Opening Minds 

Greater Akron-Canton has a school—from boarding to single-gender— to nurture any child. 

TURNING INTERESTS INTO DREAMS
From the I Promise School for at-risk learners to the International Baccalaureate program for the academically gifted, the Akron Public Schools (APS) has the right path for each of its 20,000 students. Its College and Career Academies of Akron (CCAA) has more than 400 community and corporate partners shaping and supporting the CCAA’s career-education model. Whether it’s automotive technology, dance or philanthropy, APS students explore, develop and pursue their interests in ways designed to support a successful adulthood. Students craft luscious desserts in commercial kitchens and repair faltering autos in their own full-fl edged shop. They sing on stages and design on drafting tables. By graduation, they’re ready to fl y. And how about free college? Through the College Credit Plus, APS students can earn college credits while still in high school at very low or no cost for families. Some students are halfway through a bachelor’s program before high school graduation. That means fewer tuition bills for families down the line. Akron Early College High School, on The University of Akron campus, is designed for fi rstgeneration college students. Students who have 60 earned college credit hours by high school graduation will earn an associate’s degree from The University of Akron. Since a life of achievement starts early, APS’s Early Learning Program helps prekindergarten students get ready for school by teaching key academic measures, listening skills and more. The program integrates typically developing children and those with special needs, promoting greater acceptance by all. 

FLIPPING THE SCRIPT
Summit Academy—a charter school in Akron serving students with ADHD and Autism— incorporates therapeutic martial arts into its regular curriculum. In the school’s dojo, where students learn martial arts movements and traditions, they also fi nd focus, awareness, structure and selfconfi dence. Sensei Chuck Rickard, who heads Summit Academy’s Therapeutic Martial Arts Program, believes martial arts can help anyone with daily life. “From a martial arts standpoint, breathing centers attention and power on movements and tempers anxiety,” says Rickard. Summit Academy students also learn the power of claiming personal space, something vital to many people with ADHD and Autism. They examine their comfort levels correlating to zones such as family zone, friend zone and stranger zone, according to Rickard. Students learn how to use assertiveness when their personal space is violated. Structure runs deep in Summit Academy’s therapeutic martial arts classes. For instance, students bow when they enter the dojo. They arrive prepared to practice movements and do so within a designated space. “Structure helps us complete tasks and builds routine into our schedules,” said Rickard. “Our students carry these strategies into their classrooms and home lives.”

BRINGING SOME PUPPY LOVE
St. Sebastian Parish School, a faithbased Pre-K through 8 school in Akron, has been awarded The Ohio Governor’s Thomas Edison Award for Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education four years in a row. But among the school’s Chromebooks, iPads and beakers roams an incredibly valuable resource: Weller, a soft-eyed golden retriever. Weller, who belongs to principal Anthony Rohr, has been enchanting St. Sebastian students and faculty since he was eight weeks old. Rohr said he’s always admired the work of therapy dogs, and the toll of the pandemic convinced him the time was right to bring a trained dog into the St. Sebastian fold. However, the bouncy, lick-prone pup who arrived in January 2022 was far from trained, so Rohr and Weller went to work. Weller began his therapy dog training with many classes, completing two American Kennel Club programs along the way. During his training, Weller’s interactions with students and families helped the dog develop and strengthen his skills. He greeted students, went on fi eld trips, played soccer and sat with those who needed a little extra love. In March 2023, Weller completed his fi nal test through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. Weller and Rohr are now an offi cial pet therapy team. Puppy snuggles are free and open to all. 

OUTSHINING THE STARS
Hudson High School, Twinsburg High School and Revere High School in Summit County; Jackson High School in Stark County; Aurora High School in Portage County and Highland High School in Medina County were ranked among the top 50 public high schools in Ohio by U.S. News and World Report. Old Trail School, a co-ed, Pre-K through 8 school in Bath Township, is the only independent school in the country located in a national park. Students at Akron’s Lippman School, a K-8 school founded on Jewish values, scored nearly two grades above their current grade on nationally standardized testing.  

EXPLORING LIFE AND LITERATURE
Dating back more than 50 years, New Dimensions is an interdisciplinary, team-taught humanities program at Hudson High School, one of the top high schools in Ohio. Students examine four core social studies units, each combined with a corresponding literature unit. Psychology, philosophy, anthropology, and sociology comprise the social studies units, while Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye provide the literary aspect to each unit. The students read Freud, then study Hamlet to explore its psychology. Alongside the curriculum, students write a year-long research paper exploring two opposing sides of a topic of their choice. The year culminates with a class trip to New York City. The students in New Dimensions—who call it New D— become a tight unit as they explore such profound topics as the nature of man and the philosophy of religion. “I never felt so accepted (as in New D),” said Noah Zappone, who is now a freshman at The Ohio State University. “It becomes a family.” FUN FACT: The Hudson High School teams are called the Explorers. 

STARK COUNTY SCHOOLS GET CREATIVE
SmArts, a program supported by ArtsinStark (AIS) uses arts-focused residencies to increase academic achievement in Stark County Schools. In a typical SmArts residency, the classroom teacher identifi es the content and the fi ne arts discipline they want students to explore. The teacher is then paired with a professional artist to design a SmArts residency that benefi ts students of varying learning styles. The program works. A three-year study of SmArts found: • SmArts students outperformed other students; • The percentage of SmArts students who scored at the highest reading levels jumped from 25 percent to 48 percent; and • SmArts students’ 4th grade writing scores rose 23 percent.