Nexus Academy student: blended academic model is classroom of the future

Larry Harvey, III, and his dad, Larry Harvey, Jr., agree that Nexus Academy is “the school of the future.”  Larry, a high school senior, is currently in his second year at Cleveland’s Nexus Academy, a blended program where students attend a brick-and-mortar school and also take classes online. 

“You can be on the computer all the time inside a school environment,” Larry explains.  When he was enrolled in Cleveland’s public schools he was disorganized, but at Nexus, “you can’t lose anything because it’s all on the computer.”   He says, “The teachers are all really motivational,” and he likes being able to work at his own pace.  He’ll be taking a full course load of six classes this year and applying to colleges with plans to major in music.

This is a far cry from the family’s experience in the public school system.  Larry, Jr. says there are good students in the public schools who want to learn, but for his son there were too many distractions.   That’s partly why he and his wife Ruth decided to send Larry, III to Nexus Academy.  “As parents, if something is wrong you have to change the situation,” he says. 

Larry, Jr. stresses that this is the Information Age.  “It’s incredible what we have available to us, and that’s what makes Nexus a great school,” he states, noting that young people today are always on the Internet through their phones and computers.  He feels students in the inner-city community are being cheated out of an education when these tools are lacking .  “Computer schools show no bias,” he notes.

When Larry, III, was in 6th grade, his mom encouraged him to participate in Distinguished Gentlemen of the Spoken Word, a performing arts group whose web page says it “gives at-risk boys a poetic voice to explore, lead, excel and survive.”  The boys perform poetry on stage for churches, community centers, political rallies, and even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Larry writes and performs his own poetry and has become a mentor to younger members of the group.

His work with Distinguished Gentlemen “phased over into music,” and he is currently working on producing his own hip-hop album.   He plans to release it over the Internet, and his dad is hopeful he can begin building a fan base now, even while he’s still in school.