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Arbor Elementary principal Lawanda Prettyman tells Euclid City board about $10,000 grant, lower suspensions and test-score gains
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Summary
Arbor Elementary leaders told the Euclid City school board they received a $10,000 Euclid Schools Foundation grant for science and math materials, reported a 25% reduction in suspensions and said science scores rose 26%; presenters highlighted family partnerships, community donations and student engagement programs.
Lawanda Prettyman, principal of Arbor Elementary, told the Euclid City school board that the school received a $10,000 grant from the Euclid Schools Foundation for science supplies and math manipulatives and that Arbor has reduced suspensions by 25% this year.
Prettyman opened the presentation by describing climate and culture efforts and student leadership programs, saying, “I am Lawanda Prettyman, the principal at Arbor Elementary.” Assistant Principal Miss Green joined the presentation and detailed weekly recognition systems, attendance incentives and the school’s PBIS work. Miss Green said Arbor earned the PBIS silver award for 2025.
Why it matters: school leaders said the grant and donor support fund hands-on science and math activities aimed at increasing engagement and keeping students in class. Prettyman credited targeted staff interventions and family‑school partnerships with the decline in suspensions and cited a 26% increase in science scores after focused lunch‑and‑learn sessions with fifth‑grade teachers.
Presenters highlighted several family and community engagement activities. The school runs a weekly attendance incentive program and a ‘father walk’ breakfast where caregivers walk students to class. Prettyman said Ken Ganley Subaru and the school’s PTA worked toward a $10,000 goal; the PTA raised $5,000 and, Prettyman said, Ken Ganley provided the remaining $5,000. Knuckle Busters Home Rehab Remodeling donated 13 turkeys for holiday meals, and Cleveland Metroparks brings a mobile ‘nature tracks’ program for classroom lessons.
School staff described classroom practices that administrators said are supporting learning gains: hands-on math (teachers used cake and fraction lessons), CKLA reading units, a reading‑buddy program pairing fourth‑grade readers with second‑grade students to boost fluency, art and coding projects, and expanded orchestra and band participation. Prettyman attributed a reported 26% science-score increase to focused work by instructional coach Kathy Rich and collaborative lunch‑and‑learn sessions with the fifth‑grade team.
Leaders also described student supports and resources for families. Prettyman said Arbor was awarded a wellness room and resource center through the Cleveland Browns ‘Stay in the Game’ program and University Hospitals; the resource center stores donated hygiene items for students in need. Miss Green and teachers are running daily social‑emotional learning lunch groups since the school no longer has a family liaison.
Board members responded with praise. A board member summarized that keeping students in the building and engaged had been a recurring theme in the presentation, and Mister Wilson offered a personal shout‑out to a student who helped during the event: “He was absolutely amazing,” Wilson said. The presentation concluded with thanks from Prettyman and school staff.
The presentation did not include any formal motions or votes; presenters and board members closed the meeting after questions and remarks.
