Akron Public Schools dedicated their first STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) High School on September 27, 2012. The school will house ninth grade students this year, and will add an additional grade each year until it is at full capacity in 2015.
The STEM high school will be taking students first from the district's STEM middle school at the National Inventors' Hall of Fame site, and students from other Akron schools will be taken if space is available.
The College of Education, UA and other public and private sector organizations have worked with the Akron Public Schools to open this innovative school. UA administrators and faculty have been involved in every phase of the planning — from curriculum development to technology to grant writing to research. College of Education alumnus Larry Johnson, Jr. is the high school’s first principal.
The STEM High School will be the second official site of a professional development school in which UA and the COE have partnerships. The school is located in the former Central-Hower High School building, adjacent to campus.