Education

A group of Case Western Reserve University student entrepreneurs are headed to one of the biggest consumer technology trade shows in the world. 

Nearly three dozen students, alumni and Case Western staff were picked for the annual CES trade show, which features thousands of tech companies and start-ups from around the world.  

A creative writing program for youth in Summit County's Juvenile Detention Center has been honored by the Ohio Department of Youth Services.

The Designing Identities initiative was introduced at the center six years ago by Kent State University professors Kristine Pytash and Elizabeth Testa. Pytash says one of the pieces submitted for the award was a poem that was so well received, it’s being used to inspire a visual design work next year.

Akron and Kent State are not the only universities in northeast Ohio looking for a new president. Walsh University in North Canton has launched a national search for a new leader to replace Richard Jusseaume, who will retire at the end of June.

Jusseaume is currently the second longest serving president of an Ohio four-year private university. He's been at the helm at Walsh for 18 years. Serving as president of Walsh is the culmination of a rare and enduring relationship Jusseaume has had with the school.  

Kent State’s Board of Trustees has officially kicked off its search for the university’s next president.

The trustees’ final meeting of 2018 was also the first meeting since Kent State President Beverly Warren announced she will step down next July.  The board has selected a search firm – New York-based Russell Reynolds Associates -- and a chair for the committee, Trustee Shawn Riley.

A Senate committee has advanced a bill that would create more options for high school seniors to graduate. If the full House and Senate approve, it would put off implementation of stringent graduation standards.

The Senate Education committee has extended the so-called alternate pathways for graduation for the Class of 2019.

The University of Akron will soon begin searching for a new president.

The search won’t be entirely in the hands of the Board of Trustees, as has been the case in the past. But the public will not know who the university is considering until the selection has been made.

The Summit County Prosecutor’s office is allowing a law student to handle some felony cases, an arrangement which they believe could be the first of its kind in the county.

In 2009, the Ohio Supreme Court expanded the types of cases in which a legal intern could provide representation. Last summer, third-year law student Ashley Lanz was the first from the University of Akron to approach the Summit County Prosecutor’s office about handling low-level felonies. She says the experience is different from misdemeanors, since many of her cases are drug-related.

An Army grant has helped a Kent State professor build a drone that can carry 1,000 pounds.

The University of Akron is considering changes to its presidential search policy, which would include using a private firm to conduct the search.

If the changes are approved, it would keep the names of candidates private and inaccessible through public records laws.

Some argue a private search leads to the best candidates coming forward without fear of backlash at seeking new work.

However, Frank LoMonte, a senior legal fellow at the Student Press Law Center, says a private search has the potential to let questionable candidates slip through the cracks.

High school seniors not meeting the testing benchmarks to graduate next year could have extra options on the table, such as good attendance and GPA. That is if Ohio lawmakers can pass a change before the end of the year. 

These alternate pathways were created for the Class of 2018 when more than a third of seniors seemed to be falling short of the new, more stringent requirements.

Democratic state lawmakers are using these last few weeks of session to try and eliminate school district takeovers by the state. This process has allowed the state to assign a CEO to take control of an academically failing district.

Youngstown and Lorain have been taken over by the state, and more districts, including Dayton, are on the chopping block. 

But these districts under academic distress have yet to see improved results.

Graduating seniors in Ohio schools are breathing a sigh of relief. For the second year in a row, Ohio lawmakers are considering delaying tougher new requirements for a high school diploma because thousands of students are in danger of not being able to graduate. 

State representative Tavia Galonski of Akron says the current alternative pathways to graduation will likely be in effect until 2022. She says this is a win for students.

Superintendents are calling on lawmakers to help the state avoid a possible high school graduation crisis -- again. They say, without state intervention, as many as a third of students will not meet the requirements to graduate.  

Thousands of kids in the class of 2018 might not have graduated under new testing-driven standards. So lawmakers delayed those standards and allowed seniors to pick from a menu of attendance rate, GPA, a final project, community service, work experience or a college credit plus course.

About 70 girls in grades 6 through 10 turned out at the the University of Akron for its eighth annual event for girls interested in engineering and science.

The state school board has approved several graduation options for high school students in the class of 2022 and beyond. But board members said lawmakers need to act on some alternatives for the thousands of students who might not graduate this coming spring.

If legislators approve the school board’s recommendation, students could select from tests, final projects, state courses and grade point average in order to graduate, starting in 2022. 

Two Los Angeles film makers are featuring Akron as a part of their new documentary, UNLIKELY.

Jaye and Adam Fenderson found that 50 percent of students who start college, don’t finish. Their film looks at college success and achievement across four cities – Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta and Akron.

Director and co-producer Jaye Fenderson says they heard about Akron and once they got here, they fell in love.

The state has a lot of work to do to meet its self-imposed goal of 65 percent of working-age adults holding college degrees or industry certificates by 2025. That’s the conclusion of an analysis of the state’s school report cards by a pro-charter school group.

The Fordham Institute’s Aaron Churchill said the analysis shows only 2 in 5 high school students are meeting college and career ready goals, and those numbers are even lower in Ohio’s eight largest cities.

More than 7,500 people were in Cleveland over the weekend for a gathering of Hispanic engineers and students.

The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) represents STEM professionals and students. The group held its annual convention in Cleveland this year, with attendance up about 15 percent over last year.

In her State of the University address Wednesday Kent State President Beverly Warren said the institution is doing well and will do even better in the future.

President Warren spoke of Kent State’s progress in becoming a leading student-first university. But, since she’s retiring in July, she challenged the whole university community to continue that transformation.

Education is a major issue in the race to become Ohio’s next governor. Both Republican Mike DeWine and Democrat Rich Cordray say students take too many tests, but the candidates diverge on how they plan to reduce testing and support schools. 

The major party candidates recognize that improving Ohio’s schools can lead to closing the skills gap, where companies are having a harder time finding a competent workforce.

Hundreds of Akron high school students are in danger of not graduating on time. 

Current graduation requirements state that students must earn at least 18 points on several state tests and take at least 20 credits. However, some students in Akron have not been doing well on state tests.

Last year, the state allowed different options for the class of 2018 to receive their diplomas. State Representative Tavia Galonski says unless the same thing happens this year, many students will not graduate on time.