Trending
YOUNGSTOWN -- When Akiva Academy middle schoolers return to classes Sept. 8, they will do so in a brand new school.
An open house and ribbon cutting took place Monday morning at the Altschuler Akiva Academy Goldstone-Mirkin Family Middle School at the Suzi Solomon Campus. The new school is in the former Allen's Pharmacy Building across Gypsy Lane from the Jewish Community Center of Youngstown, where the students in grades 5 through 8 formerly were in a hallway at the back of the building.
The Youngstown Area Jewish Federation and Akiva Academy broke ground on the new middle school facility last year on land donated by Allen Mirkin after his business, Allen's Pharmacy, closed. The $1.9 million, 7,420-square-foot expansion includes four classrooms, office space and a multipurpose area designed for Shabbat services and school assemblies.
The property lies on the border of Mahoning and Trumbull counties, and a portion of it had to be annexed from Liberty to Youngstown so the middle school could be located in the Youngstown City School District like the Akiva Academy Elementary School inside the JCC.
There are approximately 60 students who will attend the new middle school starting next week. That number is about double the students served at the former location, Kathy Mioni, the Akiva Academy's senior principal, said.
Students will attend 60-minute classes in math, English language arts, social sciences and science, Mioni said, noting that a high priority has been placed on security, which will impact student flow and was factored heavily in the building's layout.
Also included is a resource area for the four teachers, who will work on a rotational basis, along with a conference room for parents and virtual meetings. That space also will offer physical, occupational and speech therapy, Mioni said.
At the groundbreaking last year, Mirkin, whose children attended the Akiva Academy, said he was grateful the expansion will strengthen the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation, which is the umbrella organization for a variety of Jewish-related agencies.
The students enrolled at Akiva Academy represent more than 15 school districts in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties, Mioni said.
A little more than $1.23 million of the $1.9 million project was raised during a fundraising campaign that kicked off in early 2025.