Summit County P-16 Council Awarded KnowledgeWorks Foundation Grant

The Greater Akron Chamber recently helped secure a $20,000 KnowledgeWorks Foundation grant for the Summit County P-16 Council. Only five Ohio regions were awarded the grant. The P-16 Planning Committee, which included Chamber leaders, has been working for five months on identifying partners and issues for further study by the Council.

The purpose of the KnowledgeWorks initiative is to look at gaps in the education pathway for Ohio students from preschool through post-secondary education. Inconsistency and gaps between levels of education have made it difficult for some students to move through the local educational system successfully. Obstacles can include: a wide gap between the curricula taught in elementary school and middle school; inconsistent academic expectations between middle school and high school; and high school classes that do not properly prepare students for college level courses.

The Summit County P-16 Council initiative brings together community, education, and business leaders to identify problems in the local educational pipeline and develop potential solutions. The mission is to decrease the number of students that become snagged within the system and that are not provided with the skills needed to succeed farther along the educational pathway.

The P-16 Council will promote best practices as well as public policy that encourages greater success of Summit County students. The educational pipeline that the P-16 Council helps implement will become an education model for Ohio and the rest of the nation.

The Greater Akron Chamber believes that education is important for the vitality of the community. Academic achievement will foster economic advancement and social improvement for the entire region.

The Summit County P-16 Council is made up of the following community leaders:

Superintendents: Dr. Elizabeth Lolli, Barberton City Schools; Dr. Sylvester Small, Akron Public Schools; Dr. Gary Zoldesy, Coventry Local Schools, and Pat Corbett, Summit County Educational Service Center.
Higher Education: Dr. Luis Proenza, president, The University of Akron.
Community Organization Leaders: Robert Briggs, executive director, GAR Foundation; Dr. Judythe Hummel, executive director, Summit Education Initiative; and Robert Kulinski, executive director, United Way of Summit County.
Business Leaders: William Considine, chair, Akron Tomorrow, and Dan Colantone, president, Greater Akron Chamber.
Preschool/Early Childhood Leaders: Malcolm Costa, executive director, Akron-Summit Community Action, and Dr. Susan Long, Co-Chair, This City Reads!
Civic Leaders: Mayor Donald Plusquellic and County Executive James McCarthy.
Adult Education Leaders: David Jennings, executive director, Akron-Summit County Public Library, and Mary Jane Stanchina, executive director, Six District Educational Compact.

Along with Summit County P-16 Council, the Councils in Ashtabula County, Clark County, Greater Cincinnati, and Highland County also received KnowledgeWorks Foundation grants. KnowledgeWorks Foundation is Ohio’s largest public education philanthropy and is dedicated to improving educational opportunities within the State of Ohio.