David W. James, Akron Public Schools superintendent. Mr. James is the 22nd chief executive of the Akron school system. Selected by the Akron Board of Education in 2008, he oversees roughly 20,000 pupils, 3,000 employees and operations of more than 50 school buildings. Under Mr. James’ guidance, Akron Public Schools has been designated as a Ford Next Generation Learning (NGL) Community. Adopting the Ford NGL framework will help the district transition all high schools into the new College and Career Academies of Akron.