The top reported proficiency rate is 31% in Math. The lowest is 21% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Crouse Community Learning Center
Crouse Community Learning Center is a small elementary school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade in Akron, enrolling roughly a few hundred students. The school is located within Akron City Schools, which has undergone significant changes in recent years: the district approved its first new operating levy and bond issue in several years in November 2024, a sustained property-tax increase that will fund operations and construction of a new North High School, but earlier in 2024 the board cut staff and eliminated many teaching positions in response to budget pressure. This context matters for any family considering the neighborhood.
The student body at Crouse is predominantly Black, with smaller representation of students from multiracial backgrounds, Hispanic backgrounds, and white students. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch was not available, as was information on students with individualized education plans or English learners. The school does not serve grades where state testing is required, so academic performance measures for most early elementary grades are not reported. However, Ohio's State Tests do apply to grades three through five, which Crouse does serve.
State test results from the most recent school year show proficiency rates well below the state median. In English language arts across grades three through five, proficiency stood in the low to mid range. In mathematics, proficiency was similar. Science testing was administered to only a subset of students in that grade band and showed comparable results. These data reflect meaningful academic challenges. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what supports are in place and what progress the school is working toward.
When placed against the other districts in Summit County that serve comparable grades and report similar metrics, Crouse's overall proficiency index falls in the bottom quartile among the sixteen comparable schools in the county.
Akron itself is Ohio's fifth-largest city, a mixed urban landscape still shaped by its industrial past but actively reinventing around healthcare, research, and technology. Downtown holds most government and office space, while neighborhoods like the one where Crouse sits are predominantly single-family residential areas. The city is only modestly walkable overall, though downtown and some neighborhoods like Highland Square offer more pedestrian-friendly environments. Transit is available through METRO RTA bus service. The University of Akron is a major institutional presence just east of downtown, and Summa Health and Cleveland Clinic Akron General anchor the healthcare sector. Major employers also include Akron Children's Hospital, Bridgestone's polymer research center, GOJO Industries, and a growing tech hub in the former B.F. Goodrich plant. The housing market has tightened in recent years; median home values have risen modestly year-over-year, and the city is pushing infill development and offering tax incentives and funding programs for new affordable housing construction.
The district has announced a significant pedagogical shift: Akron Public Schools is expanding a College and Career Academies model system-wide using the Ford Next Generation Learning framework, with the model moving from high schools to elementary schools. This represents a fundamental change in how instruction happens—emphasizing career pathways, industry partnerships, and inquiry-based learning rather than traditional classroom methods. This shift contributed to the district's improvement on the state report card, and it is now part of what every Akron student, including those at elementary schools, experiences.
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