Heights Community Learning Center Selects 1st Leader

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — The Heights Schools have selected the first Community Learning Center (CLC) organizer.

A Community Learning Center integrates community agencies, and allocates resources, with a focus on academics, health and social services, and youth and community development, the district said. The center should serve as a central resource connecting families to resources they may need.

The pilot program will launch at Noble Elementary School this fall, the district said. Kristiaun Copez-Minor will be the first organizer. Her first major project will be conducting a comprehensive needs assessment of Noble students, families and the neighborhood.

That means some families should expect to meet Copez-Minor in coming weeks. She'll be asking what they feel the school or community need and what is currently working for them.

“I am looking forward to meeting the Noble community and learning more about how the CLC can serve as a hub to meet their needs and goals, from academic support to jobs and housing,” Copez-Minor said. “I’ll be working closely with teachers and school leaders to improve student outcomes, something I’ve developed a passion for in my previous work here in Tiger Nation and Greater Cleveland.”

Copez-Minor worked in the Heights Schools in 2018 as a paraprofessional and tutor for the New Heights Credit Recovery Program. She was most recently the Before and After School Coordinator for Citizens Academy. Prior to that, Copez-Minor served as the Campus Coordinator for Open Doors Academy for four years.

Copez-Minor holds a Master of Arts in Nonprofit Administration from John Carroll University.