AKRON, Ohio — With almost one year finished under the leadership of a new superintendent, Akron Public Schools is evaluating its strengths and weaknesses.
Wanting a roadmap for meaningful change, the district sought outside consultation, and released the findings this week. Burns/Van Fleet's "Transition Report" was commissioned under the guidance of APS' Superintendent Dr. C. Michael Robinson to give him a performance audit of the district and some concrete recommendations.
The inquiry's lead, Dr. Stuart Berger, said his team put together the report after interviewing 170 people — mostly APS administrators and principals, but also members of the Board of Education, union leadership, and their professional staff as well as community, business, and philanthropic leaders.
The report found that APS has created a curriculum at the high school level that is "quite meaningful," with pathways that are designed to prepare students for work and college.
"On the other hand, expectations for students are low; implicit bias is high," the report added. "Higher level thinking is not stressed; professional development is insufficient, and the gifted and talented program is severely lacking."
Berger also said the district's test scores are "abysmal." In the 2022-23 school year, only 40% of high school students passed end-of-course tests for Language Arts II, and only 23.5% passed Algebra I.
"If the test is what you call a valid test and it's really measuring the skills, then this isn't ... good. You're at the bottom," Berger told 3News on Friday. "Even though they have a wonderful, exemplary college and career program here — I mean, people come from all over the country to look at it — no matter how many different offerings they do, there are kids who still fall through the cracks."
Berger believes APS has the infrastructure, talent, and community support to assure its viability, but the culture greatly lacks accountability. He explained that many things contribute to this, but the most significant is the administration's fear of labor unions, and also noted that consequences are non-existent and poor performance is tolerated.
Berger recommends that the culture shift to one of high expectations, with excellence being the driving force. He and his team add that governance is an "area of great concern."
"Roles between the policy making Board of Education and the administrative duties of the Superintendent have become blurred," the report noted. "The Board needs to understand that individual Board members have no statutory power; their authority is as a group in public. The Board may have empowered the Akron Education Association (hereinafter AEA) beyond what is constructive."
Berger gave 19 recommendations to the district, but said his top five are:
- Increase professional development, especially around the concept of implicit bias.
- Negotiate the return of the principal's authority.
- Expect a culture of high expectations for all students.
- Reduce dependence on retired principals, especially as daily substitutes and recruiters
- Expand admission criteria for Akron After School, which provides math and reading support to academically at-risk children and opportunities for exploring new activities and interests.
Berger concluded his report by warning that APS is leaning towards a crisis, and that a commitment to progress is non-negotiable.
"APS has tremendous potential, but faces huge obstacles" the report's final line reads. "Bold leadership is required. Hopefully this Report will provide a meaningful roadmap for dialogue, change, and most importantly a better education for APS students.
Read the full report below:
WKYC requested an interview with Robinson on Friday, but he said he has no comment at this time, as he is still reviewing the report. In a conversation earlier this week with our own Danielle Wiggins, the superintendent denied he was anti-union and pushed back on allegations from the AEA that he promotes a culture of retaliation.
"I'm not going to mistreat anybody and do something wrong, knowingly wrong, no," Robinson said. "If I do something in error ... I don't have a problem apologizing and saying 'I'm sorry.'"
Facing a budget deficit, the Board of Education approved $24 million in cuts this past Monday, including the elimination of 285 jobs and the laying off of 52 teachers. APS says it will seek to close the gap even further with a new school levy and bond issue on the November ballot, which would cost residents an additional $311.50 annually for every $100,000 worth of property value.
"I know it's going to be a sacrifice, but I'm hoping they (the community) will support us in November," Robinson added.