Utica Shale Academy Superintendent Bill Watson, right, speaks with John Carey, director of the Ohio Department of Development’s Governor’s Office of Appalachia, and Julie Needs, director of the Sustainable Opportunity Development (SOD) Center of Salem, during a tour of the former Williams Energy building in Salineville that is being eyed for more potential expansion of the community school’s campus. If all goes according to plan, the four-story, 27,000-square-foot site on East Main Street could be used for classrooms and health-based programming and offer even more services to students and the community. (Submitted photo)

SALINEVILLE – Utica Shale Academy officials are setting their sights on further expansion of the community school’s campus and state leaders viewed a potential location at the former Williams Energy office in Salineville.

Local and state representatives met Aug. 7 at USA’s Energy Center and walked the short distance to the site at 10 E. Main St. The four-story, 27,000-square-foot building previously served as the Citizen’s Bank national headquarters and was most recently utilized by Williams as a district office until it relocated to Canton in March. Williams officials guided the tour and said the facility underwent renovations in 2018 with general maintenance performed to the HVAC system, plus several dozen heat pumps were replaced within the past two years.

John Carey, director of the Ohio Department of Development’s Governor’s Office of Appalachia, visited two months ago to view the construction site and returned to join the group of officials which included Ohio Sen. Michael Rulli and Ohio Rep. Monica Robb Blasdel (both R-Columbiana), Mark Lamoncha of the Ohio Department of Education, Sustainable Opportunity Development Center Director Julie Needs, architect Ryan McNutt with FMD Architects of Fairlawn and officials with Williams Energy, USA and the Southern Local School District.

USA Superintendent Bill Watson said it was the latest effort to extend the program’s reach and will build upon its many offerings.

“Utica Shale Academy owns four lots and we’re looking to expand to the Williams Building and turn the Hutson Building into a junior high school over the next year,” said Watson. “We acquired the former Destiny House Church for the Utica Shale Academy Community Center and plan to have certified health workers and programs for pregnant mothers and fathers, diaper assistance, drug rehabilitation, transportation, food, housing and workforce development. There will be a workout facility in the basement and services are free. We want people to know it’s there and they can benefit from it.”

He said the community center is now open to the public from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays at the location on Church Street.

In addition to the community school at the Hutson Building located at 50 E. Main St., which incorporates general classrooms and Virtual Learning Academy (VLA) programming through the Jefferson County Educational Service Center, USA operates the Energy Center in partnership with Youngstown State University. The facility is lodged at the former Huntington Bank at 70 E. Main St. and offers programming formegatronics, hydraulics, pneumatics, AC/DC electric, Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC’s), diesel mechanics and horticulture to train both students and adults.

Watson said the program has grown so much that the senior class was full for the 2022-23 term and more students were not accepted in January, while about 150 students have graduated over the past three years. He continued that USA currently has 190 students enrolled in grades 9-12 but plans to add seventh- and eighth-grade students in the near future.

He said the Williams Building could provide classrooms, exterior welding labs and health-based programs while the lower level is being eyed as a hospitality hub for the SOD Center.

“We will have a [state-tested nurse’s aide], [licensed practical nurse] and nurse practitioner and services for expectant mothers as well as the elderly. We’d like to have a big impact on the community,” he said.

State legislators see the prospect as a fortuitous one, saying it would expound upon programs and benefit education and the future workforce.

“I love the building,” said Rulli. “It’s very exciting and the kids will be able to stay in the area. I think the Utica Shale Academy is the best thing to happen to the area in a very long time.”

“I see a lot of potential here,” Blasdel commented. “It’s exciting to see the program’s expanding and helping students across the region. I’m looking forward to what’s to come.”

“This opens so many more opportunities to meet the needs of regional youth,” said Needs. “It also opens more doors for training.”

“Anything we can do to enhance the school is going to benefit us,” said Marcus Chronister, vice president of the USA Board of Directors. “We’re getting more and more students and hope we can keep growing.”

Meanwhile, plans are still in motion to build a two-story structure adjacent to the Hutson Building for offices, classrooms, machinery, virtual welding equipment, lockers and restrooms for students working with heavy equipment operation and CNC plasma cutting. The GOA had awarded a $2.3 million Appalachian Regional Grant toward the estimated $4.8 million project with the remainder being financed through equity grants and Emergency Elementary and Secondary School Relief (ESSER) funds.

Officials said the expansion is also part of the Connecting Communities through Workforce Training project to reduce the barrier of transportation and increase accessibility to quality workforce training for residents in Columbiana, Carroll, Jefferson and Mahoning counties. It will have a transformational impact on the region by providing residents with a career pathway and an opportunity to earn a sustainable living wage, plus it also looks to eliminate generational poverty in the area.

USA is a dropout recovery-and-retention school focusing on career-tech education for at-risk students who have obtained more than 1,100 certifications since 2021. Additional benefits of the new building will allow students to earn heavy equipment certificates and aid the community through collaborations with YSU and the SOD Centerin 3-D printing, 5G and job readiness courses. Further plans include providing potential recovery-to-work efforts to help recovering drug addicts, people with chronic health issues or facing legal challenges and adult education classes would be open to residents within the four-county region to help them find new opportunities in the workforce. Leaders said the expansion will revitalize Main Street in downtown Salineville and increase the industrial training footprint in Salem. Meanwhile, it has also partnered with the Mahoning County Pathways HUB to hire community health workers, or CHW’s, who use evidence-based strategies to obtain health services for students and their families. The Connecting Communities through Workforce Training project is a transformational change that will reduce regional poverty and improve the regional standard of living.

USA is currently in its 10th year and serves students through blended learning and hands-on education to prepare them for the workforce. For information, contact 330-932-9997 or visit www.uticashaleschool.com.