John R. Buchtel Community Learning Center, formerly known as John R. Buchtel High School and often referred to as Buchtel High School or Buchtel CLC, is a public high school in Akron, Ohio, United States, serving grades 7–12. It is one of seven high schools in the Akron Public Schools district. As of 2012, the school has an enrollment of 764 students.
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History
Buchtel High School opened in 1931 and is named after Akron industrialist and philanthropist John R. Buchtel, who helped to organize and finance a number of early Akron firms, including the Goodrich Corporation. Buchtel is best known for his role in the establishment of Buchtel College, which later became the University of Akron. He and his wife contributed more than $500,000 to the college over his lifetime.
In 2012, the old Buchtel High School building was torn down after the completion of the new Community Learning Center. The school was designed to expand learning from grades 9–12 by including students in grades 7-8 who had previously attended Perkins Middle School. This was part of a larger project called Imagine Akron Community Learning Centers to rebuild or remodel all Akron Public Schools.
Starting in the 2012–2013 school year, the ninth and tenth graders participate in New Tech. The New Tech is a model used in the new ways of teaching which implements modern technology, such as laptops and Smart Boards into the curriculum. Based on a version of "Project Based Learning", students complete projects to show topic and subject mastery and to integrate new types of technology specifically used for teaching.
Athletic state championships
Boys' basketball - 2023
Boys' football - 1987, 1988
Boys' cross country - 1955, 1961
Boys' swimming - 1963
Boys' track - 1996, 2006
Girls' track - 2007
Notable alumni
Billy Baldwin, former professional baseball player in Major League Baseball
Jay Brophy, former NFL player
Levert Carr, gridiron football player
Rita Dove, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and former Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress
Michael Flaksman, cellist, winner of the Casals Centenary Award (1963)
Howard Hewett, singer (1974)
Savannah James, businesswoman and wife of LeBron James
George Knepper, historian
Art Kusnyer, former professional baseball player in Major League Baseball
Chris Livingston, professional basketball player
Sheldon Ocker, sportswriter
Stanford Ovshinsky, scientist and inventor
Ricky Powers, former NFL player and football head coach
Tom Sawyer, politician
Paul Tazewell, costume designer
Bryan Williams, professional football player in the Canadian Football League
Jarrod Wilson, current NFL safety for the Jacksonville Jaguars