The top reported proficiency rate is 29% in English language arts. The lowest is 14% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Grizzly Academy
Grizzly Academy is a small, newly operational public school serving kindergarten through fourth grade in Wadsworth, a suburban community in Medina County, Ohio. The school enrolls a tiny cohort, with fewer than twenty students spread across its five grade bands. The racial composition is predominantly white, with one Black student among the enrollment. Free-and-reduced-price-lunch eligibility data and rates for special education and English learners were not available.
The school's academic performance on Ohio's State Tests in 2024-25 shows proficiency well below the district and county baseline. In the tested grades (three through four), about a quarter of students achieved proficiency in English language arts, and roughly one in seven achieved proficiency in math. Both cohorts tested at full participation. The testing cohort was very small, so a single student's performance shifts the overall rate meaningfully. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Medina County, a position that reflects significant academic gap.
Wadsworth City Schools, the parent district, is navigating fiscal strain. Voters rejected a needed earned income tax levy in May 2025 that was intended to close a substantial budget deficit. Following that failure, the district warned of further reductions likely to include elimination of busing for high school and elementary students living within a few miles of school, additional staffing cuts, and increased participation fees. The credit agency Standard and Poor's revised the district's outlook from stable to negative, signaling ongoing financial pressure. The district did complete a major investment prior to that setback: a new Wadsworth Intermediate School for fifth and sixth graders opened in the 2025-26 school year, replacing an aging three-floor building with a modern facility featuring collaborative spaces and a large auditorium. That project represents the kind of generational infrastructure upgrade that signals prior community commitment to the schools, though it coincides with the current fiscal headwind.
Wadsworth itself is a mixed suburban-small-town setting about an hour from both Akron and Cleveland, with a historic downtown of more than seventy businesses clustered around a town square and a downtown library. Growth is concentrated in the North End's retail corridors and on the east side's new housing subdivisions. Housing values in the area are moderate relative to national benchmarks, and rents are stable. The school sits on the separated east-side campus with other district buildings rather than in the downtown core.
For families considering Grizzly Academy, the scale is very small, the proficiency results are substantially below county norms, and the parent district faces real fiscal headwinds that will shape what services and programs remain available. A parent may want to look into further detail with the school regarding instructional approach, staffing, and how it responds to the test results, and to track the district's evolving financial situation as it moves forward with announced budget cuts.
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