The Project REBUILD Community School supports the belief that, if given the chance, young people will choose knowledge over ignorance, skill over incompetence, work over welfare, independence before dependence, and legitimate before illegitimate activities.  All that is required is for young people to be given caring, cohesive, compassionate support and an opportunity to develop at their own pace.  The Community School will be dedicated to these principles and seeks to educate students using the adult learning model, which incorporates explanation with reinforcement by demonstration, integrated with practice, and summarized by feedback.

The educational model will be the nationally established Youth Build Charter School design, similar in execution to two currently successful Ohio community schools (Youth Build Columbus Community School and Trade and Technology Prep in Dayton) modified to fit the needs of Canton.  It will become a vocational high school wherein young people learn construction skills through the hands-on construction of affordable housing.  The design has been proven effective with this targeted population locally through Project REBUILD, statewide and nationally.

Students

Student participation will include an at-risk high school population consisting of dropouts, near-dropouts, adjudicated youth, and other young people with a history of low achievement.

The program will comprehensively meet the targeted student’s needs through creating a supportive learning community that offers a program of appropriate education, employment skills training, social services, peer supports, leadership development, and life-skills education.