Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023 - Akron Public Schools is embarking on an initiative to right-size some schools due to population changes and necessary building closures that have occurred over the past 20 years. A series of community meetings begins tonight at North High School to discuss how these decisions will impact parts of the North, East and Garfield clusters. Two more meetings will follow at Firestone Park Elementary School and East CLC to reach out to families who might be affected by the proposed changes. Any proposal must meet with board approval before being officially activated.

“We have to achieve a balance,” said Superintendent Dr. Michael Robinson. “For years in our city, while we were busy rebuilding our inventory and consolidating our footprint, population changes created new challenges we must meet. We must address our building capacity in the midst of a diverse yet declining population throughout our city," Robinson said.

As Robinson prepares to meet the community with his message, the district has a newly created boundary map delineating the proposed shifts as to which neighborhoods would be attached to which Akron public schools: https://www.akronschools.com/district/district-information/redistricting.

In a series of community meetings in the areas affected, Supt. Robinson is meeting with families and community members at:

North Cluster Community Meeting

Date/Time: Thursday, December 7, 6:30 p.m.

Location: North High School Auditorium

Garfield Cluster Community Meeting

Date/Time: Monday, December 11, 6:30 p.m.

Location: Firestone Park Elementary Auditorium (Firestone Park closure)

East Cluster Community Meeting

Date/Time: Thursday, December 14, 6:30 p.m.

Location: East CLC Auditorium

“It is most important that we have two-way conversations about this with our families about proposed changes that are imminent,” said Robinson. “The impact of these changes can be significant; our families need to be fully aware of what we are planning. We need to listen to their voices. This is very important to this process.” He added that the re-structuring of the district would ensure more scholars are learning in new APS community learning centers as the district closes Firestone Park and Essex elementary schools, which was approved prior to Dr. Robinson’s arrival at Akron Public Schools.

The closing of Firestone Park next school year will see its scholars going to McEbright, Voris or Glover community learning centers in the Garfield cluster of schools. Essex, which has been used to accommodate students from an overflowing Harris-Jackson CLC in North Hill, will see its students return to Harris-Jackson.

David Hill CLC, now in the East cluster, will rejoin the Garfield cluster where it was originally. It now becomes an option for Firestone Park scholars to attend. David Hill’s graduating fifth-grade classes would, in this proposal, attend Innes CLC.

To accommodate the North cluster elementary schools that are at or near capacity now, some scholars from Harris-Jackson will be going to Barber CLC in the East cluster.

The proposal would also include Portage Path CLC rejoining the Buchtel cluster; it will maintain its standing as an International Baccalaureate School.

Robinson reassures APS families that any changes made will allow for greater balance within the district. “As Akron changes, we must change with it so that we maximize the educational opportunities for our scholars.”

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