Safety & Security

One of the board’s top priorities is student and staff safety. Part of our due diligence on any potential new location for MPA is to review the crime statistics. One of our Facilities Expansion Committee members who is an officer with the GCRTA police force has obtained crime data for both our current site on Triskett and the proposed site on W. 53^rd Street & Walworth. The crime statistics below are based on the hours between 0600 and 1800 (6 am to 6 pm), as these hours are when employees, students and/or parents would most likely be at either site. For each area, similarly sized surrounding areas were utilized in gathering the data.

The data shows a lower level of overall crime in the Walworth neighborhood. Similar patterns are revealed when the crime data is broken down into several crime categories.

	2011		2012		2013		2014*
	Triskett	W. 53rd	Triskett	W. 53rd	Triskett	W. 53rd	Triskett	W. 53rd
Thefts	49	43	57	37	58	49	60	32
Assaults	27	25	23	24	28	26	20	18
Burglaries	21	25	21	20	25	24	27	10
Robberies	2	5	4	10	5	7	7	6
Veh.Thefts	6	10	5	10	10	6	7	2
Intimidation	10	10	7	6	22	14	17	6

*2014 data through October 22, 2014

Crime data for the same range of dates were also reviewed for the hours of 1800 - 0600 (6 pm to 6 am) pertaining to burglaries, breaking and entering and other similar crimes against property. This comparison helps show how both neighborhoods fare with regards to the buildings being broken into after hours. While both areas had low overall numbers for the same nearly 4-year period, crimes against property in the W. 53rd neighborhood were 45% lower than the current Triskett location (34 versus 61).

Because we recognize that these statistics require analysis. It is important to note that the W. 53rd neighborhood is quite different from the Triskett neighborhood in that the W. 53^rd area is more isolated with fewer residential units. More restrictive access – there are only limited ways to get to the site, coupled with fewer buildings and residents of the area, limits the opportunities available to the criminal element. The area is buffered to the south by a Norfolk Southern right of way that limits ingress/egress into the area, while Interstate 90 does the same to a lesser extent just north of the neighborhood.

Considering the size of each neighborhood and the lengthy time span covered by the data reviewed, neither location suffers from any rampant crime problem. Neither area had a single homicide during the nearly 4-year time frame, both averaged less than half a serious sex-crime during this time, and between the two areas just over one weapon’s possession arrest a year was made (five for the current location, one for the proposed). Overall, based on the city crime data alone, the immediate surrounding neighborhood for the W. 53^rd location appears to be the less crime afflicted area.

Environmental Review

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW 

Environmental Due Diligence

The former Joseph & Feiss/Hugo Boss site at West 53^rd Street is considered a “brownfield” site. According to the USEPA, a brownfield is “real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.” As a part of our due diligence in evaluating the possibility of developing this site, the Board is reviewing the status of the any potential environmental concerns at the site. 

To perform this detailed study, we have retained the services of John Zampino of the Mannik & Smith Group, Inc. Mr. Zampino is a certified professional (CP) licensed by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Voluntary Action Program (VAP). Ohio’s VAP provides a detailed process to evaluate impacts to soil, groundwater or soil vapor and the requirements to return a property to beneficial use. The CP oversees the environmental investigation and once all requirements are met, issues a “No Further Action” (NFA) letter for the property. Upon review and concurrence, the Ohio EPA will issue a Covenant Not to Sue (CNS) for the property.

In addition, on this project, Mr. Zampino will be working through each phase of the investigation with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). Once we complete the investigation and any potential remediation work, the US EPA will provide a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) concurring that the investigation appropriately followed their process. The objectives of this process are to make sure that the investigation and evaluation activities sufficiently evaluate the site conditions as well as to make sure that any remedial actions deemed necessary result in site conditions that are protective of human-health and the environment.

This facility has undergone several iterations of investigation conducted in accordance with Ohio’s VAP over the last ten years. Based upon the data collected to date, the site has been deemed suitable for residential development, which is consistent with educational use. Originally, the site contained an office building, manufacturing building and warehouse. Today, only the office and warehouse buildings remain. While the manufacturing operations included some dry cleaning, no evidence has been found of any widespread impacts to soil or groundwater. Currently, an investigation into the condition of soil vapor underneath the basement of the warehouse building is underway. This is a new requirement and will provide even more details than has been reviewed previously. Areas where there are known to be petroleum impacted soil (at depth) will be covered with asphalt or concrete to make sure that no one comes in contact with that impacted material while providing parking, basketball courts, etc.

Ohio’s VAP and MOA Processes & Other Brownfield Sites

These processes of evaluation and remediation following the VAP and MOA processes are used all over Ohio for all types of sites. As an example, our consultant is currently working on a project with Miceli Dairy Company (Miceli’s) that is similar to our project in that the property that Miceli’s plans to expand onto is a brownfield. Miceli's manufactures specialty Italian cheeses right here in Cleveland that are sold nationwide. When they needed to expand, they decided to use an adjacent 16 acres formerly occupied by a facility producing rolled steel in the early 1900s and later by a facility that produced plated parts for the automobile industry. By the late 1990s the entire 16 acres was unused, contained extensive areas of construction and demolition debris, tires, and 55-gallon drums. Understanding that the redevelopment would include warehousing of raw materials and production of food, it was necessary to thoroughly evaluate the environmental conditions of the property. Of primary concern was eliminating any contaminants from the property that posed a concern to the manufacturing of food products as well as ensuring that the site would be protective of the health of workers, thus eliminating any stigmatization that is typically associated with brownfield properties.

To assist Miceli’s in attaining their goal, Mr. Zampino first prepared an Ohio (VAP) Phase I Property Assessment (PA) that identified 35 areas of environmental concern. The environmental concerns included underground storage tanks, oil storage buildings, plating (electro and mechanical), hydraulic presses, machine shops, wood block flooring, solvent storage and hazardous waste storage. Contaminants identified include volatile organic compounds, semi-volatile organic compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls, heavy metals, cyanide and zinc. The Phase II PA included the collection of 300 soil samples and 75 ground water samples that were evaluated via a risk assessment to determine the locations that would require remediation. Using the site redevelopment plan, Mr. Zampino is able to focus remedial efforts that will serve Miceli’s in the best manner.

This is just one example of a how a local company is renovating an old industrial site for a new purpose.

Board Facility Update – September 2014

Board Change

The Watson family joined MPA in the middle of our first year (SY 2008-09).  Dawn Watson, like so many of our parents, jumped right into things. After serving on many volunteer teams for MPA, Dawn applied and was elected to the Board of Directors in 2011.  She went on to serve on the Board’s Development Committee and to Chair the Board’s Facility Expansion Committee.  While we accept Dawn’s Board resignation, please join us in thanking her for her tireless years of service to MPA. 

Following Dawn’s decision, the Board shared with our community a need to fill this Board seat with a focus on aptitude, time, and skills supporting our facilities expansion search and development.  We continue to be amazed by the achievements and willingness to serve noted during this Board candidate application process.  Thank you to all who considered answering the call to serve. 

At the September Board meeting, Fraser Hamilton was elected to fill the remainder of Dawn’s term and take over the lead on the Facility Expansion Committee (FEC).  The father of 2 current students and a recent MPA graduate, Fraser brings a depth of experience in this area to the group.  Click here for further information.  Please join us in welcoming Fraser to the Board and thanking him for leading the FEC in what promises to be a very busy and exciting year for MPA.

MPA.  The Demand.  One-Campus matching our quest for excellence.

Before we get into updating on a property, there is a moment from July’s Board meeting we would like to share.  Conducting due diligence on the prior prospective property lead to a recognition that we needed to consider a shift in focus for MPA’s expansion plans.  We are a community school, a charter school.  Charter school model success typically leads to the eventual replication of the school, often many times.  Over the years during our long-range planning sessions, your Board has discussed replication in terms of our ten-year vision.  But the question was posed; “do we model ourselves or compare ourselves to other community schools?”  The answer from the Board was that we do not. 

Historically, MPA has sought out best practices mostly from independent private schools, as well as some program aspects of traditional public districts.  Schools such as Hawken School, Hathaway Brown, The Roeper School (a prestigious private school for gifted children in Michigan) and our top local parochial schools embrace excellence, not expansion.  They embrace a one-campus environment dedicated to serving their mission, their students.  This is the moment MPA embraces and owns who we dream to be.  We dare to demand the best, creative, and consistently executed whole-child educational experience for gifted learners.  We dare to demand less trade-offs like asphalt play spaces, minimal parking, and classroom shortages that impact our academic offerings.  Coming out of our first due diligence period we found acceptable prospects, yet we did not find a facility that could match the powerhouse teaching and engaged learning occurring within MPA’s walls. 

As we turn to discussing a new prospective property which matches our one-campus vision, we ask our community to remember that the process requires several steps.  This may seem to be final from a typical home purchase perspective, yet these actions merely place us in a position to engage developers and funders as well as have serious conversations regarding a property’s viability for MPA.  We applaud MPA’s faculty, staff, and community for their patience with the process to date.  We also empathize with knowing that a move five miles in any direction is an additional burden for some families while being an improvement for others.  This was the case when MPA originally left its base community in Lorain for higher enrollment prospects in Cleveland.  Above all, the Board appreciates that even the most patient member of our community is disrupted by uncertainty.  We are committed to moving forward on a specific site, or announcing a pause in our effort to demand a permanent, one-campus, location for MPA, by or before 2015.

W. 53^rd Campus Property 

Site Layout

We are in the process of securing ownership of a campus-site property on W. 53^rd street just south of I-90 in Cleveland.  Once this is complete, we will again enter a due diligence period in order to determine site feasibility.  This site meets our main criteria of remaining on the West side of Cleveland while being accessible to major highways. 

The site is the former Joseph & Feiss Cloth Craft (aka Hugo Boss) factory.  It offers two buildings (one approximately 80,000 sf and the other about 25,000sf) on a nearly 7-acre property. 

The current plan is to develop the large building with the water tower as a school building.  The second building will be reviewed for potential future uses.

The size of this property will allow us the benefits of a campus, with the necessary green space for play areas and learning gardens as well as an adequate parking field and room for the car line.  It also affords the opportunity to expand our model to 3 classes / grade over the next 3-5 years, which is an important component in this project. 

Both buildings on the site are on the National Register of Historic Places, which opens doors regarding the funding of a project of this magnitude, while also ensuring the historic nature of the building is preserved. 

Engaging with the Community

Architect Rendering of possible elevation.

As is the case with everything MPA accomplishes, we won’t get there without the help of our community.  We have the opportunity to create a space that is specifically designed to serve the needs of our students with a requirement to have the work done in time for us to welcome our community to this new home for the 2015-16 school year.  We know this is an ambitious timeframe, which is why we need each of you to engage with us and take part of this moment in MPA’s history.  Just remember that a mere 6 years ago this month, a small group of determined parents opened MPA in just three months’ time.  Remember that a larger group of parents met the needs of this school through their service when finances were scarce.  And that as the school has grown, our students – your child(ren) – have reaped benefits of talents shared in compassion, classes, or other volunteer service. 

Cleveland skyline view from the rooftop.

MPA is founded in a moment.  A moment when families who had experience an all gifted, all day, education refused to give it up.  A moment when each family decided for their child(ren) that pull-outs, being labeled, low expectations, sticking out, boredom, trying to fit in, or attempting to meet their child’s curiosities outside of school was just not right, and chose MPA.  There are those who witnessed MPA’s first day of school, or when MPA leased only the second floor of our current building, or the year our first class of 8^th graders moved on to high school.  This is our past.  Our future is in this moment.  Our future is in a renewed sense of community at all levels.  This moment offers excitement, curiosity, risks, and potential grand rewards.  We are all here for this moment.

The next Facility Expansion Committee (FEC) meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 24^th at 6pm at MPA in the science room on the 2^nd floor.  While we have hired a top notch design/build team to help get this done, anyone with specialized expertise, equipment, or knowledge in this area should be added to the resource list.  Just click here to complete the interest form.  You can send an email message to Fraser.HamiltonSr@MenloParkAcademy.com with any questions or concerns.  Be a part of founding our renewed dream, and a new facility.

MPA’s future is right in front of us.