Excitement Abounds at North CLC | New High School Reinvigorates Vikings Pride

Charles Morrison was bubbling with enthusiasm while outlining every step of the North CLC building project – a state-of-the-art campus slated for groundbreaking ceremonies in spring 2027.

The North high school campus principal envisions a school that highlights its diversity. Also, there’s an expectation that the innovative classroom designs will be better suited for its Career Academies and two campus-specific pathways – HVAC and pre-school education.

“We're one of the most unique and diverse schools in the state of Ohio,” Morrison said. “ When I send out all-calls, it’s sent in 10 different languages and then there's multiple dialects to every language. So we do have interpreters that are here that help support that learning. 

“We have English as a second language classes for those students. So with our demographic we have about 365 English learners, which is about 43 percent of our population who are English language learners.”

The project’s budget is $85 million dollars – including an A&E contract (Architectural and Engineering) of $6.5 million. The A&E are the professional services agreement for design, planning, and surveying related to real property construction or repair, usually awarded based on qualifications rather than lowest price.

According to district officials, the new North High School campus will be designed to “inspire students, support teachers, and serve as a gathering place for the entire community.” It features modern classrooms, a 750-seat auditorium, athletic fields, and inviting spaces.

“It's exciting. It's stressful because you don't want to make any mistakes,” Morrison said. “You want to make sure you do it right the first time and you're not sitting here four years from now, wishing you would have done something different.”

The APS website emphasizes: a design team blends trusted local experience with nationally recognized innovation, united in their commitment to creating a school that reflects Akron's spirit, celebrates its diversity, and prepares students for the opportunities of tomorrow.

“We’re trying to be deliberate and conscientious of the needs of all the teachers, students, and families,” Morrison said. “We’ll still have our family resource center here, and it's an intentionally designed space to house our United Way partners and other community partners.

“I think it would be for all pathways, which are unique to the city. I think overall every pathway will see an increased utilization in our new school.”

North has two half-day and one full-day preschool classes. The school houses about 40 preschool students throughout the day, which allows early childhood pathway students to have hands-on teaching experience in the preschool, according to Morrison.

“If you're looking at the population at Jennings (Community Learning Center), which is over percent capacity, we are growing,” said Morrison, whose high school is the third largest in the district. “The new building is going to be a little bit bigger to anticipate some increase (in student) population”.

The North project gathered momentum and eluded state oversight for its finances when voters approved a bond issue in 2024. It was the district’s first levy in 12 years as the issue passed with nearly 60 percent voter approval.

The board approved one of three option plans during its meeting on Monday, Feb. 23. 2023. The project features a new building on the current site, expected to open around 2029 with modern classrooms for 1,100 students, a 750-seat auditorium, and athletic fields growth, and community pride. The project includes renovations to the current 1970s section that includes the current gym and classroom support areas.

“We have a lot of mosaics all around the top of the building, and we’ve talked about trying to integrate some of those features into the new building,” said Morrison, who noted that among the mosaics likely to remain is the Viking ship perched atop one of the school’s entrances.

“There have been a lot of conversations with alumni and just people in passing, they like to see some of the older aspects of the building. I think keeping that 1970s section will help satisfy the wishes of the alumni.”

To keep the North High School replacement project under budget, project leaders recommended the district keep parts of the existing school. The first two options, which included building an entirely new school and reconstruction, would have exceeded the district’s $85 million budget.

“The design plan incorporates replacing what we already have,” Morrison said. “We will have a track and a full-size practice field, but it's not intended to be a stadium. We would need outside funding if we were looking to make those improvements.”

Hasenstab Architects and Moody Nolan considered two other options for replacing the high school at 985 Gorge Blvd., which is the district’s only neighborhood high school that wasn’t replaced during the 16-year effort by the district and city that resulted in more than 30 new community learning centers. 

• Hasenstab Architects has been serving Akron Public Schools for more than 40 years, completing over 40 projects that reflect a deep understanding of the district's needs.
• Moody Nolan, the largest African American-owned architecture firm in the nation, is celebrated for forward-thinking design and has been recognized as an AIA Architecture Firm Award Winner and one of Fast Company's most innovative firms.
• Opening in 2029-2030, North High School will be a place where students dream bigger, achieve more, and celebrate what it means to be part of Akron.
• Approximate Building Size: 190,000 square feet for 1,100 students in grades 9-12 with a 750-seat auditorium.
• Site: The new building and athletic fields will be built on the current site with the current building remaining in operation throughout construction.
• Approximate Cost: Current budget is $85 million, which is funded locally.
• Advantages: Preserves significant existing infrastructure, minimizes demolition..meets budget constraints while expanding usable space.
• Disadvantages: Potentially higher operational and maintenance cost may limit flexibility for future upgrades or modern design standards. The systems being considered for use in the new/renovation building will be more energy efficient and should have lower maintenance costs compared to the current North High School due to is aging infrastructure limitations.