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About

Founded in 1809, and established in 1914, Plain Local Schools is an innovative district rich in its diversity of population. The district offers a strong core curriculum with a wide range of electives, providing students with a firm educational foundation that is unsurpassed in the area. Plain Local Schools provides a curriculum that is challenging with comprehensive activities, the best qualified staff in the area, a strong emphasis on the fine arts, superior technological resources, and safe, secure facilities.

Plain Local Schools District Profile

  • Mission: Providing the Plain Community with exceptional education that is personalized, relevant and provides opportunities for students to create a better world through global understanding and respect.

  • Vision: To be every family's first choice in education.

  • Core Values: Integrity, Equality, Responsibility, Compassion & Respect

  • Urban, suburban, rural population

  • Nine School Buildings:  Six elementary schools (K-4); Glenwood Intermediate School (5-6); Oakwood Middle School (7-8); and GlenOak High School (9-12) 

  • Home of the Golden Eagles - School colors Green and Gold

Welcome to Plain Local Schools!

Contact us: 

Plain Local Schools | 901 44th St. NW Canton, Ohio 44709 
330-492-3500 

Click here to schedule a tour 

Plain Local Schools History at a Glance: 

  • 1914 | Plain Local Schools established
    Plain Local Schools traces its roots to the early Plain Township school system and identifies 1914 as the establishment of the district.
     
  • 1926-1931 | Plain Township gets its first high school
    Middlebranch High School opened in 1926 as the first high school in Plain Township. Early classes used elementary classrooms and portable buildings before the permanent Middlebranch High School building was constructed in 1931. Part of that 1931 structure remains within today's Middlebranch Elementary. 
     
  • 1957-1958 | Growth leads to a new centralized high school
    Middlebranch's final high school class graduated in 1957, and Glenwood High School opened in 1958. Plain Township's farmland was rapidly becoming residential development, and Glenwood was intentionally located near the geographic center of the district with room for a stadium, administration facilities, and transportation operations. 
     
  • 1968 | Plain expands to two high schools
    Oakwood High School opened as rapid development continued through the 1960s. The new building also provided space for expanding vocational programs. For the first time, Plain operated two high schools, Glenwood and Oakwood. C
     
  • 1976 | Glenwood + Oakwood become GlenOak
    The district combined the two high schools into GlenOak High School, creating one high school identity while continuing to operate across two buildings. GlenOak West, the former Glenwood, housed freshmen and sophomores; GlenOak East, the former Oakwood, housed juniors and seniors. The new identity blended Glenwood's Eagle mascot with Oakwood's green and gold colors. 
     
  • 1976-2005 | One high school, multiple secondary sites
    GlenOak remained split between East and West campuses, with career and vocational programming centered on the Oakwood side of the district. By 2002, township records identified the GlenOak High School Career Center, while middle-level students attended Middlebranch Middle School, Taft Middle School and Pleasant View School for the Arts. 
     
  • 2002 | Voters approve the GlenOak building plan
    The GlenOak bond passed at an original 5.1 mills. Records from the time describe overcrowding and aging facilities as major concerns and identify the site of the new GlenOak High School as part of the broader district facility plan. By December 2002, the district had issued bond anticipation notes to begin the projects. 
     
  • 2006 | All GlenOak students come together
    The new GlenOak High School opened on the former Smith farm between Schneider and Easton, ending the East/West campus model. For the first time, Plain students in grades 9-12 attended one high school campus. The campus was intentionally developed as a community campus with partners including the Stark County District Library and access to the Stark Parks trail system. 

    The opening of GlenOak triggered a broader restructuring. Glenwood and Oakwood became the district's major middle-level campuses, while Middlebranch and Taft transitioned to elementary use and Pleasant View School for the Arts closed. The district also redistricted in 2006 and began providing full-day kindergarten districtwide. 
     
  • 2009 | Operating levy passes
    Voters approved a 6.9-mill continuing operating levy in May 2009. 
     
  • 2010-2011 | Major districtwide realignment
    The district developed another consolidation plan in 2010 that took effect for the 2011-2012 school year. Kindergarten returned to neighborhood elementary schools, all elementary schools became K-4, Glenwood became the 5-6 intermediate school, and Oakwood became the 7-8 middle school. The district projected substantial annual savings by eliminating the two standalone kindergarten centers and reducing staffing and utility costs. 
     
  • 2011-Present | A stable grade-level pathway
    Students now move from one of six K-4 elementary schools to Glenwood for grades 5-6, Oakwood for grades 7-8, and GlenOak for grades 9-12. The district's archived realignment materials specifically noted that the structure would allow students to remain together with classmates from fifth grade through graduation.