
Morgan closed by saying the district would bring more detailed data and implementation updates as the year proceeds.
