The top reported proficiency rate is 74% in Social studies. The lowest is 60% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Ritzman Community Learning Center
Ritzman Community Learning Center serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Akron and sits within Akron City Schools, a district undergoing significant structural change.
The school enrolls a small population of about three hundred students spread fairly evenly across its grade bands. The student body is predominantly white, with meaningful representation from Black students and a smaller share of students identifying as two or more races. Data on free and reduced-price lunch eligibility and on students with IEPs or English learner status were not available.
On state testing, Ritzman's proficiency rates in grades three through five cluster in the upper-middle range. In language arts, about three in five students scored at proficient level or above. Math proficiency ran slightly lower, at about three in five, while science outperformed both at about two in three. The school's overall proficiency index—the mean across tested subjects—sits below the midpoint when compared to other districts in Summit County, though state testing data from other recent school years were not available to track whether performance is stable or shifting.
The school sits on Canton Road in Akron's east side, in a neighborhood defined by single-family homes and some older industrial-era building stock. The broader Akron housing market has tightened in recent years; median home values in the area have risen modestly. Rents are climbing as well. For families renting or buying, affordability remains below national benchmarks but the trend is upward.
Akron City Schools itself has undergone substantial budget pressures. The district cut staffing significantly before November 2024, when voters approved the district's first new school taxes in some years—a milestone that will fund operations and construction of a new North High School building. Any family considering a home purchase here should factor in the property-tax commitment that resulted. At the same time, the district is implementing a systemwide College and Career Academies model, a pedagogical shift that brings industry partnerships and inquiry-based learning into classrooms across all grade levels, including elementary. That curriculum framework shapes what instruction looks like for every student in APS.
Ritzman itself does not report specialized programs or distinctive offerings in the available data, so it functions as a neighborhood elementary school within this broader district context. A parent's experience will likely reflect both the school's own classroom environment and the district's current trajectory—one marked by tight budgets, new revenue, pedagogical change, and capital investment in secondary buildings.
See more original research from School Decision →