Sean’Nae Jeffreys is ecstatic about starting the new school year.
She is thrilled to be embarking on her final year as a student at Emmanuel Christian Academy.
She is delighted to be among the academy’s students who will begin making memories in a new building.
“It’s going to be an adventure! We’ve got more space, and I am sure that means there will be a lot of fun things going on — and a lot of worship,” said Sean’Nae, 13, of Akron. “I’ve been a student at Emmanuel since first grade, and it’s a great school. All of our classes include a lot of activities. Learning is fun here.”
Emmanuel Christian Academy, a private nonprofit Christian school, will open Tuesday at a new location — 350 S. Portage Path, the former site of First Grace United Church of Christ. The academy moved on June 30 from its original home of 23 years at the House of the Lord on Diagonal Road.
“We are so thankful to the House of the Lord for serving us all those years,” said V. Rena Suber, principal and chief school administrator. “The church is expanding and needs the space that we occupied, and we are expanding and needed more space to grow our programs.”
The new location, where work crews are still laying floor tile and making finishing touches, has allowed the academy to expand from a pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade school to one that now also serves children as young as 6 weeks old
The new Early Education Center, which will operate on the school calendar, has room for 24 3-year-olds; 12 2-year-olds and 12 children younger than 2.
“The babies will get the same curriculum as the rest of our students — Spanish, music, art, technology, all of it,” Suber said. “We have wanted to have a chance to impact younger kids for a while and we can do that now.”
Emmanuel was founded in 1993 when ten people shared a vision for establishing a Christian school committed to academic excellence that would serve students defined as “at risk.”
School officials define “at risk” students as those who are in danger of not graduating from high school and are affected by at least one of five conditions — poverty, lack of education of the parent(s), single-parent homes, race/ethnicity and environment.
The academy's student population consists primarily of students who live in inner-city communities. Eighty-six percent of those students live in households at or below the federal poverty rate, and 73 percent come from single-parent homes.
Emmanuel, which also accepts students with Individualized Education Programs and autism, touts a 94 percent high school graduation rate. Its eighth-grade graduates have been tracked to both private and public high schools, including Akron Early College, Archbishop Hoban, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, National Inventors Hall of Fame High School, Our Lady of the Elms, St. Vincent-St. Mary and other high schools in the Akron Public Schools district.
Tuition is $4,250 for kindergarten through eighth grade students and $5,347 for pre-kindergarten. Additional costs include a registration fee of $105 for new students and $95 for returning students and an activity fee of $90 and $95 for elementary and middle-school students, respectively. Sports are pay to play.
The academy, which has an average classroom size of 25 students, satisfies its $1.8 million budget with funding from tuition, donations and an annual benefit. Tuition funding includes money from the Autism Scholarship Program, Jon Peterson Scholarship Program and Ohio Education Choice Program. It partners with Akron Public Schools to bus students living at least two miles away.
Ronald Graves, a guidance counselor, and Lathardus Goggins II, a middle-school math and science teacher, agree that the academy is more than a school.
“It’s a family. This is a place that is centered around Christian values and academic excellence. It’s culturally competent and it’s a place where children know they are loved,” said Goggins, whose 7-year-old son is in second grade at Emmanuel. “This school does something that is often overlooked in education — it develops the full person by helping children come to understand who they are in a loving environment, surrounded by teachers and staff who understand them.”
Emmanuel is currently accepting enrollment for children ages 6 weeks to 2 years. All other classes are full and have a waiting list.
A community open house at the new location will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 10. More information about Emmanuel can be found at https://ecarams.org or by calling 330-836-7182.
Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com.