The school districts in Canal Fulton and West Franklin consolidated in the early 1950s. Stark County Superintendent T.C. Knapp had alerted local districts to pending legislation which would not permit the construction of new high schools unless they enrolled 240 students. The Ohio Department of Education recommended the consolidation of smaller districts as a means of increasing enrollment and offering more educational opportunities for students. Because citizens feared a loss of identity for their community because of the merger, the school faculty worked diligently to provide a mixture of students in the band, on ball teams and as class officers.
Northwest High School opened in 1956 as one of the most modern in the area. The school boasted 15 classrooms, music and band rooms, an art room, a library, a cafeteria, an auditorium/gymnasium, business education classroom and shop area. A dedication was held on November 4, 1956, with Ohio School Board President Robert Manchester and Stark County Superintendent T.C. Knapp as speakers.
Today, thanks to the monies from the Ohio School Facilities Commission and local funding, the campus of the Northwest Schools sits on Erie Avenue, Northwest. Today the school district has approximately 2,200 students in four buildings.
Special thanks for Dr. Marc Crail for his contribution of the history of the Northwest Local School District.