Grand River Academy

Grand River Academy, formerly known as the Ashtabula County Institute of Science and Industry and then the Grand River Institute, is an independent, nonsectarian, boarding high school for boys located in Austinburg, Ohio. It serves students in grades eight through twelve, with a post-graduate option.

History
Grand River Academy was founded in 1831 by prominent leaders from the Austinburg Congregational Church. The school was initially intended to prepare young men for ministerial vocations, but in 1840, it began to admit female students. Betsy Mix Cowles was appointed as the school's first female principal in charge of the Women's Department, a post she held from 1843-1848. The institution's name and location changed in 1836 at the behest of Joab Austin, a wealthy citizen who pledged a sizable endowment for the school.

Curriculum
The school teaches in small classes and offers many programs, such as the Foundations of Learning Program where students learn how they best learn and manage time to succeed in the classroom and the Productive Growth Center.

To graduate, students must obtain 21 units of credit. In addition, all seniors must be accepted by an accredited college before graduation. Students have been accepted at 75 different colleges.

Grand River is accredited by the Ohio Department of Education, North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and the Independent Schools Association of the Central States.

Athletics
As a member of the Lake Effect Conference, GRA offers a full range of athletic programs, consisting of 9 varsity, 4 junior varsity, and 1 club team.

Fall Sports

 * Soccer (V, JV)
 * Golf (V)
 * Cross country (V)

Winter Sports

 * Basketball (V, JV)
 * Bowling (V)
 * Indoor soccer (club)
 * Wrestling (V)

Spring Sports

 * Baseball (V, JV)
 * Tennis (V, JV)
 * Lacrosse (V)\

Campus
In addition to classroom and sports facilities, the school has a gymnasium, the Robert Morrison Lecture Center, and the Bud Field Student Center. Students are accommodated in one of five dormitories: Shepard Hall, Mastin Hall, West Hall, North Hall, and Warren Hall.

Politics, government and law

 * Clarence E. Allen, U.S. Representative from Utah
 * John Brown, Jr., eldest son of abolitionist John Brown, member of the Kansas Territory legislature.
 * Julius C. Burrows, U.S. Representative and a U.S. Senator from Michigan
 * Theodore Elijah Burton, U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator
 * Edwin Cowles, publisher of The Cleveland Leader, Vice-President of the 1884 Republican National Convention, postmaster of Cleveland
 * Albert Gallatin Egbert, Democratic U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania.
 * Alphonso Hart, U.S. Representative from Ohio
 * Ralph Hill, U.S. Representative from Indiana and lawyer.
 * John Philo Hoyt, American politician and jurist
 * Elbert L. Lampson, Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and former state Senator

Business

 * Alfred Cowles, American economist, businessman and founder of the Cowles Commission
 * Benjamin Goodrich, American industrialist, founded BF Goodrich

Notable staff

 * Betsy Mix Cowles, an American abolitionist