CINCINNATI — As students and teachers prepare to return to the classroom, Cincinnati Public Schools is calling on the community as a whole to play a larger role in providing academic support this school year.

On Friday, CPS leaders held a kickoff press conference to address a variety of topics before the start of the academic school year on Thursday, Aug. 18. Subjects ranged from transportation and staffing levels to a reminder about minor changes to the district’s free-lunch program related to the end of a pandemic-related program.

The signature announcement, though, was the start of a new community engagement campaign called “Be Present!”

“We’re absolutely excited right now to welcome our students back,” said CPS Superintendent Iranetta Wright during a media event at Woodford Academy in Kennedy Heights.

Teachers at Woodford and 64 schools spread across the 91-square-mile district were back in class as of Friday preparing for the school year to start next week. There are about 36,000 students in the district, making it one of the largest in Ohio.

Leaders from Cincinnati Public Schools speak during a press conference ahead of the start of the 2022-23 school year. (Casey Weldon/Spectrum News 1)

Wright is entering her first year as superintendent. She came to Cincinnati in May after serving as deputy superintendent of schools for the Detroit Public Schools Community District in Michigan.

Her goal for this year is to get back to the basics. Here, that’s her version of the “ABCs” — academics, behavior and culture.

One area CPS has to address was staffing. When Wright took over the position, the district had 164 vacant positions, with many of those being in core subject areas, such as English, match science and social studies.

As of last Thursday, they had 39 vacancies, including 18 in core positions, Wright said. She noted CPS has used a mixture of recruiting and shuffling of administrative staff to decrease that number.

Some certified teachers working in other positions across the district have agreed to step back into the classroom temporarily while the district works to recruit new teachers.

There are still two vacancies in core positions as of Friday afternoon.

“We’re not where we want to be,” Wright said. “But we do feel confident with where we are right now.”

Many of those teachers were in their classrooms Friday, the first day of the school year CPS staff.

Julie Sellers, president of Cincinnati Federation of Teachers, praised the district’s educators for their “excitement” and eagerness to get back in the classroom.

She said it’s vital that students are just as excited to come back to the classroom ready to learn when school starts next week.

“I want every person in the community, if you know a (school-aged child), to remind them they need to go out, dust off their backpacks and get themselves ready,” she said.

Wright also used Friday’s press event to remind parents and students of changes to the bus plan.

On Aug. 1, CPS announced a new deal with the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) to provide Metro bus passes to eligible students in ninth through 12th grade.

Under the new transit plan, seventh- and eighth-grade students are now taking yellow buses to and from school this year. Students who have after-school activities, like sports or a club, can get a Metro bus for a ride home.

On Friday, SORTA announced changes to 20 different routes to prepare for an influx of student riders. Changes include minor time adjustments and increased frequency in the mornings and afternoons.

An example is Route 37, a crosstown route ridden frequently by CPS students. It connects Glenway Crossing in the West Side to the Oakley Transit Center.

Since late May, when school let out, the route has run six trips in the morning between 6:30 and 9 a.m. Starting next week, the number of trips increases to eight, with similar numbers in the afternoon.

The changes go into effect on Sunday, Aug. 14. That evening, Wright and Metro CEO Darryl Haley are hosting a virtual transportation information session for parents and students.

“We’ll be walking parents through how to find their bus route, how to look up their bus route, whether it’s a K-8 student that’s on the yellow bus, or whether it’s those that are metro,” Wright said.

The focus of Friday’s press event centered on the launch of the “Be Present!” initiative. It asks the entire Cincinnati-area community to take a pledge to play an active role in the educational process.

The pledge asks students to do basic things, like get to school on time and be ready to learn. It also reminds teachers of the importance of celebrating student success and encouraging them both academically and in other passion areas, Wright said.

For parents and caregivers, Wright stressed the need to ensure they’re helping their children with homework or simply asking about their day at school.

But it doesn’t stop there, Wright said. Education requires the “whole village.”

She’s calling on the greater Cincinnati community — from businesses, faith-based organizations and neighborhood associations — to partner with CPS to support students. That could mean volunteering to go on a field and tutoring to offer to mentorship or internship, Wright said.

In-kind donations to the district are also welcome as well.

“The work that we have to do with our children is too great for us to do in isolation,” she added. “It really takes all of us to ensure that our students are successful and they meet their full potential. 

Carolyn Jones, vice president of the Cincinnati Board of Education, referred to education as a “reciprocal” process. 

“The success of our district is dependent upon the success of our community and how we mobilize to support our students,” she said.

Jones asked everyone in Cincinnati to “wrap your arms around our students” when school starts next week.

“When you see (students) going to school on Aug. 18 in their new clothes, ready for success, give them a pat on the back,” she said. “Tell them good luck. Tell them you’re there to support them.”