Newark City School District
Newark City School District is a public school district in the city of Newark, Ohio. The district is the largest in Licking County, with nearly 6,500 students. District history. The district was formed in 1848 after the passage of a voter petition to unify the schools in Newark under one system. The first school board was elected on September 19, 1849. A "Negro school" operated from 1859 until 1888 to provide segregated education to African American children in the Newark district. At the request of the U.S. government in 1940, the district initiated industrial training programs  that were intended to assist in national defense. The shops operated 24 hours a day, six days a week, and after the attack on Pearl Harbor, became directly funded by the government to expand into a second building and thirty-five classes. It has been estimated that the district trained 8,000 people between 1940 and 1945 with skills essential to the national defense industries. , three additional elementary schools and two middle schools are slated to begin construction. In mid-2005 Newark City Schools began to phase out its former system of schooling. Under the former system, grades K-4th went to elementary  school, grades 5th-6th went to intermediate school, 7th-8th went to middle school, and grades 9th-12th went to High School. Under the reformed system of schooling, grades K-5 go to elementary school, 6-8 goes to middle school, and 9-12 goes to high school. Former intermediate schools include Central Intermediate and West Main Intermediate. Central is now a private school and West Main is a vacant facility. The elementary schools are Carson, Cherry Valley, Hillview, and Legend Elementary Schools. The middle schools are Heritage (replaced Lincoln), Liberty Middle School (replaced Roosevelt) and Wilson Middle School. District management. The district's  Board of Education consists of five citizens elected to staggered four-year terms, with one president, one vice-president, and three members. In addition to the general goal of educating the district's students, the Board has the specific duties of hiring the district's superintendent and treasurer, overseeing the annual budget, and approving contracts with district employees. Board meetings are open to the public and held in the high school library. The superintendent is directly responsible to the district Board of Education, and implements board policies. S/he administers the district's educational programs and has final responsibility for  curriculum, staffing, and evaluation. All district employees are responsible to the superintendent, except for the treasurer, who is also a direct employee of the board. In cooperation with the superintendent, the treasurer manages the district's financial, legal and contractual affairs. Schools. Newark Digital Academy. Grades K-12. An online, state-accredited distance learning program. Newark High School. Grades 9–12. Average enrollment is approximately 1200 students; an additional 150 students attend the Career Technical Education Center (C-TEC) associated with the school. The staff is around 190. The high school was built in 1959 and opened in 1961. Newark plays division  I athletics in the Ohio Division of the Ohio Capital Conference. Major athletics rivalries are with Lancaster High School and Zanesville High School. Building Administration Guidance & Counseling Department of Fine Arts A Call to College. A Call to College is a non-profit organization founded in 1988 by Jane Cook McConnell and Lou Mitchell to work with Newark City Schools to help promote college access for students in Newark, Ohio. Administration Middle schools. Grades 6-9 . Wilson (built in the early 1920s) is the oldest of the three Middle schools. Liberty is the newest, opening in 2007. Two former Middle  schools of Newark include Roosevelt Middle School (now the Administrative Service Building, which is used for important events, such as the Student of the Month Luncheon, as well as the monthly (and special) School Board meetings) and Lincoln Middle School. Both were built in the late 1800s. Elementary schools. Grades PK-5, though some only cover K-5.