By Christine Bryant
Staff Writer
Reynoldsburg Schools will hold two public events this month to address an enrollment issue at the Summit and Livingston high school campuses.
The forums were scheduled to seek input from parents and community members about an ongoing issue at both high school campuses – Summit’s enrollment is too high for its capacity, and Livingston is below capacity.
The two high schools are divided based on Academy. The Summit campus is home to the Encore and eSTEM Academies, while the Livingston campus houses the BELL Early College and (HS)2 Academies.
However, the Reynoldsburg Board of Education announced in March that 72 percent of incoming freshmen selected Summit as their school of choice, while just 28 percent selected Livingston. That has left the Summit campus nearly 200 students above capacity with an enrollment of nearly 1,400. The Livingston campus, on the other hand, has 780 students enrolled.
“Academy leaders and supporting staff will hold a community forum to discuss possible solutions to the enrollment issues at both high school campuses,” said Todd Hutchins, spokesperson for the district. “Everyone is invited to learn more about the enrollment issues, potential solutions and provide feedback to administrators.”
The two forums will take place from 7-8:30 p.m. April 5 at the Summit High School Performing Arts Center and April 7 at the Livingston High School Performing Arts Center.
“Parents will be able to ask questions of board members and administrators on the night of the forums,” said Jocelyn Cosgrave, principal of the Encore Academy. “Feedback will be done in the form of an online survey.”
Since opening, the Summit campus has seen an increase in enrollment, while the Livingston campus’ enrollment has decreased.
“The Summit campus and eSTEM Academy have been popular choices since the building first opened,” Hutchins said.
As part of the Academy structure, students have the choice of which school they attend.
The BELL Early College Academy offers students the chance to earn up to 60 hours college credit at no charge to students and families, catering to those interested in business, education, leadership and law. It also provides related degree and certificate programs in partnership with Columbus State Community College.
The Encore Academy offers specialized programming in arts, communication and design, while the eSTEM Academy is for students interested in engineering design and related fields. eSTEM is one of 15 designated Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) schools in Ohio.
The Health Sciences & Human Services Academy, known as (HS)2, is also an Ohio-designated STEM platform school, one of two in the state specializing in medical fields.While the district has a state-wide open enrollment policy, allowing students who meet criteria to enroll in Reynoldsburg schools where space is available, Cosgrave said based on the district’s data, open enrollment numbers do not have an impact on the space issue.
