Displaying items by tag: students

Open communication was one of the main concerns students and alumni had last school year during the University of Akron's public challenges with budget cuts, layoffs and declining enrollment.

This year -- it's a fresh start with open dialogue between students and U of A's Interim President Mathew Wilson during a Town Hall meeting. 

"What I've noticed that has been different about [Wilson] in comparison to [former President Scott Scarborough] is he is talking to students," said UA senior Hayley Cargill. "I mean, he's giving out his personal phone number for people to text him. He really cares about the students and that's a big difference."

The university faced heavy criticism over the past year under the leadership of now-former President Scott Scarborough. In late May, the board of trustees and Scarborough reached a mutual agreement for Scarborough's resignation.

It came as no surprise that some of the questions at Wednesday afternoon's meeting were focused on the administration's transparency and open communication. Those were problems that were brought up under the leadership of Scarborough. But Wilson, who has been working as the interim president for eight weeks, was quick to say that he's focused on being a good "communicator."

Even some of Scarborough's toughest critics at the event said they feel hopeful about what's to come for the university.

"Just the way [Wilson] speaks is encouraging," said graduate student Thomas Guarino. "Talking about putting students first. I've heard that many times, repeated, over and over. That's very encouraging."

Cargill said she's hopeful about the new direction the university is headed and appreciates Wilson's focus of connecting with students on campus.

"I have yet to see what this year will hold, but I have a lot of hope that it'll be a lot better than last year. It already is." 

Wilson talked about the hours he has spent helping connect students with the proper resources, including an an email he received from a student who was faced with the possibility of being homeless. Wilson said he worked with the student to help find a solution to pay for housing.

The status on donations at the university was also brought up. Wilson said pledges are coming in -- and that a major donation is currently under consideration. He noted that the total is in the millions, but didn't release further details.

You don't have to travel far to see the legacy left behind by astronaut Judith Resnik who was killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion 30 years ago.

Every student at Resnik CLC learns a special song that honors the school's namesake, leaving some parents and teachers in tears. 

Students singing in honor of Judy Resnik who was killed in the space shuttle Challenger explosion 30 years ago. pic.twitter.com/Vj9lM61z0y

— Amani Abraham (@AmaniAbraham) January 28, 2016

Resnik and six others were killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986. Students spent the afternoon remembering Resnik's childhood in Akron and her love for math and science, which eventually led to her path to become an engineer and astronaut.

5th grader Seth Singer believes Resnik would be proud to see students honoring her legacy.

"I think she would say that she would be glad to be here and that she would be very grateful because she was always kind and had a big heart."

Resnik is honored every year at the school with teachers building lesson plans around the astronaut -- who continues to inspire kids to reach for the stars.

"We learned a lot about space and about her, so I think she would be very proud," said Singer.

The presentation ended with students singing the Judy Resnik song -- written by APS Music Teacher Kim Shama-Hanna.

Students at Green Middle School will have to wait to take their trip to Washington D.C.

"We can't control everything but when we have the opportunity to prevent a possible situation from happening, we want to take all sorts of precautions," said Julie McMahan, school district spokesperson.

In other words, safety comes first and that'a s mantra that the owner of Traveling Classrooms, the company that is coordinating the trip, repeats as well. Owner Bob Jackson says he's okay with the school district's decision even though he's only aware of one other district in the region that's taking the same approach. In fact, Jackson is taking a group from Lake High School to the nation's capital this week.

Lake High School is a much smaller group and they're just there Friday afternoon through Saturday and they're still opting to go, which I think is a good thing," said Jackson. "I do understand the concerns of the parents of Green Middle School and I fully support the decison that Green made."

McMahan is aware that most schools that have planned trips are still proceeding as planned but says her district is comfortable making decisions that are based on the needs of their own students, parents and employees that may differ from what some other district is doing. McMahan says the students will probably get more out of it by waiting.

"Where does their fear lie?  Where is their hesitation? Are they going to be spending their whole time texting their parents back and forth, saying 'hey, we're okay,'" said McMahan. "That kind of takes away and diminishes the value of the educational experience."

Jackson says that despite the well-circulated video that shows a possible terrorist threat on Washington, D.C., the city's usual high alert has not been elevated.  Jackson says he regularly communicates directly with the Department of Homeland Security and several security teams connected directly with tourist stops that are part of his itinerary and everyone says that as of now, it's business as usual.

McMahan and Jackson both say they're hoping the students can take the trip in February.