How This Principal Makes a Difference

Mrs. Groscost is a principal at South Side Academy, an inner city school in Youngstown, Ohio. Being a principal in a regular school, in a regular city, is hard enough as it is, let alone being a principal in an inner city school in the dead of Youngstown. Mrs. Groscost was not always a principal. When she first started out in the education business in 1995, she was a second grade teacher. She worked her way through almost every grade level before being promoted to Dean of Students. This job title enabled Mrs. Groscost to be in charge of disciplinary actions for the students. It was not long before Mrs. Groscost was quickly moved up to Principal.

The kids that attend Mrs. Groscost’s school almost all have learning disabilities that they were born with. All of the students come to school unprepared to learn, whether it be not having the proper coat, not wearing the appropriate uniform, or not having adequate food. According to Mrs. Groscost, one of her biggest challenges is the lack of parental involvement. She says, “There is not a lot of value in education in Youngstown. So it is a constant uphill battle.” Getting the student’s parents to back them in the right direction is a constant problem. Ms. Shaffer- South Side Academy’s Dean of Students and Community Engagement Specialist and Mrs. Groscost’s right hand- says she feels that her biggest challenge at the school is the parental involvement tied with the value of education in Youngstown. Shaffer says, “We struggle to get our parents involved in the educational process and in the extracurricular that we need them here for to support our students.” Along with parental involvement within the school, there is also a lack of community involvement as well as the struggle of the charter school image as a whole.

Aside from all of the struggles that come with being the principal of an inner city school, Mrs. Groscost says there are also many rewards that come from working with these kids. One of the biggest rewards for her is hearing the success stories of past students. “When we see those students that were falling through the cracks and we are able to pick them up and find success for them both academically and in their life in general,” says Groscost, is one of the most rewarding parts of her job.

Stephanie Groscost, along with her staff, have come together to make a difference in education as well as a difference in the student’s lives at South Side Academy in Youngstown, Ohio.

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