Auditorium ready for use

By RON COLE
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Emblazoned in bold, golden letters around the perimeter of Eagle Heights Academy's refurbished auditorium are the words by which Hugh Frost lived his life:
Faith, courage, compassion, integrity, forgiveness, gratitude and discipline.
"A group of friends and family sat down together and came up with some of my father's greatest characteristics and traits," said the Rev. Gary L. Frost, gazing at the words encircling the auditorium.
"That's what we came up with. I think it summarizes who he was."
Tonight at 7, the school on the city's South Side dedicates the renovated, 698-seat auditorium in the memory of Hugh A. Frost, a husband, father, educator and community leader who died in a car accident in July 1998 at the age of 71.
"He would be very proud, but he would have been very embarrassed," the Rev. Mr. Frost said about the dedication.
"It's wonderful that this is happening," said Lillian Frost, Hugh Frost's wife.
Overhaul: Eagle Heights Academy opened in August 1998 as one of the first charter schools in Ohio. Located in the former South High School building on Market Street, the school enrolls 868 pupils in kindergarten through eighth grade.
Before opening, the 90-year-old school underwent a $1.2 million overhaul. About $750,000 of the costs came from private donations.
Among the gifts was $100,000 dedicated to remodeling the aging school auditorium, which had warped wooden floors, a water-damaged ceiling and broken seats.
The donor had two requests: anonymity, and that the auditorium be dedicated in the memory of Hugh Frost, a Youngstown native, the first black member of the Youngstown Board of Education and longtime assistant to the president at Youngstown State University.
Dedication ceremony: Frost's family and friends, as well as local religious, education and political leaders, were expected at the dedication. James Lottier, former director of the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority, was to speak.
The Rev. Mr. Frost, president of Eagle Heights Academy's board of education, said his father died at the height of renovations to the old school.
He said his father, who once ran for mayor of Youngstown, was excited and cautious about Eagle Heights: excited by the prospect of a new school opening, yet cautious because of the politics surrounding charter schools, which presented direct competition for public school students.
"I believe he would be delighted with what has developed," the Rev. Frost said. "I believe Eagle Heights has made a difference in the educational structure in Youngstown. I believe it has helped raise the bar for everyone."