Akron Public Schools is currently considering whether to move the National Inventors Hall of Fame STEM High School to one of its existing facilities on the city’s east side.
Superintendent Michael Robinson said in a Jan. 17 statement he’s proposing moving the science, technology and math-focused school to the middle school portion of East Community Learning Center. Students at East would be relocated to other nearby schools: middle school students would go to Robinson Community Learning Center, and elementary school students would go to David Hill or Mason elementary schools.
A change has been in the works for some time with the district’s lease on the building, which is the former Central-Hower High School building, coming to an end this school year. The lease was up last spring but the district negotiated an extension with the University of Akron, which owns the building, for an additional year. The district has considered several other options for the STEM High School, including moving it to the current STEM Middle School space, a proposal which prompted protests from the middle school's parents and students.
The district in recent months has been hosting community meetings to share its redistricting plans to for some schools, shifting where students go to school as they close some buildings, partly due to a declining student population. The Akron Board of Education will consider that plan - which includes moving the STEM High School to East Community Learning Center - next month, a spokesperson said.
Parents at a community meeting in mid-January told WKYC News that they had concerns about "safety" at East Community Learning Center, and increased transit times to get their students to school.
