Original Research by School Decision on Cleveland School of Science & Medicine
Cleveland School of Science & Medicine is a public high school serving grades nine through twelve in Cleveland's 44106 zip code area. With an enrollment of under four hundred students, it operates as a small school within Cleveland Metropolitan School District. The school is accessible by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority's bus network and is located on Stokes Boulevard.
The school's academic profile is mixed. English language arts proficiency is strong, sitting well above the midpoint among the county's districts. Social studies proficiency is exceptionally high. Science proficiency is solid and moderately above the county median. Mathematics proficiency, however, is below the county median and represents a clear soft spot. The school has reported proficiency data only for the current year, so longer trends are not available to assess whether performance in mathematics is improving, stable, or declining. A parent interested in the school's trajectory in math or in whether targeted support is in place would benefit from asking the school directly about those strategies.
The student body is predominantly Black, making up roughly four-fifths of enrollment. Asian, white, and Hispanic students each represent smaller shares. The school serves a mix of grades nine through twelve fairly evenly, with ninth and tenth graders forming a slightly larger portion of the student population. Free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility data and rates for students with individualized education plans or English learners are not available, so the full scope of economic need or special-population support cannot be characterized here.
Cleveland's housing market shows modest home values and monthly rents below both state and national benchmarks. The city has posted recent population gains after decades of decline, with growth concentrated in the urban core around Downtown, University Circle, and neighborhoods like Ohio City and Tremont. The broader development pattern leans toward exurban growth in outlying counties, meaning the Cleveland neighborhood itself faces ongoing pressure even as downtown core areas revitalize.
The Cleveland Metropolitan School District is undergoing significant structural change. In December 2025, the board approved a consolidation plan that by the 2026-27 school year will reduce the district from 88 schools to 59, closing eighteen buildings and merging thirty-nine schools. This will shrink high schools from twenty-seven to fourteen. Nearly several thousand students across the district will be reassigned, affecting transportation routes and neighborhood school access. Voters also approved Issue 49 in November 2024, a new operating levy and bond extension that raises property taxes on homeowners in the district, adding roughly a moderate annual cost per household. Additionally, the district is now cellphone-free for students and has implemented PowerSchool, an online grade book giving parents direct access to student grades. These represent substantial shifts in the school environment, funding, and daily operations for families.
See more original research from School Decision →