Karnisha Grubbs hugged her nephew, Tyaire Swisher, 5, near the entrance of Middlebury Academy, a charter school located in Akron’s North Hill neighborhood. Three miles away, Superintendent Mary Outley and Gilby, the super-sized, spotted mascot of Akron Public Schools, welcomed students to Findley Community Learning Center with high-fives and shakes from a red pom-pom.
