About

History:
Opened in 1952, Mercer is situated on a sprawling, tree-lined property in the northeast section of Shaker Heights. Mercer was awarded a Venture Capital Grant by the Ohio Department of Education to develop and document its school-improvement strategy as a model for schools throughout Ohio.  The school building is slated to undergo a full renovation as part of the District's Master Facilities Plan. The start date of that project will be determined in the near future.

Classroom Book Buddies:
Shared reading between Kindergarten and fourth grade students happens on a weekly basis. Many classes also share reading and writing assignments with students from the Middle school on a monthly basis.

Curriculum:
Beginning with full-day kindergarten, children are exposed to the joy of reading, the thrill of seeing their thoughts transformed into written stories and published books, and the hands-on application of scientific and mathematical concepts.

Supporting the K-5 curriculum are a whole language philosophy used in conjunction with phonics, hands-on mathematics and science instruction, and creative problem-solving.

The regular classroom teacher provides daily instruction in:

• Mathematics
• Language arts (reading, writing, listening, and speaking)
• Social studies
• Science

Specialists provide regularly scheduled instruction in:

• Physical education
• Art 
• Music
• Library/research skills
• Science lab
• Spanish Language (Grades K-5)

Faculty and Staff:
Shaker’s faculty members are nationally known for their scholarship and professionalism. Faculty members are heavily involved in curriculum design and are encouraged to pursue research and professional growth. More than 80% hold a master’s degree or higher, and many have published extensively and are frequently called upon to present at professional conferences. In addition to classroom teachers, each K-5 school has the services of:

• Art specialist
• Music specialist
• Physical education teacher
• Library media specialist
• Nurse
• Psychologist
• Academic Resource (enrichment) specialist
• Instructional coach
• Reading Recovery tutor
• English as a Second Language tutor
• Learning disability specialist
• Speech and language specialist