TOLEDO, Ohio — While some public schools are struggling with expansion, a Toledo charter school is thriving.
The Northwest Ohio Classical Academy, in the Southwyck neighborhood, has more than doubled its student population in the six years it has been around and has even added sports and extracurriculars.
The school started out with 200 students and now has more than 600. It's also open to bringing in more.
NOCA's new junior varsity soccer team kicks off its first-ever soccer game on Tuesday night, too. For students and staff, it represents how the school is growing.
"We've seen a bunch of development in a bunch of programs that's been super beneficial for the students," said senior Ethan Gremlich.
Outside of the recent addition of the new soccer team, the school has seen expansions in extracurriculars, classes, teachers and the building itself.
Headmaster Scott Henry said the school initially started as kindergarten through eighth grade but now goes all the way to 12th grade.
"I think one of the key core factors there has been the continued core community that our school has really fostered," Henry said.
Henry said NOCA is a "classical" school, so, you won't see much technology in the classrooms. Students also wear uniforms and they follow seven core virtues.
The headmaster added that, unlike public schools, NOCA doesn't get its money from property taxes or school levies. It's funded by donors and the state, getting around $8,000 per student.
"As a public charter school in the state of Ohio, our funding comes directly from student enrollment," Henry said.
As student enrollment increases, so does the number of students playing in sports. The school has 250 athletes involved in eight different sports, according to Todd Sterken, NOCA's director of institutional advancement.
"The students now and the families who made those investments early are giving our future students the opportunities to build upon that foundation and really thrive in sport and athletics," Sterken said.
Laying the foundations is something the soccer players are taking seriously.
"We have to set the standard for teams to come," said senior Samuel Ferradino.
While the Spartans lost their opening match Tuesday 5-0, their goal is to have a successful season.
NOCA has a fall enrollment event at 6 p.m. on Oct. 21 at its building at 5025 Glendale Ave.