Akron Public Schools reports 48 summer programs, says 1,771 unique students participated

Tiffany Lundy, CCAA coordinator for expanded learning at Akron Public Schools, told the board on Aug. 11 that the district ran 48 summer programs this year and filled roughly 75% of available seats.

Lundy said the programs offered a mix of academic and enrichment activities intended “to build relationships between our students, our scholars, and adults” and to “provide a safe environment for them when they are away from their families.” She reported 1,771 unique students registered for camps and said those students accounted for multiple seat registrations across programs.

The district reported 4,743 seats were available across the 48 programs and that registrations produced roughly 3,598 seat-signups (registrations across multiple camps), producing the 75% fill rate Lundy cited. She also described targeted supports: 24% of participating students had Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), about 9% were English learners, and about 8% of participants were experiencing homelessness; the district provided transportation and waived fees where needed.

Lundy highlighted several program examples. The Summer Learn and Earn initiative invited 44 students to earn required credits and receive pay; a new districtwide driver’s education scholarship supported 33 students at Garfield after 131 applications for the scholarship; and swim lessons served about 250 children across two free six-lesson sessions.

Two community partners who led multi-week "adventures" camps described their work. Dominique Waters, founder and executive director of Akron Sneaker Academy, said his sneaker-themed camp ran on the University of Akron campus for three weeks, kept about 85% average daily attendance and drew roughly 27–28 middle schoolers per day (with volunteers), noting a sneaker expo that drew more than 100 community stakeholders and the mayor to see student projects. Deanna Badley, an intervention specialist at Litchfield who presented on behalf of Fallen Fathers’ basketball camp, described emphasizing teamwork, nutrition, physical fitness and mental-health awareness in sessions she said helped students build leadership and public-speaking skills.

Board members praised the programs and asked for follow-up data. Doctor Molnar (board member) said showcases of learning are important and urged wider promotion; Member Hall asked whether non-APS children can pay to fill unused seats and was told business-affairs liability rules currently limit camps to district scholars.

The presentation said the district uses Summit Education Initiative as a data convener to analyze multi-year outcomes, and that full academic impact of the 2025 summer session will be assessed after the next school year’s data are available.

District staff and partners told the board they plan to expand adventure camps and to track cohorts—including outreach to higher-risk students who historically have lower summer participation—to measure changes in attendance, behavior incidents and curricular access during the following school year.