The East Cluster of schools in the Akron, Ohio, Public School System

	East Cluster of Schools
Part of the Akron Public School System • Akron, Ohio

East High East Middle Barber CLC David Hill CLC Mason CLC Robinson CLC Seiberling CLC

Cluster
Calendar

Click on the calendar below to see a list of events relating to the schools of the East Cluster.

Making the Grade

The Akron Beacon Journal has announced its new Making the Grade project.

This initiative will honor students and staff of Summit County schools. Two weekly winners will be selected from the nominees.

Nominated during the second week of the project are East Middle School students Jack Lancia and Makayla Wright.

East Sports News

Coaches
Basketball Media Day
Summary

Boys Basketball
Varsity
Buchtel 85
East 66

Tues., Dec. 11
7:00 p.m.
at Kenmore-Garfield

Junior Varsity
Buchtel 53
East 41

Tues., Dec. 11
5:30 p.m.
at Kenmore-Garfield

Middle School
Thurs., Dec. 13
4:00 p.m.
vs. Jennings
at home

Sixth Grade
Sat., Dec. 15
12:15 p.m.
City Championship
at Helen Arnold

Girls Basketball
Varsity
Ellet 42
East 45

Thurs., Dec. 13
6:30 p.m.
at North

Junior Varsity
Ellet 44
East 26

Thurs., Dec. 13
5:00 p.m.
at North

Middle School
Thurs., Dec. 13
4:00 p.m.
at Jennings

Bowling
Girls
Ellet 2,033
East 1,334

Fri., Dec. 14
4:00 p.m.
vs. Buchtel
at Akron Lanes

Boys
Ellet 2,371
East 2,129

Fri., Dec. 14
4:00 p.m.
vs. Buchtel
at Akron Lanes

Cluster Students, Teachers Honored

East seniors, Jayda Peterson and Matthew Stover, along with math and science students from other Summit County high schools, were honored on Nov. 1 at the annual honors and awards banquet hosted by the Akron Council of Engineering and Scientific Societies (ACESS).

In addition, several East Cluster teachers were awarded grants for projects they completed. Levonia Swails and Caite Eggeman from Barber received a grant from Bridgestone while Tracy Braho from East received two grants from the Society of Plastics Engineers and one grant from Harwick Standard.

Here are details from the banquet.

Video Corner

WAKR's Ray Horner visited East to report on the newly-opened Firestone Complete Auto Care Center as part of the school's Auto Tech curriculum.

Watch the video here.

Thank You

Thanks to the following organizations and individuals who made contributions to the schools of the East Cluster:

• Scott S. Swierkosz donated $500 for the Auto Tech Lab at East.

• Robin Briggs donated $250 for the Student Council canned food drive at East.

• Michael Hayes donated $1,000 to East for the IT-Interactive Media career pathway of the school's Academy of Applied Engineering & Technology.

• Bridgestone Americas donated point-of-sale training equipment, valued at $1,729.45, for the Bridgestone Auto Care Center at East.

• Reams Enterprises donated its services, valued at $55,000, to build the showroom at East's Bridgestone Auto Care Center.

• Lane Valente Industries donated $4,753 worth of equipment & services for the mechanic's area at East's Bridgestone Auto Care Center.

• KeyBank donated $4,218.40 worth of furnishings for the financial services center being established at East.

State Report Cards

Every year the Ohio Dept. of Education issues a report card for every school in the state. Evaluated are factors such as test scores, reading competency, and graduation rates.

Listed below are the report cards for the schools of the East Cluster for the 2017-18 school year.

2017-18

Barber
David Hill
Mason
Robinson
Seiberling
East High & Middle

Changes to the Changes

Class of 2019 faces more uncertainty

Instead of clarifying the requirements to graduate from an Ohio high school, the path to that goal is more confused than ever.

More rigid requirements for graduation were supposed to be instituted for the Class of 2019. However, it was soon realized by school districts that thousands of this year's seniors were not on track to graduate under these new standards.

In order to avoid that outcome, the Ohio Legislature offered some alternative pathways to graduation (see related story, bottom of this column).

But because up to one third of this year's senior class still may not meet standards for graduation — even with these alternatives — state legislators are considering even further adjustments to the state's requirements for graduation.

Update

In order to address the fact that as many as one third of the members of the class of 2019 might not meet the current standards for graduation, the Ohio House and Senate, on December 6, both voted to approve a bill that would offer additional alternatives to qualify for graduation. The bill has been sent to Gov. John Kasich for his signature.

Newly-offered pathways to graduation included in the bill, such as achieving a 2.5 GPA during the senior year, maintaining good attendance, completing a capstone project, or working at a job, should help mitigate the graduation crisis.

These alternative pathways to graduation will be extended to the class of 2020, but the 2.5 GPA will be calculated for the junior and senior years, the capstone project will be subject to more rigorous guidelines, and the good attendance option will be eliminated.

For further detail, read one or both of the articles below:

Columbus Dispatch Cleveland Plain Dealer

Polymer Academy
Seeks Young Inventors

for 11th annual Rubber Band Contest

The Akron Global Polymer Academy at the University of Akron is looking for students in grades 5-8 with elastic minds for the 11th annual Rubber Band Contest for Young Inventors.

The contest is divided into two divisions: Arts & Leisure and Science & Engineering. The goal of the competition is to come up with a working invention or piece of art that uses at least one rubber band.

More than $5,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded with the first place winners in each division earning $600 apiece, and runners-up in each division earning $300 apiece. All entries must be postmarked no later than March 8, 2019.

For complete contest details, entry forms, and guidelines, visit the contest web site here.

Attention Seniors:

If you need help completing your FAFSA application for the 2019-20 academic year, the Ohio Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators has created a FAFSA help web site.

ACT Scores Decline

So does college readiness

The American College Test (ACT) reported on October 17 that 1.9 million members of the high school graduating class of 2018 took the test. Of that number, a greater percentage of these students are not ready for college-level work.

The average national composite score declined from 21.0 for the class of 2017 to 20.8 for the class of 2018.

The percentage of students meeting the standards required for college work dropped in all areas tested by the ACT: English, reading, science, and math. The level of math readiness reached a 14-year low.

In total, 35% of the high school class of 2018 tested met none of the four subject-area standards that determine readiness for college.

Marten Roorda, ACT Chief Executive, states, "Math specifically concerns me in a society that's becoming more and more technological. The economy needs more students with STEM education, and good math skills are vital to the STEM orientation."

Roorda said that the math curriculum needs to be modernized with more time spent on the subject in the classroom.

Matt Larson, immediate past President of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, agrees. "There's a need to restructure how high-school mathematics teaching and learning is done in the United States," he says.

For additional reference, here is the story as published in the Wall Street Journal, and here is a report published by the ACT entitled, "The Condition of Career and College Readiness."

Prospective colleigans take note:

Univ. of Akron, Stark State
Prepare to Connect

The University of Akron and Stark State College have announced an academic partnership called Direct Connect. This arrangement will allow students to enroll simultaneously at both institutions.

Stark State offers associate degrees, while Akron offers associate, bachelor's, and graduate degrees.

University of Akron interim President, John Green, stated, "We are actively pursuing a path of widening the educational pipeline in Akron."

The terms of this arrangement will allow students to transition seamlessly from earning an associate degree at Stark to pursuing a bachelor's degree at Akron. And instead of attending Akron for those first two years of college, students, in many areas of study, can get the same curriculum at Stark at a savings in tuition costs.

John Green noted that students with two-year degrees could use their credentials to get a job to help pay for their bachelor's degree.

Stark State President, Para Jones, pointed out the additional benefit that Stark State students "...will be able to start working with admission counselors, faculty advisers at the University of Akron."

In addition, Stark students participating in Direct Connect will have access to University facilities such as Akron's libraries, recreation center, and computer labs.

Here is the story from the Akron Beacon Journal.

David Hill Gardens
Earn Certification

The school gardens at David Hill have earned certification from the National Wildlife Federation.

In order to qualify, a garden must offer food, water, and shelter for beneficial animals and/or insects. A certified garden must also offer a place to raise protected wildlife and engage in sustainable practices.

To quote the National Wildlife Federation, "Every habitat garden is a step toward replenishing resources for wildlife locally and along migratory corridors."

To the Class of 2019:

Prepare for a
Tougher Path to Graduation

Message to the Class of 2019: You will likely have fewer paths to graduation than the class before you.

Beginning with the 2018-19 school year, seniors must complete their required course work and then meet one of the three pathways for graduation:

earn at least 18 points on seven end-of-course state tests
earn an industry-recognized credential in a single career field
achieve a remediation-free score in math and language arts on either the ACT or SAT.

Due to the concern by school districts that so many of their seniors might not graduate, the Class of 2018 was given several alternative pathways to graduation. The Ohio Board of Education has requested that these alternate options be extended to the classes of 2019 and 2020.

However, Chair of the Senate Education Committee, Peggy Lehner, said in April that this is unlikely to happen. Former Ohio Board of Education member and current Miami University trustee, Tom Gunlock, agrees that this extension should not be granted.

Said Gunlock, "I think we're shortchanging our students by not demanding more from them." He added, "I'm all for 100 percent of our kids graduating with an education, not 100 percent of our kids graduating just for a participation trophy."

For more information on this topic, including a profile of the Class of 2019 at Kenmore-Garfield, read this article from WKSU.