‘Eliminate those barriers;’ Private school for under-resourced Dayton students opens new building

DAYTON — Students and staff at the Greater Dayton school celebrated moving into their new building on Tuesday.

It’s the first non-religious private school in Ohio for under-resourced students, according to a spokesperson from the school.

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As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, the school is detailed with tools to set up its students for success.

AJ Stich is the Founding Principal at the Greater Dayton School.

“The way we teach is very, very different,” Stich said.

Only students from a low-income background who qualify for Medicaid can apply to attend the school.

Stich said his students spent last year in their temporary building in Downtown Dayton, but he said it doesn’t compare to this.

“There were leaky pipes outside of my office and you know, we’d go back into my office with the families, and I’d say look, I promise this is a very innovative, very forward-thinking school,” Stich said.

With the help of state officials like Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted and local Dayton entrepreneur Larry Connor, these students have a school building they are proud of.

“We were involved in DECA, and we were so impressed with what they did, we thought, hey can we take this to a different level? Can we have a private school but one that’s really focused on under-resourced kids,” Connor said.

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There are two teachers in every class with a max of 20 students.

Students here get to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at school.

During lunch, students are served family-style meals while being taught how to set the table.

“It’s a way to teach character education in a really authentic way,” Stich said.

They also provide wrap-around services because many kids on Medicaid don’t have access to preventative healthcare.

“We eliminate those barriers by making preventative healthcare on-site, part of our curriculum,” Stich said.

The building’s top floors are empty right now, but next year, school leaders hope to move 5th to 8th-grade students in.

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