When Angeleyea Jackson drives past the football stadium at Buchtel Community Learning Center, she will be able to point to the griffins guarding the concession stand and tell her future children she helped create them.
Students lead hands‑on project
Jackson, a senior planning to become an electrician, bricklayer or carpenter, teamed with classmate Ammar Alawamola this summer to carve the wings of the school’s griffin mascots. Using electric sanders and dremels, they shaped PVC sheets based on a scaled image supplied by the project’s architect. After carving, the pieces were painted to match the griffins already perched on the stadium.
Celebration of a long‑awaited upgrade
On Saturday, Sept. 5, the students joined alumni, staff, PTA members and other Akron Public Schools supporters at 1040 Copley Road for a ribbon‑cutting ceremony. The event marked the completion of a $2.5 million renovation that adds a new press box, expanded concession area, separate restrooms, storage facilities and an upgraded track around the M. Montague Buckner Field.
“Everything is beautiful. Construction work is excellent,” said Alawamola, who recently moved to Akron from Syria. He spoke in Arabic, with a phone‑app translation.
Community effort spans decades
PTA vice president Diana Autry recalled that fundraising and lobbying for facility upgrades have been underway since the 1980s. Although the PTA raised more than $20,000, it fell short of the total cost, prompting volunteers to paint the old concession booth, purchase new field goals and install shrubbery spelling out “Griffins.”
In 2022, the Cleveland Browns installed a synthetic turf field, and two years later Autry, then president of the school board, pushed the remaining upgrades toward completion.
Legacy of pride
Principal LaCresia Denson remembered a time when the field was a mud pit with a rocky track. Today, she said, “It fills me with pride to know that you join a legacy of people that have overcome barriers and still succeed.”
Senior drum major RJ McCraney pledged to be a good steward of the new facilities, emphasizing the grit, resilience and integrity that define a Buchtel Griffin.
Future projects
The PTA’s next goal is lighting for Tim Flossie Stadium. Across the district, new schools such as Pfeiffer Elementary and Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts are slated to open in 2028‑29, with a new North High School following the next year.
“For too long, Buchtel waited its turn,” said APS board member and alumnus Summer Hall. “Today, 1040 stands up. Somebody heard us, somebody listened, and now our students have a facility they can be proud to call home.”
Original reporting: Signal Akron — read the source article.
