‘It’s the learning in the building that matters’: New school opens downtown

The Greater Dayton School is a new private school, unaffiliated with any religion, that prioritizes students from a handful of districts, including Dayton, Trotwood and Mad River, and focuses on students who are qualified for Medicaid. It’s run by Kids & Community Partners, the charity arm of the Connor Group.

While the school’s first year started with the students in an old Salvation Army building downtown, this school year will end with the students in a state-of-the-art campus just north of downtown at Deed’s Point. The property was abandoned for several years before construction began about two years ago.

The building is just part of the investment. The school has recruited teachers from across the country, started an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. model, bought its own buses to get kids to school on time and structured classes to allow teachers time to focus on individual students.

It teaches grades preschool through fourth and eventually plans to educate up to eighth grade, adding a grade per year.

There were roughly 200 applicants for 80 slots, said A.J. Stich, founding principal of the Greater Dayton School.

Nassima Saboun, a fourth grader at the Greater Dayton School, said she liked the school because of the lessons she’s been able to learn, the ability to practice her tumbling and cheerleading skills and the teachers.

“I like being a student at GDS because of the cheerleading, excursions to places, our dedicated teachers and staff ... working at my own level and working by myself on extended learning,” she said.

Stich said that while Connor’s leadership was important, the EdChoice voucher program from the state, which funds part of the Connor Group’s model, also helped make the school happen.

“It takes Larry Connor, it takes the state of Ohio being dedicated to scholarships for student choice to fund an operation like this,” Stich said.

He said the school is spending more than $20,000 per student. In Ohio, the current state formula calculates giving each school less than $10,000 per student per year.

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who helped pass EdChoice while he was Speaker of the Ohio House in 2005, said the school is using the latest best practices for the whole student experience, including a wellness center.

“This is a state-of-the-art academic environment,” he said. “It’s uniquely preparing students to make sure that they have access to great learning environments, support services that address the individual needs of the student without disrupting the whole class. All of those things that are lessons that we’ve learned in this country about educating children.”

Husted said he remembered meeting with Connor and his team about five years ago.

“I remember thinking starting a school is hard,” Husted said. “Starting a school like this seems impossible.”

Connor said he was convinced the idea was worth the effort because of what it would do for the students. Looking forward, he hopes to help build more schools like the Greater Dayton School around the country

“The future of America is kids,” Connor said.