Moving Forward, the 2012-13 School Year Begins

Welcome to the 2012-13 school year at The Ginn Academy. In this, our sixth year, we are very excited about our 230 young men and all that they will learn and accomplish in the next nine months.

First, we welcome our new principal, Mr. Nicholas Petty, who came to us ready to give 120% and is already re-shaping the landscape of our learning environment. Ginn Academy is progressing toward a more global focus. We're looking at how our students' education compares with students in China, in Russia, in India. Our steadfast main themes of scholarship, leadership, and service remain at the forefront of our teachings, with a new requirement for each young man to give 30 hours of service over the course of the year.

The blog will feature a profile of Mr. Petty in the near future. We are all excited to introduce him in more depth to all of you. In the meantime, many of you might have read about Mr. Ginn being in the hospital. He is recovering and will be back at school shortly. Not a man known for resting, he's in touch with the school every day and can't wait to be back at work.

Until things really get going, we'd like to proudly show you a few of our first day of school photos. In the first shot, you'll see Mr. Petty with one of our Juniors, Marcellus.

You might notice that the boys wear different ties. The colors and patterns signify their grade level. Black ties = Freshmen, red ties = Sophomores, striped ties = Juniors, and the ties with the Ginn crests are reserved for the Seniors. The Sophomores were all in class when these photos were taken, but we'll make sure to have a few shots of them soon.

Many thanks for going back to school with The Ginn Academy! Please let us know if you have any questions about the school or even a story idea. We appreciate you taking the time to learn more about what is going on here.

Kind Regards from everyone at The Ginn Academy

The Last of the Originals, Part Three: Where We're Going!

On May 31st, 2012, Ginn Academy's graduating seniors, the last of our originals, took their last steps as high school students, and their first as the adults that they will soon become. We'd like to share some images from that day, and brag just a bit about these courageous and strong young men that have been with us for the past four years. We've shown you where they come from and who they are, and we're very optimistic about where they're going.

One week prior to graduation is our yearly Senior Honor Day, where the GA student body, faculty, and families gather for a warm send-off. The last part of the ceremony takes place with the Junior class filling the seats vacated by the Senior class. This year's class has amassed $1.7 million in athletic and academic scholarships. In addition to those awards, very personal attributes and challenges are recognized each year with awards given by members of our community and those close to our school.

Mrs. Jeanette Ginn, wife of Ted Ginn, Sr., presented the Ted Ginn, Jr. Winning Against All Odds award to Maurice "Mo" Stearnes.

The evening of graduation was a long one for the boys as they rehearsed and readied themselves for their big night. Families filled the lobby of Cuyahoga Community College's Metro campus auditorium. The excited and joyful crowd was treated to speakers from The Ginn Academy and the CMSD School Board, and the featured speaker, Ms. Danita Harris, News Channel 5 anchor. Ms. Harris's powerful speech about our boys being transformers electrified the crowd. Singer, Maleya Johnson, brought many tears with her rendition of Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You," and Humble G Tha Fiddla used his violin to bring history and remembrance to the ceremony when he played "Lift Every Voice," the Negro National Anthem.

At the end of this story, there will be a list of all of our graduating seniors along with their next destinations.

 

Finally, we present the Class of 2012 and Where We're Going!

Dashawn Adams, Hocking College

Myron Adamson, University of Cincinnati

Brandon G. Baldwin, Central State University

Marshawn J. Bell, Kenst State University

V'Angelo D. Bentley, University of Illinois

Tye'Sean D. Berry, University of Toledo

Albert J. Black, Mercyhurst College

De'Van Bogard, The Ohio State University

Denzell Burton, Kent State University

Sam Byrd III, Erie Community College

Davonte M. Congress, University of Findlay

Sean P. DeBose, Jr., West Virginia Wesleyan University

Darnell C. DePriest, Jr., Marian University

Xavier Dowdell, Lake Erie College

Sean C. Draper, University of Iowa

Richard Evans, Entering Work Force

Michael Fairfax, Cuyahoga Community College

Alvin J. Hale, Wright State University

Justin Hardee, University of Illinois

Evan J. Harris, University of Toledo

Aykee Henderson, Notre Dame College

Willie E. Henry, Jr., University of Michigan

Dionte T. Hood, Kent State University

Aaron J. Johnson, United States Marine Corps

Jamil D. Johnson, Cuyahoga Community College

Kevin C. Kinds, Hutchinson Community College

Walter Lee, Thiel College

Terry Lewis, Jr., Entering Work Force

Kieante McGee, Northeast Oklahoma Community College

Michael A. McMillon, Kent State University

Marcus H. McNeal II, Capital University

Raymond Melton, Jr., Lake Erie Barber College

Rahmere A. Merritt, Cuyahoga Community College

Willard Osborn, Cleveland State University

Alex D. Pace, University of Cincinnati

Derek A. Perkins, Jr., United States Marine Corps

DaVaughn Reid, Ohio University

DeAnthony Riggs, Ohio Dominican University

James E. Robinson, Cleveland State University

Joseph J. Shihadeh III, United States Navy

Jason Simmons, Cuyahoga Community College 

Steven Sims, Kent State University

Maurice Stearnes, Cuyahoga Community College

Raphael C. Stedmire, Cuyahoga Community College

Larry D. Stormer, Lake Erie College

Darrione K. Waldon, Kent State University

Levert Williams, Cleveland State University

Trevari Williams, Entering Work Force

Amir Wright, Entering Work Force

Justin Young, United States Army

Thank you for your support of our young men. We're so very proud of them and appreciate your interest in The Ginn Academy.

Kindest regards from everyone at our school...

The Last of the Originals, Part Two: Who We Are

In part two of this series, The Last of the Originals, we'd like to take you a bit deeper into the lives and the hearts of all of the people that make up the Ginn Academy family. Forty-seven young men graduated on May 31, 2012. Thirty-nine of them have been with us since ninth grade and are the last of our Ginn Academy originals; the boys and their families that believed in us when we were brand new, untested.

In this segment, Who We Are, we would like to show you more than the typical year-end photos. We'll go into the homes and lives of two of our graduating seniors, Albert and Rahmere. Despite all of the discouraging and disappointing news that we hear about our city, there are people here trying hard to do the best that they can for their children and they are succeeding. We want to introduce you to the big, loving, supportive families that have been behind these two Ginn Men as they've made their way into adulthood.

Though we have students from all over the Cleveland metropolitan area, Albert has clearly traveled the longest distance to attend Ginn. Born here, he moved to Atlanta at age 5. When his high school's long-time football coach resigned before his junior year, Albert and his father, Big Al, reevaluated everything. They decided that his best choice would be to move back to Cleveland and attend The Ginn Academy to be part of the passion and vision of Ted Ginn. "I just felt he was missing the sustenance, the meat and potatoes he needed in his life. Atlanta was too new for me, no traditions. He has more family up here. He needed more substance in his life, not material things, but real things, to bring him full circle and let him find out who he is really meant to be."

Both Big Al and Kymberly, Albert's mother, can now see the results of the unity, brotherhood, mentoring, and nourishment that Albert has had at GA, but Kymberly took a lot of convincing to make it happen. She and Big Al live in separate households in Atlanta, so Big Al moved back to Cleveland where Albert split his time between his two grandmothers' houses. "I was completely against it," Kymberly recalls, "But in the end it was Albert's choice and I trusted him. He has family here that's supported him throughout the process so that's made it a lot easier." 

The move has been a good one for Albert as he has learned of a lot of his Atlanta friends dropping out of school, while his own grades have gone from mediocre to honor roll and, according to his parents, his confidence is now amazing! He will attend Mercyhurst College on a full athletic  scholarship. Big Al says, "He's used football to get a great education, and it's not about the NFL, it's about getting a job. Getting the experiences that he needs for life."

The second family that we would like you to meet today, is that of our Salutatorian, Rahmere, who has been with GA since his ninth-grade year. One of four kids, Rahmere and his parents, Anitra and Raheem, have faced substantial challenges, yet he has still finished second in his graduating class. Despite being in and out of the hospital as a result of a rare kidney disease called FSGS (Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis), which resulted in the loss of both of his kidneys, being placed on the kidney transplant list, and daily dialysis, Rahmere has managed to stay on top of his studies, take part in all of the senior year activities, and finish as the Salutatorian of the GA Class of 2012.

The family is obviously so proud of him and the love in their home was nearly overflowing the day that we visited, as grandparents and great-grandparents arrived for the graduation festivities. Anitra, a Police Misconduct Investigator for the city of Cleveland, and Raheem, who works for United Cerebral Palsy, talked about the changes they saw in their son once he started high school at Ginn. "We saw a difference in him right off the top. He was always a good student, but when he got to Ginn, he was on the honor roll," says Raheem. The two agree that Rahmere was much more focused in the all-male environment of Ginn and that led to his success. They live on the south side of Cleveland, not at all close to the Academy, but Raheem didn't mind driving his son every day before work. "I just got up a little earlier, it wasn't a big deal," he says.

Because of his health issues, Rahmere will stay home this fall to study business and the innovative culinary program at Cuyahoga Community College. The family feels more comfortable with him very close by, as Rahmere must report to surgery within six hours of the call that he'll eventually get notifying the family that new kidneys are waiting for him. Remaining close to home suits him just fine as he's already taken some of Tri-C's culinary classes and does most of the cooking for his family.

Thank you for joining us for a glimpse into these two Ginn Academy families. We are thankful for your support and hope you'll join us for part three, Where We're Going, of The Last of the Originals series, coming shortly.

Very Kind Regards from everyone at The Ginn Academy