Elyria City School District - home to the Elyria Pioneers - serves nearly 6,300 students in a diverse community of 55,000 residents. Elyria is Ohio's 14th largest city and was founded in 1817 by Heman Ely. It is the birthplace of artists, inventors, historians, engineers, athletes, scientists, health professionals, customer service gurus and world-renowned organizations and corporations.
Elyria sits at the fork of the Black River, 7 miles from Lake Erie and 26 miles west of Cleveland. Its location a short distance from the metropolis offers something to suit every need and every enthusiast from sports, arts, culinary and culture to parks, colleges and world-class healthcare.
Elyria City Schools enjoys a rich history dating to the early 1800s and laying claim to the first high school west of the Allegheny Mountains, Elyria High School, chartered in 1830.
Today, Elyria High School is the district's flagship school serving 2,000 students, grades 9 through 12. Elyria High School was rebuilt in 2010 but retained its most historic building.
The Washington Building, an impressive sandstone structure quarried from stone in Elyria in 1894, is on the National Registry of historic landmarks. In all of its renovated glory today it is the home to the history department of Elyria High School.
Elyria High School boasts the latest classroom technology, a makerspace dubbed the Imagineering Hub, a sophisticated music wing with college-style vocal rooms and a beautiful 830-seat theatre for student and professional productions. Elyria High School is a Division I school. The athletic facility offers a 2,000-seat competition gymnasium and an 800-seat tournament gym, a wrestling room, therapy room and modern locker and shower facilities.
Elyria City Schools serves its youngest learners in preschool and free, full-day kindergarten. Preschool is located at the Elyria Early Childhood Village and at The Stocker Center preschool at Franklin Elementary School, programs that have earned the highest distinction in preschool education.
Elyria's kindergartens are located in neighborhood schools across the district. They are taught by highly qualified early education specialists.
In 2020 and 2021, the district opened five new schools: two K-4 elementary schools and three PK-8 campus schools.
The district also sports a brand new multisport complex: Mercy Health Field at Ely Stadium, opened on August 24, 2018.