Marsha Bodiford on Thursday morning laid out expectations for her new fifth graders at Crouse Community Learning Center.
Her class has one rule.
“We can do anything as long as it does not cause a problem,” said Bodiford as she moved through the second-floor classroom in the school in Akron’s Sherbondy Hill neighborhood. Her elementary school-aged students heeded the directions in a quiet morning stupor as they finished worksheets.
In Akron’s University Park neighborhood, principal Gregory Blondheim and his staff greeted returning students at Leggett Community Learning Center by name, commenting on how tall they’d gotten over the summer and complimenting new shoes and fresh fades.
“Our biggest goal here is when they cross over that threshold to make sure that this is the best part of the day,” said Blondheim, who personally delivered several hundred high fives while chaperoning younger students to classrooms, chatting with parents and grandparents and directing drop-offs for buses and van drivers.
Similar scenes repeated on the first day of public school in Akron, from the fifth grade at David Hill CLC to eighth grade at Hyre CLC to high school students at Garfield CLC. Some stopped to pose for photos in front of their schools; others were the stars of short videos filmed by family members — or rushed off to find their friends without a backward glance at the bleary-eyed parents who brought them to school.
Akron Public Schools is celebrating its180th year as a district.
“It just feels different — I feel excitement in the air,” Crouse Principal Tara Bruce-Bently said of her 11th year at the west side elementary school. “I feel the possibilities and more of a calmness.
“We have more of a purpose this year.”
At Leggett, Blondheim said most of his school’s nearly 400 students were returning for the 2026-27 school year.
Kids like Tymere Simmons, 9, and his little brother Tristan, 8.
The Simmons duo — Tymere in fourth grade, Tristan in third — were starting their second year at the building and said they are looking forward to math, their favorite subject.
“Math is the easiest, and reading’s OK,” Tymere said. His brother disagreed, citing both as what he was most excited to learn in the upcoming year.
Yolanda Ford brought her grandchildren — second-grader Elijah Asher and kindergartener Neliah — for their first day. Neliah’s classes don’t start until Monday, but Ford said she was there for testing.
Elijah sheepishly said he was excited for second grade at the new school. His family just moved to the neighborhood, close enough that Ford may walk them to class once she finishes unpacking their kitchen and bedrooms.
Blondheim jokes he’s been with Akron Public Schools since he started kindergarten there in 1973 — giving him a lot of “first days” under his belt. Twenty-five of those have been as a principal within the district.
And now, he’s served in local education long enough to have “grand students” — the children of his former students — pass through Leggett’s doors.
“It’s kind of cool to see them all grown up and doing good things as young parents,” Blondheim said.
Leggett’s goal, like many other schools in APS, includes improving attendance for the 2026-27 school year. The building made great strides in reducing chronic absenteeism last year — projecting a more than 5 percent decrease, he said, but there are always families that struggle.
“A lot of our kids understand this is a safe place for them,” he said.
