THIRTIETH ANNUAL AKRON AFRICAN FESTIVAL: FEATURING LEGENDARY BAND CON FUNK SHUN

The THIRTIETH ANNUAL AKRON AFRICAN FESTIVAL returns to Akron at a new location, after an absence of one year. This year's
event will take place at Lock 3, in cooperation with the City of Akron and a number of other local sponsors.

This year's festival features a special event, "It's An African Affair" on the evening of July 24th and the music of the legendary band CON FUNK SHUN and numerous other class acts. Starting at 11am on Sunday, July 25th the day's activities will begin with a drum call and recognition of our ancestors, before offering up speakers on a variety of topics and performers from a variety of groups, locally and internationally.

CON FUNK SHUN will take to the stage as the featured artists for the evening's activities. You can find more information about them and all the other groups that will perform that evening at the following link for the 30th Annual Akron African Festival: Part II.

Over the past 40 years, the Akron African Festival has attracted thousands to the Akron area. It is the second oldest cultural festival in Ohio, surpassed only by Youngstown, OH. Individuals have planned family reunions and homecomings around the dates of the festival. This year will be no different, with the exception that for the first time you will be able to solidify your plans using the Facebook group for the festival to connect you to all of your friends and family members, before, during and after the festival. We'll be steadily posting pictures and videos of friends, performers and family members over the next month and beyond. Use it or lose it.

There will also be a special tent for youth activities of all kinds. Vending opportunities are still available, as well.

So, bring on da noise, bring on the Funk! Bring all your family and stay the whole day. Bring your lawn chairs, picnic baskets and blankets. Reserve a prime spot near the stage for the whole family. Before 5pm it's all FREE. After 5pm it's $5 with no jive! Either way, you'll have a good day and a great night.

BILL & MELINDA GATES SUPPORT MODEL EDUCATION PROGRAM IMPLEMENTED BY APS

"KnowledgeWorks in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Education is transforming Ohio’s public schools, where only 7 in 10 students graduate every year, from a one-size-fits-all education system into schools where respect for the individual is paramount, and every child is considered 'college material.'"

The village of Stewart Africentric met last week with Superintendent James where he answered questions and spoke of the vision that APS has for Stewart Africentric as they prepare to move into their new home within the Crouse Community Learning Center.

He brought with him a new board member by the name of Amy Grom who is in support of applying the "school-within-a-school" model, which is looked upon very favorably by KnowledgeWorks, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that are both working with the Ohio Department of Education to improve the success rate of students in Ohio public schools.

Stewart Africentric was created as a small school that could give more focused attention to each and every student to increase the likelihood that they would not only successfully graduate from high school, but also successfully matriculate from the college of their choice. The recently retired superintendent was very supportive of the Stewart model. The village of Stewart Africentric expects that they will receive even more support in the future.

According to an ERIC report on the "school-within-a-school" model there are a number of factors that will lead to

success with this model. Two of the most important factors are:

Making sure the "guest" program is autonomous by having the "guest" program administered by an APS administrator.

Fully funding and staffing the "guest" program with all the staff necessary to ensure the success of the program.

One of the encumbrances that teaching staffs have had to contend with under the Bush administration is embodied in the NCLB, an unfunded government mandate. In this case government was not the solution but has caused more harm than good. By requiring the students of all public schools to meet the standards of the NCLB without giving them the financial support to meet these criteria they've created a "Catch 22" like situation within the elementary education system.

" . . . smaller schools help struggling students by raising graduation and achievement rates, according to more than 30 years of research. Small schools in other states have successfully improved student performance, reduced violence, and increased student graduation rates."

Crouse Community Learning Center (CLC) is in a new state of the art building with all of the modern accouterments necessary to run a top notch school, there's no question about that. The question is how committed is the district to the ideals of Stewart Africentric? Superintendent James has made it perfectly clear in his last two meetings with the Stewart community that over the past 10 years there have been several occasions where Stewart has been on the chopping block. He also stated that the school's overall academic performance needed to be improved in order for the program to continue, but without the proper support, particularly financially, it's a plan that's destined to fail.

The Akron Public School system has a chance to be on the cutting edge, in terms of elementary education. Smaller schools are the wave of the future and the "school-within-a-school" model is one of the ways this small school model can be implemented. The benefits are worth the effort and the expense it will take to make this model successful. The KnowledgeWorks Foundation is prepared to make an investment in our childrens' future. What is APS doing to take advantage of this opportunity? What is APS doing to prepare our elementary students to begin doing college level work from the 10th grade through 12th grade.

George Crouse Elementary School was built in 1919. It was named after one of the major benefactors and original trustees of Buchtel College, the precursor of Akron University. Buchtel College was instrumental in making Akron the "Rubber Capitol" of the world. Akron is no longer the "Rubber Capitol." In fact, Akron is a city in search of a new identity. The choices we make now, regarding the education of our children, will determine what the future will hold for Akron and the role our children and grandchildren will play in that future.

We can all agree, "it takes a village to raise a child." The question now is, what role will Stewart Africentric play in the development of that village. Moving into a modern facility is obviously a good thing for the students of Stewart Africentric. But, it could be just as beneficial for the Crouse students, by giving them an example of how to function using a different paradigm. Success at Crouse CLC can also serve as a model for other schools within APS that are going to have to operate under one roof.

At the high school level this school-within-a-school model has led to higher test scores, improved morale and decreased incidents of violence, all of which lead to improved overall academics.

The Stewart Africentric village still needs more details in regards to the implementation of this school-within-a-school model. Hopefully, some of these details will be forthcoming at the meeting with Superintendent James, at Stewart Africentric, this Friday at 11:30 AM.

Unanswered questions that remain include how will the students be prepared before they move? How will the two schools maintain their separate identities while living under the same roof, if the Crouse school colors dominate the building, as they do now? The Crouse colors dominate the majority of the walls, furniture and floors tiles throughout the building. There are also questions about students transferring from one program to the other within the building.

If this move is done right it could create a atmosphere of camaraderie and unity within the two programs, and between their respective staff members and students, making Crouse CLC a shining example for the entire district.

Stewart Africentric Elementary Relocates to Crouse Community Learning Center

Contrary to misleading reports, in the Akron Beacon Journal, Stewart Africentric Elementary is not closing. The building will not be used after this year, but the Stewart community will be relocating to Crouse Community Learning Center at 1000 Diagonal Road in Akron. The current building for Crouse Elementary has been in continuous use since 1919.

At the end of this school year Crouse Elementary will be razed and out of its ashes will be born a new community learning center (CLC). As of the Fall 2009 Crouse CLC will be the home of the current student body already in attendance at Crouse and the student body of Stewart Africentric Elementary school.


Teachers, parents and interested community members took a look at their soon to be new home in the Crouse Community Learning Center. A parent meeting will be held at Stewart Africentric Elementary School on March 5th, 2009 at 6 PM to answer any questions community members may have. You can also reach school officials for more information at 330/873-3396.

The newly constructed building stands on the same plot of land as the old Crouse we all remember. But, instead of 3 - 4 floors, depending on how you count, the new building has a low profile with only 2 stories and lots of windows. As we toured the building the afternoon sun lit up every room. The inclusion of a number of large windows in strategic locations was a brilliant design stroke. From the rear of the building it looks somewhat foreboding. But, from the front it has a much more open and inviting feeling.

This feeling only lasts for a moment though, because all visitors will have to enter through the main office which is secured and will require visitors to be buzzed in by the receptionist who will have a birdseye view of anyone coming in the front door, while also being able to view all other entrances on a monitor from their office.

The building will house the 200 Crouse students currently enrolled and 120 additional students from Stewart Africentric Elementary. For the moment plans have not been announced for the current building housing Stewart's students. However, from all indications their will only be one principal with the possibility of an assistant principal. Whether or not there will be an assistant principal is unsure. All of the students from Stewart will be housed on the second floor. Crouse students will be on the first floor and will also occupy one additional area on the second floor in a separate wing of the building.

There will be some areas that the students from both schools will share, primarily the gym, cafeteria/auditorium, clinic, art room and the music room, not to mention the outside playground area.

The playground and a second parking lot that will allow people to enter the gymnasium at ground level are still in the works.

Overall the building itself gets a 4 out of 4 stars rating. It seems that they've thought of everything and have a realistic plan. The school will house 500 students at capacity, but will start with around 350 students. There will be a number of openings so parents whose children are not already enrolled at Crouse or Stewart should contact APS as soon as possible. These openings will not last long. When Helen Arnold CLC opened the demand exceeded their capacity to meet it, so some students were turned away in that instance.

It will be a real challenge for the Stewart parents and staff to maintain the Africentric program in their new environment. Hopefully, they won't be swallowed up in the new building or lose their unique identity. I'm hopeful, this merger with Crouse will work out better than expected and both programs will flourish in the bright light of day which will bathe the school on every sunny day.