Great Schools by Design: Akron, Ohio Report 2005

After attending the National Summit on School Design held in Washington, D.C., in October 2005, Mayor Donald Plusquellic invited the American Architectural Foundation (AAF) to conduct a school design institute for the city of Akron, Ohio. Inspired by the educational planning and design concepts discussed at the summit, Mayor Plusquellic wanted to introduce these new ideas to his staff, to the staff of Akron Public Schools (APS), and to design professionals. He also wanted to encourage innovative thinking when people were considering how best to improve Akron’s public school facilities in support of student achievement and community involvement. Thus, the Akron School Design Institute was designed to be informative for school and city officials in an effort to create an improved working partnership between the City of Akron, APS, and the Ohio Schools Facility Commission. The Akron School Design Institute was held in Akron on December 6–8, 2005.