MANSFIELD — Tax season is not normally an exciting time for schools, but this year has changed all of that for one area school.
Discovery School was showered with generous donations this year to fully fund their new scholarship fund, a part of the Ohio Scholarship Donation Credit through the state of Ohio. With over $15,000 for the year ahead, school officials are looking forward to supporting the learning community in a big way.
Back in November, Discovery School became the latest addition to the list of the State of Ohio’s Scholarship Granting Organizations.
This designation allows the school to accept donations to its scholarship fund giving a dollar for dollar credit against their Ohio tax liability when people file their taxes with the state.
Simon Clark, Discovery’s Head of School, is overwhelmed with the response.
“We were hoping this first year for support to be able to offer a few families assistance after hearing how important a hands-on, International Baccalaureate education was to them,” Clark said.
“Our community heard that call in a big way; to have received over $15,000 to support low-income students helping to level the playing field and give them the opportunity to learn in the way that works best for them is beyond our expectations.”
Discovery’s business manager, Susanne Carmack, has been hard at work to make sure structures are in place, both for donors and for scholarship recipients.
“Our team has been working hard to research and create a thorough donation and scholarship application process,” Carmack said.
“It’s been fun for me to learn the ins and outs, identifying where the state income requirements are, and running models to see what a difference this fund can make in the lives of our students whose families need a little help bridging the financial gap to go to their school of choice.”
This fund has been a year’s work in progress, starting with Alyssa Nugent, Assistant Head of School, researching similar schools to understand how Discovery compared overall statewide.
After bringing the scholarship fund idea to the team, they spent a year researching, attending informational sessions, and connecting with other certified scholarship granting schools before applying.
“Discovery is such a hidden gem; we offer an educational experience that is unique and balanced, with quality and rigor,” Nugent said. “In my connections with educational professionals statewide and nationally over the last two years I have witnessed how positively we compare with some of the best schools around.
“This fund is a dream come true to help students who want to learn in our community that values applied learning and higher-order thinking skills be able to reach that goal.”
The school is accepting donations to the fund for the 2025 tax year through April 15, 2026. For more information about the school, or learn more about the tax-donation credit funded Discovery School Scholarship, visit the school’s website at www.discovery-school.net or call at 419-756-8880.