Overview:

Covered by Documenter Jackie Jantzi (notes)

Union members pack Akron Board of Education meeting, oppose outsourcing of some tutoring jobs

The Akron Board of Education meeting went longer than normal Monday, in part due to a capacity crowd of around 125 people and nearly a dozen speakers during the public comment period. 

The board voted to allow all registered speakers to talk during public comment. Many spoke out against a plan to use a private company, Varsity Tutors, for tutoring services. Others spoke in favor of the plan, arguing that it provides another safety net for students at no cost to parents. 

At a Jan. 8 meeting, the board approved moving forward with a $156,000 Ohio Department of Education grant to work with the Missouri-based tutoring company to provide 2,400 hour-long sessions with Akron Public Schools students through the end of June.  

Others raised concerns over plans to relocate the STEM High School from the University of Akron campus to East Community Learning Center (CLC). Two parents and one student raised concerns about transportation issues and losing out on College Credit Plus classes if the location changes. 

Officials shared information about the school redistricting plan which is still under development, with two more public readings planned for upcoming board meetings. 

Recognition for graduation, test improvements

APS Superintendent Michael Robinson used part of his report to the board to highlight recent achievements at several schools, including:

  • 87% of students at Akron Early College High School recently passed the American Government Ohio state test, a required exam for juniors and seniors.
  • The board and Robinson recognized the principals and some staff members of five schools that have shown two consecutive years of test score improvements.

    For the high schools, positive graduation results pulled them “out of what is known as Priority status by the state of Ohio,” according to an APS post.

    “We are proud of your work and that of your scholars and are so pleased with the progress you’ve made,” Robinson said.

    The recognized leaders and schools are:
    • David Kurzen at Innes CLC
    • LaMonica Davis at Helen Arnold CLC
    • LaCresia Beecher at Buchtel CLC
    • Walter Noland at East CLC
    • Frank Kalain ( interim principal), Kim Sabetta (former principal) and Kathryn Rodocker (former principal) at North High School.

Read Documenter Jackie Jantzi’s notes here:

Akron-Board-of-Education-School-Board-Meeting-01_22_2024Download

Community Journalism Director (he/him)
Kevin leads the Akron Documenters program at Signal Akron, connects with the community and supports the journalists in the newsroom. With a servant leader mindset, he brings more than 30 years of experience in local journalism, media consulting, and education to Akron. Editor & Publisher selected Kevin as top media leader in their “25 over 50” class in 2022. Members of the group were selected for their “strong work ethic, transformational mindsets, commitment to journalistic and publishing excellence, and their ability to lead during challenging times.” Kevin is committed to serving the residents of Akron with an optimistic, inclusive, and innovative mindset to help elevate civic engagement and local journalism.

Akron Documenters trains and pays residents to document local government meetings with notes and live-tweet threads. We then make those meeting summaries available as a new public record.