Chang, the East High mascot

East Cluster Newsletter

Chang, the East High mascot

East Cluster 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.



East Cluster Sports


News
Remembering East grad, football star at Purdue, & NFL player, Dave Young.

♦ The Ohio High School Athletic Assoc. is exploring the possibility of expanding playoff participation for sports other than football.



e-Sports
Schedule


Baseball
Varsity
Mon., Mar. 25
5:00 p.m.
vs. North
at Patterson Park


Softball
Varsity
Mon., Mar. 25
5:00 p.m.
vs. Firestone
at Firestone Stadium

Middle School
Thurs., Apr. 11
4:30 p.m.
vs. Innes
at Prentiss Park


Boys Track
Varsity
Thurs., Mar. 28
5:00 p.m.
vs. Firestone & Garfield
at Ellet

Middle School
Wed., Apr. 10
5:00 p.m.
vs. Buchtel
at Ellet


Girls Track
Varsity
Thurs., Mar. 28
5:00 p.m.
vs. Firestone & Garfield
at Ellet

Middle School
Wed., Apr. 10
5:00 p.m.
vs. Buchtel
at Ellet



Thank You

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

Gilcher Chiropractic donated $40 to the Drama Club at East.

Buckeye State Credit Union donated $60 to the Drama Club at East.

Sean Robbins donated 15 warm-up shirts to the East basketball team valued at $437.78.

• The Marion F. Walker Queens's Project donated 68 first grade reading books, valued at $748, to David Hill.

• The Marion F. Walker Queens's Project donated 64 first grade reading books, valued at $704, to Barber.

Michael Hayes donated $300 to the Athletic Dept. at East for spring sports expenses.

DonorsChoose.org donated STEM learning materials, valued at $215.99, to Seiberling.



Media Matters

Read the February issue of Robinson's school paper, The Eagle's Nest, here.


Seiberling's Leader of the Month video for December emphasized putting first things first.


The Univ. of Akron's College of Engineering has issued a series of podcasts entitled Diverse Engineering hosted by U. of A. grad, EbaNee Bond.

These podcasts celebrate the diverse voices and stories of U. of A. engineering graduates and seek to encourage more women and other underrepresented groups of students to become engineers.

Listen to the podcasts here.




State Report Cards

Every year the Ohio Dept. of Education (ODoE) issues a report card for every public school and school district in the state.

Over the years, ODoE has changed the grading system from a series of vague categories, to a letter grade, and now to a five-star rating system — the kind of rating system you might see when asked about your most recent pizza or the promptness of your latest Amazon delivery.

Here is everything you ever wanted to know about the new grading system.

And here is the report card for the Akron Public School District for the most recently-completed school year. Below are the report cards for each of the East Cluster schools.

2022-23
Barber
David Hill
Mason
Robinson
Seiberling
East High & Middle



Local College Info

Academic calendars

Univ. of Akron
Kent State
Stark State

Campus news

Buchtelite
Kent Stater
Stark State News

Campus tours

Univ. of Akron
Kent State
Stark State
Walsh Univ.

Admissions

Univ. of Akron
Kent State
Stark State
Walsh Univ.



Contact Us

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions regarding this web site or its contents, send us an e-mail.

East Cluster E-mail

e-mail in motion



 

Robinson
May Be Closing
Will Be Closing

The Akron Public Schools continues to explore methods of redrawing school boundaries to reflect declining enrollment in the district.

As part of a new option presented at the Feburary 12 Board of Education meeting, Robinson, which opened in 1912, would cease to exist as an elementary school.   Instead, the STEM High School would be relocated to the Robinson campus.

The STEM High School needs to find a new home since their lease with the University of Akron on the former Central-Hower building expires at the end of this school year.

If this option is adopted, current Robinson students would be relocated to David Hill or Mason.   Those chosing to open enroll at another school would have to provide their own transportation.

Here is some additional detail on the subject.

2/26 UPDATE:
The Board did not finalize anything at its February 26 meeting but explored some additional redistricting measures.

3/10 UPDATE:
The motion to move forward with the closing of Robinson as an elementary school, reassign its students, and relocate the STEM high school to the Robinson building is on the agenda for the March 11 Board meeting.

3/11 UPDATE:
The expected Board vote on redistricting and converting Robinson into the STEM high school was removed from the March 12 meeting agenda.   This is why.

Robinson CLC



Spring Break Schedule
Has Been Eclipsed

A total solar eclipse will take place on Monday, April 8.   And it will be visible in Akron.

For that reason, and to allow Akron Public School students the opportunity to view the eclipse, the spring break schedule has been adjusted.

Instead of returning to school on April 8, as originally intended, students will have that day off to watch the eclipse and instead return to school on April 9.

The last total solar eclipse visible in Ohio was in 1806.   And the next one won't be visible here until 2444.

 


Having a Ball at Seiberling

Seiberling recently held a Family Ball attended by 376 guests.   Below are two pictures from the event.   Here are some more.

Seiberling Family Ball

Seiberling Family Ball

 


Lunar New Year 2024
Year of the Dragon

Let's hope so

 


Akron School District Boundaries
May Be Changing

In the same way that Congressional districts and state legislative districts undergo realignment as population changes, school districts within the Akron Public School System may be in store for the same process.

As enrollment in the school district continues to decline, changes in school district boundaries may need to be redrawn to account for shifts in population.   District enrollment has dropped from around 30,000 in 2003 to 18,295 today.

New school superintendent, Michael Robinson, and members of his staff recently held a series of informational meetings (see updates below) to discuss these matters.

Here are maps showing the current district boundaries and the proposed changes.

12/7 UPDATE:
At the first community meeting held Decmeber 7 at North High, a proposal was offered that would close three schools and shift enrollment for others.

Here are the changes that would affect schools of the East Cluster:

  • David Hill would be removed from the East Cluster and returned to the Garfield cluster;
  • Some Harris-Jackson students would be relocated to Barber;
  • Some Barber students would be relocated to Seiberling; and
  • Some Harris-Jackson area students, currently attending Jennngs, would be relocated to East Middle School.

12/11 UPDATE:
Here is a summary of the December 11 meeting held at Firestone Park Elementary.

12/14 UPDATE:
Here is a summary of the December 14 meeting held at East.

Any of the changes enumerated above will require review and approval by the Akron Board of Education.

1/4/2024 UPDATE:
Here is a summary of the January 4 special meeting of the Board of Education.   Redistricting plans are being refined, and consideration is being given for the need of one or two levies this year.

1/16/2024 UPDATE:
The school district's lease with Akron U. on the former Central-Hower building, currently home to the STEM high school, is due to expire at the end of the year.   The students in that building will need to be relocated.

At a January 16 meeting Superintendent Michael Robinson proposed moving those students to East, likely into the middle school building.

Needless to say, STEM high school families are not pleased with this proposal.   Here are some of their reactions.

 


If you're planning on higher ed...

Don't Forget About
Your FAFSA

The process for completing the FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, has been greatly simplified, and more changes are coming.

One of the major changes is the revised form for the 2024-25 academic year.   And instead of being able to submit FAFSA applications beginning on October, 1, 2023, access to this year's application was delayed until Decmeber 31.

Visit the Federal Student Aid web site for help on filling out the FAFSA.

Remeber, the first "F" in FAFSA stands for "free."   There is no charge to submit an application.

1/8/2024 UPDATE:
If you've been having problems with the new FAFAS application, this may be the reason.

Another problem applicants might encounter is that the new FAFSA application fails to take into account inflation. Here is some additional detail.



Making Akron Possible

For first-year U. of Akron students

The University of Akron has announced the Making Akron Possible Grant for first-year students from Summit, Stark, Medina, Portage, Cuyahoga and Wayne counties.

The grant will cover all tuition costs and fees for students whose gross family income is $50,000 or less.

Interested students will need to complete a FAFSA application.

Said Dr. Steve McKellips, Vice Provost for Enrollment Management, "It is essential for an institution to continuously re-evaluate its efforts to make sure it is helping those who need the resources the most."

McKelleps stated further, "...we decided that we had to do better for our local communities, so we developed this program that would more closely follow the needs of the students we are poised to serve the most directly to help make a college education more attainable."

For additional info, here is the story from WKSU.

 


 

Valuable School Info

Some important things to know for the 2023-24 school year:

Akron After School

Cell phone policy

Dress code changes

Graduation requirements

Home Access
Center


Homeless students

Kindergarten enrollment

Nutrition services

Parents' handbook

Registration & enrollment

Safer Ohio School
Tip Line


Safety & security

School start &
end times


School
transportation




News
from the
New Super

New superintendent, C. Michael Robinson

The Michael
Robinson story


A letter to the community

Some background
info


10/16 interview
with WKSU




Akron
Board of
Education

General info

Members

Latest
meeting agenda


Meetings
livestreamed


Blueprint for Excellence

Officers elected



Standardized
Testing
info

test takers

ACT
Testing dates
& deadlines


Practice tests

Advanced
Placement

Testing dates

SAT
Testing dates
& deadlines


Practice tests

PSAT
PSAT 8 & 9 info

PSAT 10 info



Looking Ahead

College & Career

Some overlooked scholarship opportunities

College
alternatives




Some
Recent
Stories

Alternatives
to college


Art FROM
the Middle


Arts grant

Budget cuts
coming?


Cell phones
in school


David Hill
academic watch


East-Stark St.
partnership


Finney fired

Fire safety

Fruits & veggies

Gun violence

Robinson's
cook book


Sanitary products

SAT changes

Sean Robbins

Zips Affordability Scholarship



Homework
Helpers

math students

Dictionary.com

Discovery Educ.

Homework Spot

Info Please

Khan Academy

Math.com



Aids to Deal
with Bullying

The BULLY Project

Kind Campaign

National Bullying
Prevention Center


Sit With Us

stopbullying.gov

StopCyberbullying



East
Cluster
Resources

For a list of resources helpful to residents of the East Cluster neighborhoods , click here.

where to?



Alumni
News

class reunion

East High Alumni
Association web site

Facebook
Alumni Group



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

Reporting on the news of the East Cluster since 2002.

Hope you learned something new while visiting our web site.

Last updated:
3/18/2024

Michael T. Hayes
— Web Manager —

Site E-mail