Urban Life Feature

Best Kept Secrets In Town

Other cities know about these three urban gems, but locals are in the dark
By Margo Pierce

Tom Funke has grown Funke Fired Arts into one of the largest public pottery studios in the U.S. Photo By Cameron Knight

Secrets can be a good thing when they help someone who needs confidential assistance. But when the motivation is to withhold important information, secrets are frowned upon, even illegal.

Sometimes secrets are just plain ridiculous, mostly because they’re unintentionally being kept secret. Look around Greater Cincinnati and you’ll find several examples that out-of-towners know about, admire and even envy but locals sometimes forget about.

CINCINNATI PUBLIC SCHOOLS

“This school district outperforms most urban school districts in America and is one of the highest achieving urban districts in Ohio,” says Tim Kraus, Cincinnati Federation of Teachers (CFT) union president. “Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) and CFT have had a history of collaboration and joint management decision-making. We have one of the most progressive union contracts in the country for teachers in terms of all the shared decision-making governing structures. They’re unheard of in other districts.

“There’s a role for the public sector, so we have a common interest in making sure that people see that the public sector does function quite well. We do a very good job of educating kids in this school district even given all of the problems that we have. There’s a will to work together to make sure that we’re doing the best job we can.”

CPS is one of the two best urban districts in the state, according to the Ohio Department of Education Ohio Reports Card school rating system. The move to green construction standards for all new buildings means the district will also have the highest number of green schools in the state when the construction and renovation projects are finished. Right now CPS is second only to a district in southern California for the most green public school buildings.

Four years of “continuous improvement” have helped raise high school graduation rates from about 60 percent to 82 percent. Curriculum restructuring efforts have raised five schools to the level of excellent and excellent with distinction.

FUNKE FIRED ARTS

That hallmark of excellence brought a different kind of success to an obscure corner of Hyde Park.

“We are one of the largest public pottery studios in the country,” says studio president Tom Funke. Yes, that’s his real name. “We (hosted) the Potters Council Workshop, one of only four cities across America chosen for this honor. Our studio is getting great national attention from it. We are extremely excited about the workshop.”

For the uninitiated, the Potters Council is a subsidiary of the American Ceramic Society with a mission of supporting the needs of studio potters and ceramic artists by providing forums for knowledge exchange and professional enhancement. Making the workshop hosted in Cincinnati in February a big deal.

What started out as a place for potters to work and buy supplies has evolved into a large pottery studio with two galleries, one of the largest pottery supply distribution centers in the Midwest and an array of classes. And everyone of any age or experience level is invited to learn how to use a pottery wheel or do “hand building” to create traditional or contemporary pieces.

Not sure if clay is your thing? Check out the Web site and watch videos called “Good Cylinders Gone Bad,” “Centering” and “Two Pull Bowls.” The instructions are helpful for both those with experience and those who have no clue.

In addition to introducing novices to the art form, Funke has opportunities for the most skilled artists to learn new techniques and confab with others in the field. Anyone who spends just a few minutes walking around will find out just how approachable, friendly and excited the staff and students are about playing with squishy dirt.

3130 Wasson Road, Hyde Park, 513-871-2529 or www.funkefiredarts.com.

CINCINNATI UNION BETHEL

Equally excited about her work is Mary Carol Melton, executive vice president of the Midwest’s oldest social service agency. Founded in 1830, Cincinnati Union Bethel provides housing for low-income women at the historic Anna Louise Inn downtown and provides early childhood education to more than 900 children per year at six Early Learning Academies on the West Side.

With a mission to provide supportive services and education programs that assist urban women, children, families and communities, Melton frequently hears people describe her organization as “the best kept secret in Cincinnati.”

Even though some programs aren’t always widely popular, like the Off the Streets program that helps former prostitutes leave the life, CUB has been doing amazing work for many generations. One of the newer additions to their array of services includes the Technology Learning Center opened in Over-the-Rhine in 2002, which offers computer training and employment service opportunities for underserved people.

Recognition of their concerted effort to create a welcoming, non-judgmental and safe place for all people who find themselves in need of assistance has resulted in a number of awards for Cincinnati Union Bethel (www.cincinnatiunionbethel.org). They received the Over-the-Rhine Chamber Non-Profit Business of the Year Award in 2008, the Ohio Association of Nonprofit Organizations Program Excellence Award in 2007 for the Off the Streets program and the Outstanding Community Efforts in Community Partnership Oriented Policing (CPOP) Award in 2007. ©