'Honda makes cars. We build people.' Academy for Urban Scholars comes to Canton

CANTON − Rae'Ynna Burwell was walking to the store with a friend during the summer when Samuel Muhammad approached the two and handed her a flyer.

What she read, changed her life.

"He asked if we knew anyone who wanted to finish school, and it just happened to be me," she said.

Today, Burwell, 22, is a student at the Academy for Urban Scholars High School, a new outreach which helps young adults to recover enough credits to graduate from high school, along with workforce training.

Burwell struggled in a traditional high school setting, attending McKinley and Harbor high schools before dropping out, partly due to bullying.

"High school was hard for me," she said. "So, my mom pulled me out out school. I tried to go back a few times but as I got older, I just didn't really want to be in a big-school setting anymore."

Burwell said the academy will help her to prepare for her ultimate goal of opening a 24-hour daycare center. After acquiring her diploma, Burwell said she'll get a college degree in psychology and sociology. In the meantime, she's working at a senior care facility which offers classes for STNA, or state tested nurse aide, which will come handy when she opens her business.

Burwell said attending the academy has helped her to grow from a frustrated dropout to an aspiring business owner.

"I think it's amazing," she said. "When I first got here, I didn't have a plan."

Academy for Urban Scholars High School launches in downtown Canton

The academy also has campuses in Youngstown and Columbus. Canton's campus is housed at the Stark State College satellite campus downtown.

The academy is in keeping with Muhammad's lifelong mission of mentoring children and young adults. The retired Canton City Schools educator was substitute-teaching in Alliance when he received a call from John H. Gregory, the founder and CEO of National Center for Urban Solutions, the umbrella agency of the Academy for Urban Scholars High School.

The National Center for Urban Studies focuses on charter-school management, workforce development, diversity training and health and wellness for Black men.

Gregory's work has been recognized by three presidential administrations. He also is a recipient of the Governor’s Award for public service, Business First Health Hero award, and City of Columbus Trailblazer Award, and recognitions from the United Negro Women’s Association, Who’s Who and Black Columbus.

Muhammad worked at the Academy for Urban Scholars High School in Youngstown prior to Gregory opening the Canton campus.

"He is a juggernaut in the area of workforce," Muhammad said. "He's helped 35,000 people over the last 35 years. So, it was a natural fit. We have a work academy because we want to see our students, first of all, to be employed and, second of all, to find stability."

Samuel Muhammad: 'We killed the metric.'

The Canton campus opened in September through a $90,000 grant from the National Center for Urban Studies.

"Our agency came to Canton initially in the form of our 22 Plus program with the Academy for Urban Scholars," Muhammad said. "We had over 100 graduates. Then, our NCUS workforce program was awarded a grant. It was at that point that Mr. Gregory supported the idea of bringing the Academy for Urban scholars to Canton to serve 17- to 21-year-olds. The great success of the workforce program has been merged with the educational program to improve the quality of life for residents in Stark County."

The grant has resulted in 90 students being successfully trained — primarily through certifications — and moving into employment at such companies as Ohio Gratings and Daimler Trucks.

"We killed the metric," Muhammad said. "We moved people into employment like no other community connector had."

Alexandra O'Connor, project manager of the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce/Stark County Manufacturing Workforce Development Partnership, said they work closely with the group through a Good Jobs Challenge contract, which enables their Job Readiness Bootcamp to be implemented by National Center for Urban Studies Canton staffers Freda Robinson and Leonard Tharp.

Manufacturing in Stark County: Students tour manufacturing sites

"SCMWDP values the workforce literacy training that students at the Academy for Urban Scholars High School will receive through their independent funding (via NCUS), and we believe their training programs implemented by Samuel Muhammad will have great impacts on students," she said.

O'Connor said Academy for Urban Scholars students were invited to participate in the chamber's 2023 Manufacturing Day tours and their Job Readiness Bootcamps.

"We also sent a letter of support for them seeking funding from an external foundation," she said.

'I feel like the learning program here is way more effective for me.'

Cleveland transplant Legend Gillispie, 18, was being home-schooled when his mother brought home a pamphlet about the academy. The aspiring fashion entrepreneur said he likes that he's able to work and learn at his own pace, adding that he struggled in traditional school settings.

"Everyone here is friendly," he said. "We help each other. I don't have to feel rushed. It's very flexible. You can take your time with certain things if you're busy with family. I feel like the learning program here is way more effective for me."

Ohio's four-year, high school graduate rate stands at 87.3%, slightly up from 87% in 2021. Canton City Schools' graduation rate stands at about 72.3%.

Academy for Urban Scholars High School students meet Monday through Thursday, with Friday as an option for those who may need extra study time.

Robinson is the workforce development director for the group in Canton.

"My job is to get them a job so they can be successful, with a livable wage," she said. "It's basically to help them in their growth. They also have the opportunity to get additional education or go to higher education because we also do community college. It's basically to help them in their growth."

Phillip Kennard, the academy's academic adviser, said applicants are given the option of taking the STAR test for placement testing. Every applicant undergoes placement testing before admission.

"Our big thing is getting the kids to recover their credits and continuing their education," he said. "We're very heavy on the recovery portion. But it's not just credit recovery. It's also social studies, and Excel. It's about finding them jobs. We want to make sure we finish walking them through the door."

Samuel Muhammad: 'They just need guidance.'

When he was 17, DeAndre McCole made the fateful decision to commit a robbery.

It cost him his high school diploma and four years of freedom.

Today, McCole, 21, has a new lease on life and a second chance to complete his education, thanks to the academy.

"I think it's great," he said. "With my situation, I wasn't able to finish school. I'd advise anyone who didn't finish school to try it."

Addition to school, McCole works a fast-food job, with hopes of a career in music promotion, adding that he's grateful for Muhammad, who he met at a downtown event where Muhammad has handing out flyers.

Muhammad said young adults like McCole, who want a second chance, are who he's looking for.

"They're very bright; they have excellent ideas," he said. "They just need guidance."

Muhammad said a student's culture is taken into consideration.

"That's why we have an emphasis in responding to the students' culture whatever it is," he said. "We have a population here of poor whites who respond to their culture. We want them to be able to feel hope from their vantage point. We respond to every student's specific set of values and needs and their background.

"Whoever you are, we're accepting you. And we're going to move you to competency, not just in terms of education, but also to help you find your purpose. And as you find your purpose, we want to help you to facilitate your transition from high school to post-secondary options like Walsh University or Stark State."

The academy, he said, also offers project-based learning, in which students study mega trends.

"So you may study health, or human trafficking," he said. "There's a whole lot of issues. They create their own website, and then put in a resolution for us to format as if they were doing a school report or doing a resolution for the UN, or for a school district. If they say, 'I want to do a program,' they have to detail the efficacy and merits of their resolution."

Muhammad said the academy also has a contract with AWS/Amazon to offer students training in Columbus and Youngstown as "cloud practitioners" or code writers.

Certified code writers can start at $60,000 a year, he noted.

The academy also offers training in fiber optics in Columbus, Muhammad said.

The academy also emphasizes teaching students the "soft skills" needed to retain a job, including self-discipline and positive interactions with coworkers.

"That may be foreign, to being able to function in a workplace environment properly," he said. "It may be foreign because they suffer emotional underdevelopment. In fact, our colloquial statement is that 'Honda makes cars. We make people.' So, we try to develop and make people confident and ready to go into the workforce."

To learn more visit https://ausohio.com/ or call 330-316-1974.

Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com.

On Twitter: @cgoshayREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Academy for Urban Scholars High School comes to Canton