Cultivating the Dream and Vision of The Ginn Academy, The Class of 2013

Welcome to the last post of the 2012-13 school year! Our love and congratulations go to every one of the 57 young men who recently graduated from Ginn Academy, which boasts the highest graduation rate for African American males in the state of Ohio -- and possibly beyond. We are so very proud to share some statistics about this Class of 2013:

90% graduation rate (95% average in the past four years)
$2.1 million in scholarships
56% graduating with high honors
21 full scholarships
98% attending 2-year/4-year colleges or the military

Look at these boys -- their faces, their eyes, their smiles. Here are 57 young men who are about to enter the world and start their lives. We have given them every bit of support possible, and they are ready to take it from here. Good luck to each and every one of you, Ginn Men! May your scholarship, leadership, and service be always with you.

This first group of photos is from Senior Honor Day, held a week before graduation. The second group is from graduation rehearsal, a week later. I was very unhappy about being out of town and missing a GA graduation for the first time ever, and I apologize for not having graduation ceremony photos to share with all of you. Instead, here are the boys in their festive and solemn last days of high school.

 

The indispensible Ms. T (Thornton) with two of our graduating seniors:

Curtis Henry, GA senior, talking with Mr. Nicholas Petty, our principal while Coach Ginn (second from right) and Coach Matt Chinchar, college advisor, discuss upcoming events:

These students and three more, took classes through Operator Training Committee of Ohio in the spring and received certificates of GPS Utility Mapping along with three college credits, which will take them forward into careers in water and waste water environmental science. They are pictured here with OCTO instructor, Ann Giha:

Seven of the Ginn Academy class of 2013 Top 10:

One of our top 10 students, Banji, was in the hospital at the time of Senior Honor Day, so his mother proudly accepted many awards for him:

Mrs. Jeanette Ginn, with Andre Gaddis, winner of the Ted Ginn, Jr. Winning Against All Odds award:

Youth support staff member of the year, Mr. Eley, talking about seeing the struggles that our young men face and how badly he wants to see them make it:

Four of our seniors with art teacher, Judy Rickel:

Here begin the photos of our graduation rehearsal, held at Tri-C Metro campus downtown.

The Class of 2013 Salutatorian, Curtis Henry, with his speech:

Darrell Benjamin, Ginn Academy's 2013 Valedictorian, above left and part of his graduation speech, below:

 

 

As Principal Petty said at graduation, in addition to all of the Class of 2013's excellent stats, all of these young men are ready to compete, collaborate, persuade, and innovate at the highest level for years to come.

Let's see what you can do, Class of 2013!

Love from everyone at GA...

Just a Day in the Life of The Ginn Academy

Welcome! The Ginn Academy is nearing the end of its sixth year. Our seniors, the class of 2013, will begin their senior projects on April 29th with such organizations as the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland City Hall with Councilman Polensek, Independence Excavating, Quasar, NEON, Cleveland Fire Department, Cleveland Courts, the NAACP, and the Cleveland Public Library, to name a few.

Seniors will also participate in annual events including Senior Honor Day, Dining-In, prom, and the annual cookout to which the entire school and families are invited. The festivities will culminate with commencement on June 2nd at 5:00 p.m. at CCC Metro Campus. The Ginn Academy will also host Alumni Day on May 28, and underclassmen are looking forward to promotion and embracing a new cohort of freshmen in the fall. .

In this story, we invite you to a normal, uneventful Tuesday like that of any of the thousands of schools in the United States. Step inside and see what it might look like if you dropped by Ginn Academy to see what goes on in our school.

One thing that was not normal on this particular day was Mr. Ginn's return to the school after a long illness and hospital stay. Our miracle man and leader spent months in the hospital battling pancreatic cancer and the complications that arose with it. His absence was keenly felt by everyone and many of the boys, especially our ninth-graders, who were just beginning to get to know him on this day. As you can see in the second photo, he might have lost weight, but Mr. Ginn has not lost his exuberance for talking with his students!

Four seniors ready to leave for the day. Our young men speak regularly of the brotherhood that they are a part of here.

A few members of the 10th grade group at morning session.

Seniors changing classes. Ginn Academy students form orderly lines in the hallways to move from room to room.

More seniors, ready to leave for the day. Camaraderie after class.

Common ground, common goals. Freshmen in chemistry class.

Putting down roots at Ginn Academy in art class.

Seniors wait to be dismissed from morning session as the sophomores exit the gym. 

Juniors turning in their work as they exit Mr. Robinson's chemistry class.

A Ginn Academy sophomore working on his English class assignment.

 

Three photos above: Juniors working collaboratively on their chemistry project.

One of our seniors works on his Kent State housing form with our College Now advisor, Brittany Anderson. College Now helps our students two days a week with the college application process.

Mrs. Khan, our librarian, assists two of our seniors with a project.

Nearly finished with their first year of high school. Ginn Academy ninth graders, in art class and in morning session.

Community of learning. A Ginn Academy eleventh grader working on his chemistry project.

Mr. Fisher, GA youth support, Dan Coughlin, Cleveland sports reporter, and Coach Ginn. Mr. Coughlin and Coach G were heading down to the Cleveland Public Library to record an interview for a new series that they've recently launched.

Mr. Chinchar, college advisor, reviewing test scores with two GA sophomores.

Planting and cultivating in many different ways at Ginn Academy. Mrs. Jackson, instructional aide, tends to our vivarium's inhabitants.

Mr. Robinson's love for chemistry is not difficult to see.

Awaiting dismissal from morning session, one of our ninth graders.

Youth support staff member, Mr. Holsey, with a group of GA juniors. Our youth support staff is instrumental in holding the boys accountable for scholarship, leadership, and service.

Thanks for visiting with us! If you are interested in a real tour of our school, please call us to set up an appointment: 216-531-GINN (4466).

Wishing everyone a joyful springtime!
Kind regards from The Ginn Academy