Education in 2024 reviewed by The Yellow Springs News.

Federal Work College designation

Antioch College officials announced in the spring that the college had been designated a Federal Work College by the U.S. Department of Education. Antioch joined a cohort of 10 other work colleges nationwide.

The Federal Work College system is an evolution of the traditional work-study program. While the latter typically benefits students from lower-income backgrounds, the work college model mandates that every student living on campus must work, regardless of their financial background.

Milestones

The college held its 2024 reunion in June, welcoming more than 100 alumni to the campus. The celebration included campus tours, panels, community meals and dances.

Later in June, the college held its commencement, with 17 students crossing the stage in the Foundry Theater. All students designed their own interdisciplinary majors based on the variety of courses available. Three candidates graduated with Bachelor of Science degrees and 14 with Bachelor of Arts degrees.

Guthrie retires

In August, longtime Nursery teacher Ann Guthrie embarked on her final year at the school where she has taught for 36 years. Athena Potter, who has assisted Guthrie in the classroom for several years, succeeded her as lead Nursery teacher this year, and Guthrie is working part-time alongside Potter until the end of the 2024–25 school year.

Donors help school buy adjacent land

In October, after months of uncertainty, The Antioch School finalized a deal with Antioch College to purchase 5.3 acres of land that, for decades, the private school has been informally allowed to use and maintain for its outdoor education programs.

Antioch College listed the land, which is adjacent to The Antioch School, for sale earlier this year. The college accepted an offer from a different buyer for $600,000; accepting the offer instigated a “right of first refusal” clause included in The Antioch School’s deed, which the school co-authored with the college in 1985, when the purchase of the school building was finalized six years after it gained independence from the college.

Sale funds expanded outdoor area

In May, early education center Open Air Village, which offers nature-based preschool for ages 3–5 and additional programming for infants and kids through age 10, held a multifamily yard sale. Proceeds from the sale went toward adding to the school’s outdoor classroom area, which complements its indoor facility, located in the Sontag-Fels building on the Antioch College campus.