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“This has been a blessing the way this whole thing has come
together,” he said.
The new school has an immediate capacity for 240 students—80
each in the seventh, eighth and ninth grades. Each wing will
act as a single-gender academy—females on one side, males on
the other. Male and female students will interact in a
controlled atmosphere during planned events. The school is
open to any student in northwest Ohio. As of the start of
classes Aug. 25, there were still 80-plus slots open, mostly
for males and ninth graders. One grade level will be added
each year through the 12th grade.
The new academy is designed to build on the success of
single-gender academies operating at lower grade levels:
Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy for Boys and Ella P. Stewart
Academy for Girls. Both
King and Stewart will become K-6 elementaries.
“A lot of the job becomes easier here because they’ve
already laid that foundation,” said Barnett. “We even have a
superintendent who’s on board with mentorship. There are so
many people who have done so much work that goes
unrecognized. It’s a blessing just to be a part of this.”
According to promotional materials, Jones Leadership Academy
will offer opportunities for students “to work
collaboratively,” as well as “financial literacy, service
learning, leadership skills, and preparation for the
future.”
The new school was announced last May, so district officials
and staff went into scramble mode to make it come together
in just a few short months. The new principal credits the
buy-in—from teachers to janitors to maintenance staff—for
making it all work so far.
“When you come into the building on a Sunday and you see
people working at one or two in the afternoon, sweating,
working, I mean—hard, you have to respect that,” said
Barnett.
The new Jones principal, who turned 40 on Aug. 25, graduated
from the University of Toledo in 1997, spent a year in
Columbus, then moved back home to Cleveland to help care for
his sister, who had just received a heart transplant. He
taught there for five years before moving back to Toledo in
2002. He finished his doctorate at UT and joined TPS in 2010
after spending several years at a local charter school.
“This all started by moving back to Toledo with a dream. I
know that sounds hokey,” said Barnett. “The move back here
was with the belief that a school could change a community.
The mission of the work here is the most important thing.”
Barnett has deeply immersed himself in the study of the
history of the school, its location, and the neighborhood
surrounding it. He cited John Gunckel, for whom the nearby
park is named. Gunckel also founded
the Newsboys Association in 1892, which evolved into evolved
into the Boys Club in 1942 and was renamed The Boys and
Girls Club in 1982. The Old Newsboys Good fellow Association
also came from Gunkel's early work.
He was especially enamored with a pyramid-shaped monument at
Gunckel’s gravesite, because it is made of stones from all
over the world contributed by Toledoans. To Barnett, it is a
symbol of what one person can do to reshape an entire
community.
“I’ve had dreams. Walking around, taking pictures of the
community before I was even a part of TPS. This is divine.
It’s a call. It’s humbling,” said the soft-spoken principal,
with a strong undercurrent of passion and enthusiasm for his
new life’s work. “This is about family. I understand family.
How I want my kids to be will translate into how we deal
with our kids here.”
Mutual respect will be a strong part of the culture and
curriculum at Jones Leadership Academy—respect between
adults and students, peer-to-peer, and respect for one’s
self. ‘Yes sir’ and ‘yes ma’am’ will be expectations, not
suggestions, in the hallways.
There is even a parent contract involved, which Barnett
admitted “is not original.” The concept is borrowed from the
single-gender academies as a way to ensure families are
actively engaged in a child’s education. The contract
requires a parent to attend at least two parent/teacher
conferences, volunteer at least ten hours in student
activities, provide
time and support for homework and school assignments,
and ensure their child shows up to school each day and on
time.
All students will join Young Women of Excellence (YWOE) or
Young Men of Excellence (YMOE), student mentoring programs
that have exploded in student numbers across TPS. While it
is considered an extracurricular activity with Saturday
morning meetings, activities, and field trips, both groups
will be integrated into the fabric of the school’s
curriculum.
Barnett even has plans to form a Jones Leadership Academy
Hall of Fame for the school’s eventual graduates. He wants
to encourage them to come back, give back, and do some
alumni mentoring for future generations of students.
“It builds tradition and pride,” he explained. “If you look
on the wall and your son or your brother went to the
academy, you’re proud when you see it. It gives [graduates]
a stroke when they come back. I think it’s important that
they’ll always be part of the academy. It doesn’t just go
away. It keeps you tied to the community, builds a legacy.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean the academy is designed to
build future corporate CEO’s 20 years down the line. Barnett
has his own vision for the first 20th reunion.
“First of all, I want them to be happy and satisfied in
their careers—wherever they are,” he said. “The whole point
of this is I want them to be able to earn a living that
places them and their families in a productive place.”
The mission statement of the school reflects Barnett’s hope
for their futures: “providing the visionaries of tomorrow
with opportunities to learn and gain leadership skills,
entrepreneurial abilities, and a keen understanding of
community service so they can achieve the confidence to
create a better world.”
To that end, community service is part of the leadership
curriculum. Students will perform volunteer work on weekends
and through other structured activities which encourage them
to “find their voice.”
“It’s a servant leadership model. What’s the point in
learning it if you’re not going to use it?” said Barnett.
“We want to create a group of students that really impact
our community. They will be operating in a space foreign to
most people.”
In short, Jones Leadership Academy is bringing back an
“old-school” approach where courtesy will be extended, doors
held open, and other actions that will be considered the
norm for students. Barnett emphasized that people won’t know
what a student’s background is or how rough their
neighborhood may be simply because of the way that student
will conduct himself or herself wherever they go.
“You have the academic part of it, but they’ll have those
soft skills that carry you through all your life,” he said.
“The challenge of it—our biggest limitation to our kids is
us.”
Anyone interested in learning more about the school can call
419-671-5400 for a tour or information.
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