Albert “AJ” Charpentier was elected as chair of the Summit Academy Management (SAM) Board of Directors at its June 24 meeting in Akron. Charpentier brings a rich and diverse history with Summit Academy to his new post.
As a former director of Summit Academy Community School for Alternative Learners in Lorain (one of 18 special education community schools SAM operates throughout Ohio) and prior intervention specialist for the school, Charpentier enters his chair position with an exceptional depth and breadth of understanding of Summit Academy’s mission, says SAM CEO John Guyer.
“AJ has long been a strong supporter of Summit Academy, employing, firsthand, its mission to design, develop and deliver educational opportunities in a therapeutic environment so everyone can learn,” Guyer says.
During his 2013-2019 tenure as the director of Summit Academy Community School for Alternative Learners – Lorain, the school was awarded the Ohio Department of Education’s (now Ohio DEW) “High Progress School of Honor” award in 2017-2018. Charpentier says a “strong administrative team and amazing teachers” were critical to the school attaining this achievement.
Reflecting on his start in education, Charpentier says his mother, who ran an in-home daycare center, and father, a factory worker and high school wrestling coach, helped lead the way by example. “Both of them encouraged me to explore my own interests as I grew, which led me to education,” he says.
Charpentier attended Niagara University on a cross-country running scholarship and graduated with dual degrees in elementary education and K-12 inclusion (special education) in 2001. He later attended SUNY Buffalo State University where he earned his graduate degree in educational computing in 2008. After receiving the Summit Academy – Lorain director position, Charpentier continued his education, earning his Master’s in Educational Administration from Grand Canyon University in 2017.
Prior to joining Summit Academy as an intervention specialist in 2010, Charpentier worked as a middle school-level intervention specialist at the Kenmore Town of Tonawanda School District in Buffalo, N.Y. He was promoted to chair the school’s special education department a few years later.
“Joining the administrative team of Summit Academy Lorain felt like a great opportunity to continue working for students with different needs and be part of a team running a school,” he says. “The more I read and learned about Summit Academy’s mission and student population the more drawn to the school I was.”
During his years leading Summit Academy Community School for Alternative Learners – Lorain, Charpentier says his fondest memories are of those spent with the students.
“I tried to have every student in my office at least once throughout the year to eat lunch and play games such as different board or card games,” he says. “Recently, I attended a graduation ceremony for several of my former students and, even then, years after they last had me as director in elementary school, they reminisced about how their favorite memories of elementary school were eating lunch and playing games in my office.”
After leaving his position as director of Summit Academy – Lorain in 2019 to become a stay-at-home dad, Charpentier continued his involvement with Summit Academy as a Lorain and Parma school board member before being elected to the SAM board in 2023.
“Summit Academy has a special place in my heart,” says Charpentier. “One of my favorite things about being on the board has been learning how forward-looking Summit Academy is, not only in its educational movements, such as the science of reading, but even beyond with where our students are going in their lives … and how we can best prepare them for that life.”
As chair of the SAM board, Charpentier hopes to streamline processes while expanding board member representation statewide. He also hopes to maintain close engagement between members of the individual Summit Academy school boards and members of the SAM board.
“Understanding what happens at the individual school level, in relation to the overall network of schools, is essential in being part of the mission,” he says.