Shaker Heights superintendent leaving district next summer | News

Shaker Heights Superintendent Mark Freeman announced that he will step down when his contract expires next summer.

Freeman joined the district as a teacher in 1967 and has served as superintendent since 1988. "I have been fortunate to work with supportive school boards and an active, positive, and engaged community. I have had the privilege of serving with a highly talented and committed staff. Above all, I have had the incredible pleasure of watching our students grow and thrive," he wrote in a message to the Shaker Heights Board of Education.

School board President Annette Tucker Sutherland noted that during Freeman’s tenure the district increased programs it offers and made important facility upgrades.

The school board develop a search strategy for a replacement that includes community input, consideration of both internal and external candidates, and a national search.

Freeman was a founding superintendent of the Minority Student Achievement Network, a national organization of diverse school districts that share strategies for improvement, and of the First Ring Superintendents’ Collaborative, a group of districts surrounding Cleveland that came together to address issues of common concern. Citing his “energy and creativity,” the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation recognized him in 2004 with its Ohio Superintendent Outstanding Performance Award.