Sports academy hires new principal

HURON — A new Firebird landed at Huron Sports Academy. The school welcomed Brice Wilson as its new principal on a one-year renewable contract. Information on Wilson's salary was not disclosed. Huron Sports Academy is a charter school housed at the former Shawnee Elementary building located at 712 Cleveland Road E. in Huron. Its mascot is the Firebird. School officials previously called the academy a public charter school that combines learning and training for competitive sports with academic instruction. It is free of tuition and buses from neighboring communities. Wilson said the academy is kindergarten through sixth grade this year with early kindergarten qualifying with a Dec. 31 birthdate. Who is Brice Wilson? Wilson has a history in educational institutions that follows the same principles of sports and academics. He most recently worked at Sheffield Academy where he was a coach and taught physical education for three years. "My last year at Sheffield Academy was amazing," Wilson said. "I put two soccer teams into the Lorain County Soccer League, and we formed a conference with Huron Sport Academy in basketball and baseball." Along with his former experience at a similar charter school, Wilson also has an educational background that qualifies him for this position. He has a professional K-12 license and a master's degree in business management. He is now working toward his permanent principal license and recently secured an alternative principal license. His other former working positions include higher education. At Oberlin College, Wilson managed recreational activities for students and instructed a bowling class as a lecturer of athletics. In addition to the coaching he did at Sheffield Academy, he has coached several grade levels as a professional and parent. What to expect After Huron Sports Academy's former principal found a new job, Wilson was invited to bring his school's model into the academy. "This is an exciting opportunity for us to install our sports academy model where we enjoy smaller class sizes, have (physical education) daily and team sports practices/specials in the afternoon while exceeding academic requirements by working efficiently and taking any available opportunity for exercise/recreation to keep their brains fresh and active," Wilson said. In his new role, Wilson is focused on building enrollment. He is "very excited to build our program as successful as my previous school," Wilson said. "At Sheffield Academy, we grew from 55 students in our first year to 120 and then 200 students in our third year." Another goal of Wilson's is to gain enough players to compete in the academy's conference, which includes several sports. Along with conference participation and enrollment numbers, Wilson also wants to "offer choice to the local community to ensure each child enjoys their experience at school and the pursuit of a quality education." "The hardest part about breaking into a new community is gaining people's trust and for the community to realize we are all in the business of educating children and families deserve school choice," Wilson said. Public versus academy Wilson explained the difference between how public schools and the academy operate sports programs. The network of charter schools, which Huron Sports Academy is part of, has sports teams that represent their school, competing against other schools within the conference. These competitions start in third grade. Public schools' youth sports programs are managed by a community organization and have a relationship with the school to use its facilities. Students enrolled in city schools generally start sports in the seventh grade rather than third grade, like the academy. Huron Sports Academy also offers its sports programs for free. Wilson said, from his experience raising kids, fees for uniforms and memberships add up. He said for families with three or four kids, the cost could strongly restrict low-income families.