AVONDALE, Ohio — Thursday is the first day of school for students at Rockdale Academy, and the new school year is bringing a few changes to staff and students.
One of the changes is the new Rockdale Urban Learning Garden, which was installed as a Community Makeover project.
The academy is a global conservation school, which means students at the school learn about sustainability and how they can be advocates for the global community. The greenhouse will allow students to grow their own food, which they will pick, sell and cook in an effort to help the community and be more sustainable.
However, another change is that some of the classes are smaller. School officials said enrollment is down, but they have a goal of getting 100% of students back in school.
"It's definitely down because we're still in this pandemic," Dr. Jaren Finney, principal of Rockdale Academy, said. "Families are still trying to figure it out, we're trying to figure it out. But one thing we're doing is we're making sure our students and staff are safe."
Finney said school officials are having conversations with families to make parents more comfortable sending their children back to school.
