Ohio grades every school, and Sheffield Academy’s numbers put it at the top. It earned a 4-star rating in Gap Closing — placing it in the top tier statewide for making sure every student moves forward, regardless of where they started. Sheffield Academy is ranked the number one charter school in Lorain County, scores in the top 20% of Ohio charter schools, and posted a performance index increase of more than 10% in a single year, from 66.3 to 74.4.
The approach here is unusual. Students receive rigorous academic instruction alongside real athletic development, not as separate programs running on different tracks, but woven into a single school day. The idea is that the same qualities that build a good athlete, discipline, resilience, coachability, are the ones that build a strong student. Sheffield Academy builds both.
Sports aren’t a side activity here — they’re the method. Athletic participation, coaching relationships, and team culture are woven into the way students learn at Sheffield Academy. The habits that make a good athlete, showing up, pushing through hard things, supporting teammates, also make a better student and a more resilient person. They aren’t enrichment extras.
It’s a publicly funded school. There’s no tuition, no fees, and no cost to families to attend. Students also receive:
Athletics built into the school schedule — not just after school. Your child competes and learns in the same building, during the same day.
• Free breakfast and lunch every school day
• Free transportation to and from school
Sheffield Academy is located at 2180 Lake Breeze Rd, Sheffield Village, OH 44054. You can reach the school by phone at (440) 201-3875. More at sheffieldacademy.org.
Gary Lane, Principal
Gary Lane has been a part of Accel schools since 2015, where he has been a school principal, along with being a Regional Director of Academics. His educational career spans more than 24 years, including eight years as a classroom teacher and the past sixteen years as an administrator. He spent five years as the founding principal of STEAM Academy of Warrensville Heights. Before opening Sheffield Academy, Mr. Lane served as the interim principal at Bridges Academy in Tiffin, Ohio, where he successfully led the school off the closure list by boosting academic scores by 15 points during his tenure. Mr. Lane began his athletic career at the age of 5 and went on to excel in three sports throughout high school. At Mentor High School, he became the first freshman in school history to play varsity football, serving as the team’s quarterback. That same year, he also made history as the first freshman to play varsity baseball, holding the starting third base position for four years. During his time on the baseball team, he set the single-season hitting record with a 500-batting average—a record that still stands today. In addition to football and baseball, Mr. Lane was a standout basketball player, earning recognition as a distinguished three-sport athlete and ultimately being inducted into the Mentor High School Hall of Fame. Mr. Lane played college baseball at Southwestern College in San Diego, California, and later at the University of Northern Iowa, where he earned his degree. In 2000, he competed for the Mankato Mashers in Minnesota (now the Mankato Moondogs) in the Northwoods Collegiate League, leading the league in home runs—a record that still stands today. The following year, he played for the El Dorado Broncos in the Jayhawk Collegiate League, where he finished as the league’s leading hitter in 2001. For the past six summers, Mr. Lane has coached travel baseball for Force Ohio, working with athletes ages 14 to 18. His teams compete in tournaments across the state and throughout the country, achieving an impressive overall record of 268–71 and earning 14 tournament championships. Mr. Lane believes that maintaining high expectations in both academics and athletics helps create meaningful opportunities for students to grow into exceptional members of the community. Go A’s!
Dr. Chad Carr, Executive Vice President
Dr. Chad Carr is the creator of the Blitz™ Academic Model and Sheffield Academy’s Executive Vice President. Dr. Carr joined ACCEL Schools in 2015 with over 30 years of experience as a K-12 educator, coach, principal, and superintendent of schools in Ohio and Kentucky. Prior to joining ACCEL Schools, Dr. Carr served as Executive Vice President of Mosaica Education, where he turned around failing charter schools in Ohio. His turnaround achievements include Columbus Preparatory Academy, which became the top-performing school in the state of Ohio, under his principalship from 2011 to 2018. In addition to top academic ratings from the Ohio Department of Education, Dr. Carr and Columbus Preparatory Academy received numerous awards such as National Blue Ribbon School, National Title 1 School of the Year, School Leader of the Year, and School of the Year multiple years in a row from the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools, and Academic Hall of Fame. Dr. Carr holds a Ph.D. in Education from Morehead State University and three Master’s degrees in Education, Curriculum & Instruction, and Administration from the University of Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky University.
Staff Directory
Founded in 2014, ACCEL Schools is a K-12 public charter school management organization (CMO) serving students across the United States in brick-and-mortar, virtual, and hybrid school settings. We focus on improving academic outcomes of students regardless of geographic location or socioeconomic factors. The leadership team at ACCEL Schools has a combined 1000+ years of experience as global school management operators with expertise in curriculum research and design, assessment, student support services, and education consulting. Our entire team fundamentally believes that all children deserve a great education and students should be supported as they pursue a wide variety of post-secondary options. Our robust technology increases engagement, access to resources, efficiencies, and academic results helping our students become productive global citizens.
