The Work I Do
Eric Gordon was appointed Senior Vice-President of Student Development and Education Pipeline at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) on July 31, 2023. In this role, Eric serves as a thought partner to the president and trusted advisor to the President’s Cabinet. He is responsible for developing and implementing strategies that ensure a seamless transition for students as they move through different stages of education, from early childhood to post-secondary education and beyond. A key focus of Eric’s work is identifying and addressing gaps in the current student development and support systems to ensure students have access to the resources and support needed to succeed.
Prior to joining Tri-C, Eric served as the Chief Executive officer of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD), a role he held from July 2011 through June 2023. In that role, he was responsible for the leadership and daily management of Cleveland’s 35,600 student school district. During his tenure CMSD saw dramatic improvement in academic performance, including a 29-percentage point gain in graduation rates to a record 80.9%.
Among his many awards, CEO Gordon received the Green-Garner Award of the Council of the Great City Schools in 2016, distinguishing him as the top Urban Educator of the Year, the highest national honor for an urban school superintendent. In addition to being named one of Cleveland Magazine’s Most Interesting People” early in his tenure as superintendent, Mr. Gordon’s active engagement in the Cleveland community has been noted with a number of community awards, including the Diversity Center of Cleveland’s Humanitarian Award, Inside Business Magazine’s Power 100 Award and Smart Business Magazine’s Top 50 Award, which honors the most successful executives in northeast Ohio, the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation’s Outstanding Ohio Superintendent Performance Award, and most recently the Mary Utne O’Brien Social Emotional Learning Leader Lifetime Achievement Award from the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL).
My Connection to the Work of Student Achievement Partners
Through ongoing work as a member and former officer of the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS), Eric has collaborated closely with CGCS and Student Achievement Partners (SAP) during the development of the Materials Alignment Toolkit. Notably, the Grade-Level Instructional Materials Evaluation Tool – Quality Review (GIMET-QR) serves as a vital resource to ensure that school districts select high-quality instructional materials at each grade level while maintaining coherence within a larger, systemwide instructional framework. His decision to join the SAP Board reflects a commitment to the belief that SAP’s resources and materials are essential for guiding school systems across the United States in developing a cohesive and effective instructional framework.
The Perspective I Bring to this Board
Eric has dedicated his life’s work to educating urban youth and is committed to improving education for all students, particularly those who have been traditionally marginalized in urban communities. With over a decade of service as a leader in an urban district, he brings valuable expertise in creating a coherent framework for deep learning and in bridging the “knowing-doing gap.” This knowledge supports SAP’s ongoing efforts to develop and distribute high-quality resources for professional learning, instructional planning, and classroom instruction.