Grand River Academy
| Grand River Academy | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Location | |
3042 College Street , , Ohio 44010 United States 41°46′22″N 80°51′43″W / 41.77278°N 80.86194°W | |
| Information | |
| Former name | Ashtabula County Institute of Science and Industry Grand River Institute |
| Type | Independent, boarding and day, college-preparatory secondary school |
Religious affiliation | Nonsectarian[1] |
| Established | 1831 |
| Status | Operational[1] |
| CEEB code | 360273 |
NCES School ID | 01064085 |
Head of school | Gina Borst[2] |
| Grades | 8–12, PG |
| Gender | All-male[1] |
Campus size | 200 acres (81 ha) |
Campus type | Rural[1] |
| Colors | Blue and White |
| Slogan | "Don't Give Up, Don't Ever Give Up" |
Athletics conference | Lake Effect Conference |
| Sports | Baseball, basketball, soccer[3] |
| Team name | Eagles |
| Accreditations | ISACS; Ohio Department of Education and Workforce[4] |
Annual tuition | $49,500, seven-day boarding; $45,800, five-day boarding; $10,000, day student; $57,650, international boarding[5] |
| Affiliations | NAIS[1]; TABS[6] |
| Website | grandriver |
Grand River Academy is an independent, nonsectarian, college-preparatory boarding and day school for boys in Austinburg, Ohio. It serves students in grades 8 through 12, with a postgraduate option.[7][8] Founded in 1831, the school was formerly known as the Ashtabula County Institute of Science and Industry and later the Grand River Institute.[9] The name "Grand River Academy" is a registered United States trademark.[10]
Accreditation and affiliations
Grand River Academy is listed by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce as an ISACS-accredited chartered nonpublic school in Ohio.[4]
Grand River Academy maintains an annual giving program, the Blue & White Fund, which the school states supports academics, arts, athletics, student life, programs, and staff beyond tuition and endowment revenue.[11][12]
Admissions
Grand River Academy uses rolling enrollment and states that students may join when the timing is appropriate for the student and family. The school's application process includes an online application, submission of required documents through a parent portal or by mail, and scheduling a campus visit. The application fee is $50.[13]
The school lists tuition for the 2025–26 school year as $49,500 plus fees for seven-day boarding, $45,800 plus fees for five-day boarding, $57,650 plus fees for international boarding, and $10,000 plus fees for day students.[5] Grand River Academy states that scholarship opportunities are available, including the Ohio EdChoice Scholarship Program for eligible students.[14]
History
Grand River Academy was founded in 1831 as the Ashtabula County Institute of Science and Industry by leaders of the Austinburg Congregational Church. The school was originally established to prepare young men for ministerial vocations, and began admitting female students in 1840.[9]
The institution later became known as Grand River Institute. Its name and location changed in 1836 after Joab Austin pledged a sizable endowment to the school.[9] Local historical accounts state that the school building was moved from the banks of the Grand River to Austinburg in the mid-1830s, reportedly by a team of oxen.[15][16]
Betsy Mix Cowles was appointed the school's first female principal in charge of the Women's Department, a position she held from 1843 to 1848.[9][17]
School leadership
Randy Blum served as headmaster for 23 years and retired at the end of June 2012 after nearly four decades on the Grand River Academy campus.[18]
Tim Oditt later served as Head of School before leaving Grand River Academy in 2020 to become Head of School at Ascension Academy in Amarillo, Texas.[19]
Tony Tucker served as headmaster by 2020, when he was profiled by News 5 Cleveland as an African-American head of school at the academy.[20]
The school's current Head of School is Gina Borst.[2]
Mission and approach
The school characterizes its educational approach as combining college-preparatory academics, residential structure, mentorship, and social-emotional support for young men in grades 8 through 12 and postgraduate study.[7][21]
Location and transportation
Grand River Academy is located on a rural campus in Austinburg, Ohio, near Interstate 90.[1][22] As a boarding school, its published calendars include student arrival, return, departure, break, and travel-planning dates.[22][23]
Nearby aviation facilities include Northeast Ohio Regional Airport, a jet-capable general aviation airport in Jefferson, Ohio, and commercial passenger airports in Cleveland and Erie, Pennsylvania.[24][25]
Boarding program
Grand River Academy operates as a residential boarding school in which students live, study, and participate in student-life activities on campus. The school states that its boarding program includes five dormitories, four dorm parents per dormitory, and a 4:1 student-to-dorm-parent ratio. It also states that all faculty live on campus and are available to students outside classroom hours.[26]
The campus includes Armington Dining Hall, five dormitories, academic buildings, a library, the Bud Field Student Center, and athletic and recreation facilities.[26] The school describes its academic program as including small classes, structured study halls, tutoring, college counseling, and individualized academic support.[27]
As a boarding school, Grand River Academy's published calendars include student arrival, return, departure, break, and travel-planning dates.[22][23]
The school also states that it schedules transportation for off-campus appointments through its health services program.[28]
Campus
The campus includes three academic buildings, a library, the Robert S. Morrison Lecture Hall, the Bob and Linnett Fritz Technology Center, the Bud Field Student Center, Armington Dining Hall, and a health center.[26]
Athletic facilities include a full-size gymnasium with a wood basketball court, a weight and conditioning room, fitness facilities, and outdoor athletic fields for soccer, baseball, tennis, and pickleball.[26][3]
Curriculum
Grand River Academy describes its academic program as college preparatory, with small classes, daily academic coaching, structured study halls, tutoring, college counseling, and individualized academic support.[27][29]
The school's Foundations of Learning Program provides additional academic support for students developing organization or study skills, or needing personalized instruction in subjects such as mathematics, science, social studies, and language arts. The program uses small-group instruction, with class sizes described by the school as ranging from one to three students per teacher, and emphasizes homework completion, note-taking, outlining, research-paper writing, test preparation, and organizational skills.[27]
Grand River Academy also maintains an evening Student Tutoring Program and structured study hall for students requiring additional support. The school states that its academic support program combines Foundations of Learning classes and student tutoring, supervised by student-support staff and a licensed intervention specialist.[27]
The school provides college counseling and social-emotional support through its Counseling Center, which it describes as staffed by licensed clinical counselors who work with students, families, and faculty.[30]
Student life
Student-life facilities include the Bud Field Student Center, Armington Dining Hall, and a health center.[26] The Bud Field Student Center includes Andy's Café, a music room and recording studio, a television lounge, 3D printers, arcade-style games, and a game room with billiards, shuffleboard, and ping pong.[26] The center bears the name of longtime teacher Edmund E. "Bud" Field IV, who taught at Grand River Academy from 1967 to 2001.[31]
Athletics
Grand River Academy describes athletics as part of its social-emotional learning program. The school lists baseball, basketball, and soccer as varsity sports, and also offers recreational activities including weight training, skiing, tennis, open-gym basketball, and ping pong.[3]
Athletic facilities include a full-size gymnasium with a wood basketball court, outdoor athletic fields for soccer and baseball, and a weight and conditioning room.[3]
Grand River Academy's basketball team won the 2024 Lake Effect Conference title.[32]
Clubs and activities
The school offers student clubs and organizations in areas including 3D modeling, animal rescue, art history, basketball, Bible study, ceramics, chess, creative writing, Dungeons & Dragons, hiking, international film, journalism, lacrosse, photography, pickleball, soccer, student government, and yearbook.[33]
Grand River Academy also describes off-campus and weekend activities including trips to Lake Erie, Geneva-on-the-Lake, Cleveland professional sports events, museums, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, NASA Glenn, the Cleveland zoo, skiing, ice skating, and fishing near Austinburg.[34]
Notable alumni
Politics, government, and law
- Clarence E. Allen, U.S. Representative from Utah[35]
- John Brown, Jr., eldest son of abolitionist John Brown, member of the Kansas Territory legislature.
- Julius C. Burrows, U.S. Representative and a U.S. Senator from Michigan[36]
- Theodore Elijah Burton, U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator[37]
- Edwin Cowles, publisher of The Cleveland Leader, Vice-President of the 1884 Republican National Convention, postmaster of Cleveland
- H. W. Curtiss, acting Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and former member of the Ohio General Assembly
- Albert Gallatin Egbert, Democratic U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania.
- Alphonso Hart, U.S. Representative from Ohio
- Ralph Hill, U.S. Representative from Indiana and lawyer.[38]
- John Philo Hoyt, American politician and jurist
- Elbert L. Lampson, Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and former state Senator[39]
- Judson B. Phelps, member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from Crawford County[40]
- Alonzo A. Potter, member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from Crawford County[41]
Business
- Alfred Cowles, American economist, businessman and founder of the Cowles Commission[15]
- Benjamin Goodrich, American industrialist, founded BFGoodrich[15]
- William Grey Rose, businessman, real estate developer, and co-founder of the Cleveland Provision Company[42]
Education
- George Pliny Brown, educator and president of Indiana State Normal School[43]
Sports
- Charlie Morton, Major League Baseball player, manager, and executive[44]
- Robert Bobroczkyi, Romanian basketball player and actor[45][46]
Literature
- Harriet Newell Kneeland Goff, temperance reformer and author[47]
Notable staff
- Betsy Mix Cowles, American abolitionist, suffragist, teacher, and principal of the Female Department[48][9]
- Edmund E. "Bud" Field IV, longtime Grand River Academy teacher from 1967 to 2001 and namesake of the Bud Field Student Center[49][26]
- Granville W. Mooney, former teacher and principal of Grand River Institute, Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, and co-founder of Bowling Green State University[50]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Search for Private Schools - School Detail for Grand River Academy". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- 1 2 "Meet Our Community". Grand River Academy. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Athletics at GRA". Grand River Academy. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- 1 2 "ISACS-Accredited Chartered Nonpublic Schools in Ohio". Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- 1 2 "Tuition". Grand River Academy. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Grand River Academy". The Association of Boarding Schools. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
- 1 2 "Welcome". Grand River Academy. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Mission and Tradition". Grand River Academy. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Grand River Institute records". Special Collections and Archives. Kent State University Libraries. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Grand River Academy Trademark Details". Justia Trademarks. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Annual Giving". Grand River Academy. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Alumni". Grand River Academy. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Apply to GRA". Grand River Academy. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Scholarships". Grand River Academy. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Grand River Academy". Ashtabula County District Library. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Grand River Academy". Rotary Club of Ashtabula. September 28, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Betsy Mix Cowles papers". Special Collections and Archives. Kent State University Libraries. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "GRA Headmaster Randy Blum Retires". StrugglingTeens. June 11, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Ascension Academy hires new Head of School". KVII. February 24, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ Merrell, Amanda (November 10, 2020). "Headmaster at Grand River Academy in Austinburg breaks barriers". News 5 Cleveland. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Grand River Academy". Grand River Academy. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Calendar". Grand River Academy. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- 1 2 "2025–2026 Grand River Academy School Calendar" (PDF). Grand River Academy. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Northeast Ohio Regional Airport". Ashtabula County, Ohio. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Erie International Airport/Tom Ridge Field (ERI)". Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Boarding at GRA". Grand River Academy. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Academics Overview". Grand River Academy. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Health". Grand River Academy. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "College Prep at GRA". Grand River Academy. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Counseling Center". Grand River Academy. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Edmund Field Obituary". Legacy.com. December 2001. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Joseph Quartey - 2026-27 Men's Basketball Roster". Harvard University Athletics. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
- ↑ "Clubs and Organizations". Grand River Academy. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Beyond the Classroom". Grand River Academy. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ Whitney, Orson F. (1904). History of Utah: Comprising Preliminary Chapters on the Previous History of ... G. Q. Cannon. p. 687. OCLC 4995807.
- ↑ United States Congress. "Julius C. Burrows (id: B001142)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.. Retrieved on 2008-05-02.
- ↑ United States Congress. "Theodore E. Burton (id: B001159)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.. Retrieved on 2008-05-02.
- ↑ United States Congress. "Ralph Hill (id: H000604)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
- ↑ Smith, Joseph P. (1898). History of the Republican Party in Ohio. Lewis Publishing. p. 581. OCLC 12634256.
- ↑ "Judson B. Phelps". Pennsylvania House of Representatives Archives. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Alonzo A. Potter". Pennsylvania House of Representatives Archives. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Rose, William Grey". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Past Presidents". Indiana State University. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ Rowland, David (December 1, 2021). "Charlie Morton". Society for American Baseball Research BioProject. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ Schonbrun, Zach (January 26, 2018). "A Teenager's Basketball Dream Is Size XXXXXL". The New York Times. Retrieved June 7, 2026 – via WRAL.
- ↑ "RCU alumnus plays creature in "Aliens: Romulus"". Rochester Christian University. October 4, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
- ↑ Willard, Frances E.; Livermore, Mary A. (1893). "Harriet Newell Kneeland Goff". A Woman of the Century. Charles Wells Moulton. p. 322. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ Geary, Linda L. (1989). Balanced in the Wind: A Biography of Betsey Mix Cowles. Bucknell University Press. pp. 46–47. ISBN 0-8387-5154-7.
- ↑ "Edmund Field Obituary". Legacy.com. December 2001. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Honoring the visionaries: 4 BGSU founders shaped Ohio's educational landscape". Bowling Green State University. September 28, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2026.