Dee and Jimmy Haslam, owners of the Cleveland Browns, are here to teach us something.
No, not that patience pays off. We were one of the most patient cities in America long before they got here. And they certainly are not here to lecture us. That is far from the style of this extraordinarily gracious couple.
The Haslams are here to lend their time, talent and treasure — the three vital resources genuine philanthropists share — to assist in the lessons taught to our next generation. If football is their passion, so too is the quality of education that Cleveland provides to students who are hungry to learn.
All of which explains their $10 million challenge pledge to the Breakthrough Schools, a Cleveland-based charter system that serves as a role model for charters that work. The Haslams’ match promise is in addition to a $1 million donation they made to the schools last year, which in turn is in addition to numerous other donations they’ve made to the organization since they first visited one of its schools.
But it was their $10 million pledge that put them at the head of the class.
“This is the most significant gift in our history,” says John Zitzner, co-founder of Breakthrough Schools and president of Friends of Breakthrough Schools, the network’s fundraising and advocacy arm. “This will fundamentally change the landscape for our schools. We hope this is an inspiration for others to come forward to help us with our 2020 vision plan.”
By 2020, Zitzner explains, the organization hopes to expand its network to 20 schools serving more than 7,000 students.
Breakthrough Schools, Ohio’s highest-performing network of public charter schools, has grown to 11 schools since the network was founded in 2010. The system currently serves more than 3,300 students — 97 percent who are minorities and 84 percent who are economically disadvantaged.
The Breakthrough Schools network has a unique partnership with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) as part of the Cleveland Plan, a collaborative effort involving the school district, teachers’ union, the mayor, business leaders, nonprofit organizations and local philanthropy.
In addition to their commitment to the Breakthrough Schools, the Haslams also directly support the CMSD. One example: Through the Browns, artificial turf will be installed at five CMSD schools. “Students who are involved in sports are not going to miss as many school days,” Dee Haslam explains.
It’s all about making good choices, the Haslams say, and parents need an array of good choices for their children — traditional public schools, charter schools, Catholic and private — and all are important to the mosaic of education in Cleveland.
“Inequality in education is absurd,” says Dee. “You can’t leave these children without choice.”
We recently sat down with the Haslams at the Browns training facility in Berea, where they explained their devotion to education in general and to the Breakthrough Schools in particular.
Q&A
Q:
Cleveland has a long history of corporate leadership involvement in education. In fact, the late Ted Bonda — one-time owner of the Cleveland Indians — was so concerned about the direction of the public schools back in the ’80s that he became president of the school board. Now you’re stepping up to the plate. What drove your decision?
JH:
We believe in giving back and being involved in our communities. We feel like it’s a responsibility, our duty and an honor. Education is critically important to improving our community and we believe every child is entitled to a high-quality education. Upon visiting Breakthrough, we were very impressed and immediately wanted to see how we could help them grow.
Q:
Needless to say, this is a huge step for education throughout the city and for the Breakthrough Schools in particular. Charter schools get a lot of bad press and, let’s face it, many of them seem to be nothing more than revenue generators for their operators. Why did you choose the Breakthrough Schools system to support?
DH:
The leadership involved at Breakthrough is evident. The test scores speak for themselves.
JH:
We invest where leadership and proven results are in place.
Q:
Dee, this seems to have been a passion of yours for a long time. I understand you’re championing a similar approach in Knoxville. What’s your focus there?
DH:
We are involved in many things in Tennessee but extremely passionate about youth programs in education and sports in our communities. I have been on the board of Emerald Youth Foundation, an inner-city program for youth in Knoxville, Tennessee. We made the introduction of Emerald to Breakthrough. It was a great fit and Breakthrough was helpful in setting up the Emerald Academy in Knoxville. The school has been open since July and is doing very well.Q:
There’s a common perception of charter schools that they are not public schools at all. Critics see them as operating under their own set of rules and laws, basically doing whatever they want. Is there any truth to that?DH:
We believe that there are many ways to provide quality education for children. “Good” charters are one solution. Regardless, the focus should be on the children and what is best for them. Charters, good public and private schools all work if the goal is about the child. Parents should have the choice of where to send their child.
Q:
Some political and education leaders think that charter school approaches simply bleed money from traditional, tax-supported schools. How do you answer those who say you should just invest directly in the public system?
DH:
Every parent should have a choice of where to send their child. Shouldn't the question be: “Where can my child get the best education?”
JH:
We think it’s best to support all schools. Our foundation supports the Cleveland Metropolitan School District too. There’s a good relationship between the two, which is how it should be.
Q:
Charter schools like Breakthrough serve many economically challenged neighborhoods where failure rates are downright scary. Are good charter schools and other high-performing systems designed to handle challenges that traditional schools aren’t meeting?
DH:
From the test scores, good schools are able to meet the challenge, whether it’s charter, public or private. The combination of good teachers and good administrators along with parental support makes the difference.
Q:
Can traditional, charter, parochial and private schools happily co-exist? Are you involved in any cooperative efforts?
JH:
Absolutely they can co-exist. Competition and collaboration is critical and important.
DH:
The Browns Foundation and Browns vice president of foundation Renee Harvey are involved in many educational programs in Northeast Ohio. We work independently with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. We are in the process of planning next year’s attendance campaign. We also have employed a wraparound strategy at the Walton School — which is a CMSD Investment School. I serve on the board at Ginn Academy — a CMSD high school — where we support life coaches and the principal mentorship program, and with Breakthrough. The Cleveland Browns and Community Relations department will soon be announcing a major initiative for athletics focused on the fact that sports keep kids in school with higher attendance rates.
Q:
Explain “wraparound strategy.”
DH:
Wraparound strategy involves integrating community services in schools that will help kids reach their academic goals by reducing barriers to learning such as hunger, unstable living situations and unresolved medical conditions. Our intent is to help students at Walton in all those areas to ensure success.
Q:
Making a commitment of this magnitude in Cleveland suggests that, as a couple, you feel very much at home here. What do you tell your friends about what it’s like to live and work here?
DH:
Our friends have been here and love it! The people are just the nicest in the country.
JH:
The leadership is passionate and committed. The food and arts scene is amazing. The neighborhoods are diverse and interesting.
DH:
And we love living on the lake! It’s incredibly beautiful.
Q:
What message would you give to your Cleveland corporate colleagues about the importance of supporting efforts to improve the community, whether through education or other means?
JH:
Our colleagues have been leading and supporting for years. We can never catch up to the commitment and passion that these leaders have shown.
DH:
We are excited to be able to do our part.
Q:
What is your vision long-term for the quality of education in Cleveland?
DH:
Again, the community has been at work casting the vision for years. We are just trying to help. The vision and commitment is in place and we hope to help.
Q:
Dare I ask — what’s your vision long-term for the Browns?
JH:
We feel really good about the leadership group both on the business side and the football side of our organization. We are very hopeful for the future. We are committed to building a team that is good for a long time, a team that consistently wins.
DH:
Winning, the community and taking care of our fans is what our short and long-term vision will always be. It’s very important for our fans to understand what they mean to our organization. This team truly belongs to them. We believe that our fans are the heartbeat of the team. Their support makes a tremendous difference to the players and the coaches. We have been fortunate to have one of the most loyal fan bases in the NFL, and we will continue to serve them by doing everything possible to make them proud of the team we put on the field, while making Northeast Ohio a better place by having a positive impact on the community.
