Bringing Innovation in Education to Northeast Ohio Students – A Year in the Life of a School StartUp

Have you ever wondered what it takes to start a school?    Ben Colas, an innovator in K-12 education is doing the work to bring proven educational innovations to families and students in Northeast Ohio.

Ben Colas is the founder of Heights Academy, slated to open for the 2025-26 school year. Heights Academy is designed around core values of growth, ownership, agency and thankfulness and takes a mastery-based approach to equip learners with the foundational knowledge, skills and values for a life of purpose and contribution.  Ben was recently named a Founders Fellow by the Drexel Fund which works to bring great private schools to underserved communities.

Is there a better way to educate students?  

Today in many schools, the classroom looks very similar to how it did 60 years ago; desks in a row, kids grouped by age, everyone learning the same thing, kids told what and how to learn, tests as the ultimate metric…But do all students thrive in that setting?  What do parents value?  What do employers value?

After basic needs are met, what do kids need?  Community and the chance to discover and apply their unique gifts.  We can build a school around these.

Why start a new school?  

People might ask why is there a need for more schools?  Don’t we have enough schools?  The answer is both simple and complex.  There are many schools across Ohio and the country, but not every school is an effective option for every student.  How do we make sure that every student has an equal opportunity to learn and thrive.

In Ben’s words, “Education can be an equalizer for the potential of every student.  Talent is equally distributed, opportunity is not”

An Unexpected Purpose

In the Socratic dialogue ‘Republic’, Plato famously wrote: “our need will be the real creator” which ultimately became the familiar English proverb, Necessity is the mother of invention which very clearly describes the career path and purpose for Ben Colas.

Ben’s own educational experience would not have been an indicator of his future career path.  Ben grew up in upstate New York, just outside of Binghamton.  Binghamton, a community similar to Youngstown, Ohio has a rich history but has experienced its share of loss with manufacturing and other industries leaving the area.  Despite the challenges in his community, Ben experienced a great education at the local public schools with experienced, dedicated, and committed teachers.

After high school graduation, Ben attended Grove City College. Volunteering at a residential treatment center and in Chicago’s South Side opened his eyes to inequities in the education system and led to him joining Teach for America at a Cleveland charter school. 

In Ben’s own words, year one was a “disaster,” and the class hit rock bottom when students called 911 was on him for taking away recess. In his second year, he taught kindergarten and the difference was night and day.  Despite challenges in the building with over 30% teacher turnover during the school year, Ben saw the incredible talent of his students and significant academic growth in a strong classroom culture.

Ben went on to teach Kindergarten in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) at the 2^nd lowest-performing school in the state. At that time, only 7% of 3^rd through 8^th grade students in the school were proficient in reading. Ben also served as a coach for other teachers and a recruiter to bring new, talented teachers to the district.  

In Ben’s first year teaching in CMSD, only 1 out of 26 kindergarten students recognized any letters on the first day of school, and many had never held a pencil. At the same time, parents weren’t receiving guidance on how to support their child’s learning or prepare them for school. Witnessing his students’ progress firsthand—by the end of the year, they were tackling multiplication and division, and the class doubled their projected MAP NWEA growth—Ben was inspired to create KinderKits. These kits helped parents understand what their child should know before school starts and, more importantly, how they can embrace their role as a child’s first teacher by turning everyday items and experiences into learning opportunities. Thanks to the support of the Cleveland Leadership Center and other local organizations, over 6,000 families received these readiness kits.

In Ben’s first year teaching in CMSD, only 1 out of 26 kindergarten students recognized any letters on the first day of school, and many had never held a pencil. At the same time, parents weren’t receiving guidance on how to support their child’s learning or prepare them for school. Witnessing his students’ progress firsthand—by the end of the year, they were tackling multiplication and division, and the class doubled their projected MAP NWEA growth—Ben was inspired to create KinderKits. These kits helped parents understand what their child should know before school starts and, more importantly, how they can embrace their role as a child’s first teacher by turning everyday items and experiences into learning opportunities. Thanks to the support of the Cleveland Leadership Center and other local organizations, over 6,000 families received these readiness kits. 

Building on his commitment to K-12 education, Ben joined a philanthropic organization dedicated to supporting innovations and entrepreneurs reshaping when, where, and how learning happens. In this role, he worked with pioneering initiatives like schoolhouse.world (a free, virtual tutoring platform founded by the creator of Khan Academy), the Mastery Transcript Consortium, GripTape, and 4.0 Schools

Missing the the day-to-day interactions and relationships with students, teachers and families, Ben completed a Principal Residency in Cleveland Heights Schools and his MBA through The Ohio State University’s BRIGHT fellowship. These experiences deepened his conviction to launch a school where every child has the chance to break through barriers and realize their fullest potential. 

Ben Colas is now bringing his experience and proven innovations to students and families in Northeast Ohio.  We will continue to follow his progress as he works through all of the tasks and challenges to open the doors in the fall of 2025.