Akron Public Schools is forming a new partnership with Huntington Bank for the district’s latest College & Career Academy.
The academy model is designed to give students real-world experience in a field they might want to pursue after graduation. And that now includes Huntington’s Academy of Global Industry and Design at Buchtel CLC. Huntington Regional President Nick Browning says it will provide both hard skills – like accounting – and soft skills like how to approach a job interview.
“Show them what it’s like to work outside of a school, and inside of a company where, hopefully one day, they’re going to be. And provide training that’s going to be relevant to us as employers. So when that kid graduates high school they’re going to be ready for a career of their choice.”
Buchtel CLC Principal Nicole Hughes says programs like this one are crucial for providing opportunities and mentoring previously not available to low-income students.
“It brings in a layer of people who can say, ‘Hey here’s what you don’t know, here’s what you know but might want to consider differently. And let me expose you to a set of things that you can choose or not choose. But, ultimately, now you actually have an informed choice.’”
Buchtel had a soft-launch for the program earlier this year, and also has another academy focused on healthcare, in partnership with Summa Health System. About 300 students are enrolled in each one.
More than 6,000 APS students total are enrolled in the district’s College & Career Academies.
