1955-66
Martin Essex, who was the district's superintendent from 1955 to 1966, called Akron a "boom town." During the 1950s, Akron's schools grew eight times faster than the city's population. School officials looked upon this enrollment as an economic asset to the community because the students represented future buying power, future consumers and future markets.

During Essex's superintendency, student population ranged around 56,000. Between 1955 and 1962 eight new schools – including East and South high schools, and Case and Hatton elementaries – were built; and 13 major additions were constructed. Essex encouraged the building of sports fields adjacent to high schools "to build loyalties." He said, "I have always held that trophy cases are important to the morale of a school."

The big problem was trying to find enough teachers, since the district was hiring about 375 new teachers a year. In 1957, Akron started a recruitment program to help relieve the teacher shortage. Akron representatives visited every teacher training institution in the state. Appeals were made through PTAs, and notes were sent home with children. Personnel offices of area industries were urged to check on the wives of incoming personnel. If they had teaching potential, the schools would contact them.

What was happening inside Akron's classrooms reflected what was happening outside. With the United States entering the "space age," science, mathematics and foreign languages received more emphasis.

Other "signs of the times" were polio inoculations, savings stamp sales, anti-litter drives, expanded summer school programs, and heated debates over drive-in theaters (described as "passion pits with settings that encourage teenage immorality"). There was also concern over penmanship (since typewriters were becoming popular), smoking (which was widespread among high school students, and even junior high and elementary students), and a controversy over the lunch hour at schools (parents wanted their children to eat at school; administrators wanted students to go home for lunch).

Despite the challenges, Akron maintained its excellent reputation; and in 1966 the district was a leading force in educational circles.

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