Cleveland Humanities Magnet High School

The Cleveland Humanities Magnet program, known as CORE, was established in 1981 as part of the magnet school movement that emerged in the 1960s in response to Brown vs. the Board of Education. Although this landmark Supreme Court ruling mandated the end of formal school segregation, efforts to integrate educational institutions were met with widespread resistance. CORE emerged as part of a creative solution to this resistance: creating an intellectually rigorous school with a specialized humanities curriculum that also happened to attract a diverse student body.

In many ways, this history continues to guide the work of the Cleveland Humanities Magnet. CORE nurtures students to become critical thinkers, strong writers, and engaged community members committed to improving themselves and the world around them. The program's curriculum is interdisciplinary in nature, interweaving history, philosophy, art history, and literature to offer students a holistic understanding of issues ranging from transcendentalism to existentialism to globalization to social justice. The approximately 200 students enrolled in each grade level are exposed to thematically organized material each year. Freshman year focuses on globalization and global communities in Australia, Africa, South America, and Asia. Sophomore year explores the foundations of Western civilization. Junior year engages with America's tangled relationship with class, race, and gender. Finally, senior year surveys modern thought to answer the fundamental question of what it means to "know" ourselves and our world.

Through this complex and rigorous coursework, students confront challenging issues surrounded by an inclusive, multicultural community. Approximately 80 percent of CORE graduates attend four-year colleges after graduation, with many studying at community colleges as well. Although the program is a humanities magnet, alumni also pursue careers in science, mathematics, technology, and business.