Jones Leadership Academy to become business school

5/7/2018

Jones Leadership Academy will adjust its academic focus next year as the academy works to prepare students to be future business leaders.

Toledo Public Schools announced on Monday that next fall Jones Leadership Academy would officially be named Jones Leadership Academy of Business as the school shifts its curriculum to focus heavily on business-related courses.

“Students across the area, the region, and the city of Toledo who have an interest in business, this should be the first school that comes to mind because the culture will focus on business,” said TPS Superintendent Romules Durant.

Next fall the revamped Jones Leadership Academy of Business will have finance, accounting, international business, and digital marketing courses. TPS plans to bring in two new business teachers with the influx of new business courses, said Tom Dimitrew, senior director of Career Technology Education.

Currently, students in grades 9 -12 take a one-hour business class each day.

Starting next year, students in grades 7-9 will take a one-hour business class every day; 10th-graders will take two hours, and students in grades 11-12 will take three hours, Mr. Dimitrew said.

With its shift to a tailored curriculum, Jones Leadership Academy joins a growing list of specialized schools in the district.

“We’re moving towards thematic schools where kids have an interest and focus where the entire culture of those schools are all relevant and based on that particular focus,” Mr. Durant said.

TPS will be opening its new Aerospace and Natural Science Academy of Toledo this fall aimed at students across the region interested in aviation, environmental science, sustainability, and wildlife management.

Principal Ward Barnett said he couldn’t be more excited about how beneficial the school’s new direction will be for the students.

“This gives our students an opportunity to really engage business while in high school,” he said.

Mr. Dimitrew said he believes the new curriculum will not only engage the students more but also enhance their learning experience.

“The point here is if you make learning authentic then it clicks,” he said. “They don’t want to just read about it in books and be told about why. They want to see and do to understand why it matters.”

Contact Javonte Anderson at janderson@theblade.com, 419-724-6065, or on Twitter @JavonteA.