Lake Ridge Academy

Lake Ridge Academy (LRA) is an independent, nonsectarian day school in North Ridgeville, Ohio, United States

The school was founded in 1963 and offers co-educational classes from kindergarten through grade 12. Lake Ridge Academy is the only independent school on the west side of Cleveland and is one of the smallest private schools in the Cleveland area.

The school facilities include 88 acres of open fields, wooded areas, a pond, a creek, tennis courts, Track and field track, playing fields. The buildings on the Lake Ridge campus include Lower, Middle, and Upper School buildings, the Bettcher Convocation Center, which houses classrooms, a stage, and an auditorium, the Community Resource Center, a building holding four foreign language classrooms, three computer labs, a video lab, a Kiva gathering place, and a K-12 library. The campus also includes a hardwood floor gymnasium, a Fine Arts Center with Lower, Middle and Upper School art studios, four acoustical vocal and instrumental music rooms, and a Black Box theater.

Lake Ridge Academy is portioned into three divisions: Lower School (K-5), Middle School (6-8), and Upper School (9-12).

Administration

The school's President, Carol Klimas, had previously been employed as the Executive Vice President and Head of KeyCorp's Wealth Management Segment. She also previously worked for National Arthritis Foundation, the Red Cross, the United Way and the YMCA. Other administrators include Michael Shaulis, who serves as Head of Academics and Director of Upper School. Danielle Parrish holds the position of Director of Middle School, while Katherine Hatcher fulfills the role of Director of Lower School.

Center for Entrepreneurial Studies

The Entrepreneurial Studies Program at Lake Ridge Academy aims to prepare students for the global market by providing them with an understanding of the concept and theory of economics and business practices. The Program combines coursework with experiential learning through technology and community outreach.

Recent events

In the fall of 2009, the Lake Ridge Women's Soccer team won their first ever district title, narrowly defeating Firelands by a score of 1-0.

In April 2008, the Lake Ridge Robotics Team won the LEGO Grand Challenge sponsored by Case Western Reserve University. Of the 22 teams from schools in Ohio and Pennsylvania, 2 of the 3 Lake Ridge teams placed in the top 50%, including the winning team. This was the first time Lake Ridge has ever won the LEGO Robotics Challenge.

Lake Ridge annually participates in the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education's Mock Trial competition, and took first place in the state of Ohio in the 2008 competition. The team moved on to the national competition, held in Wilmington, Delaware, and were ranked 13th in the nation.'

On October 25, 2008, the boys' Soccer Program won their second consecutive District Championship and earned a spot in the state's regional semifinals. They ended the season with their best record to date, 15-3-2, surpassing the 2007 record of 15-5. Both the 2007 and 2008 regional semifinals games were lost to St. Thomas Aquinas High School.

In 2010 Lake Ridge Academy launched the School of Fine Arts.

Notable alumni

- Briefly attended by Brian K. Vaughan, comic book writer.

- Eyad Zhara graduated in 2001 - Director of the 2008 feature film The Taqwacore (film), based on Michael Muhammad Knight's book The Taqwacores.

References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 OHSAA. "Ohio High School Athletic Association member directory". Retrieved 2010-04-02. 

External links

• Lake Ridge Academy official website