Stivers Manual Training High School was built in 1908 at 1313 East 5th Street in Dayton. It was designed by renowned Dayton architect Charles Insco Williams. The original building is Dayton Publics oldest operating school. It was Stivers High School until 1974 when it merged with Patterson Co-op High School and then in the mid-1980s it became a middle school. The last class to graduate as Stivers High School was 1976. It became both a middle and high school in the mid-1990s, graduating its first high school class in 2000.
Renovation
Stivers was renovated and the students went temporarily to the Homewood Campus. The current Stivers reopened on October 29, 2008. The class of 2008 was the first class to graduate from the renovated building. Students enter Stivers at the 7th grade level by audition and may stay until they graduate in 12th grade. The school currently has around 920 students in grades 7-12.
Programs
Stivers offers programs in piano, band, orchestra, dance, theatre, creative writing, choir, and visual arts as well as a full range of quality academics. Special features of the Arts programs include weekly, individualized instruction, special seminars, master classes and extensive opportunities for performance and creative expression. Students are provided instruction through one-on-one contact with many of the community's leading professional and performing artists. Art themes are integrated into the general curriculum. Stivers has a rigorous academic program that consistently produces test scores that far exceed all other schools in the district. Stivers's state report card is similar to that of high-performing suburban schools in the Dayton region. The Dayton Daily News has called Stivers the "Crown Jewel" of the Dayton Public Schools System. Milton Caniff is a famous Stivers alumnus. He was a cartoonist and at times in his cartoons referenced a high school called St. Ivers, a reference to his alma mater. Stivers honored Caniff's legacy by renaming part of South Clinton Street "Milton Caniff Drive".
Curriculum and activities
Academic: Required and elective college preparatory courses including Advanced Placement Courses
Choral Music - General Choir, Show Choir, & other specialized choral groups
Piano- Beginning through advanced piano classes, music theory, musicianship
''seedling'' Foundation
The seedling Foundation is a non-profit organization established to benefit Stivers School for the Arts. The foundation's purpose is to support the Arts Programs at Stivers by providing funds for guest artists, scholarship programs, and other educational pursuits. The organization consists of parents, alumni, and community leaders. Donations are accepted by the seedling Foundation for the current capital campaign.
Recognitions
Honored by U.S. News and World Report as being among America's best public high schools, earning Silver Medal in 2015.
Selected to be an Ohio Venture Capital school and receive a grant of $25,000 per year for five years, to be used for staff development.
Named a Finalist for National Blue-Ribbon School of Excellence in 1992.
Awarded a State Superintendent School of Promise Award
Stivers has remained in the 'Effective' or 'Excellent' category every year since the Ohio Department of Education has assigned designations to schools. As of the 2010–2011 school year, Stivers School for the Arts received an "Effective" rating from the Ohio Department of Education.
