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COTA director reports program growth, leadership change and student gains

Fayette County Board of Education · April 22, 2026

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Summary

Matt Evans, the newly serving executive director of COTA, told the board the nonprofit expanded music, robotics, digital art and STEAM programming, served about 260 unduplicated students at two sites and reported modest academic gains in the most recent school year.

Matt Evans, the executive director of COTA, updated the Fayette County Board of Education on April 21 about program expansions, a recent leadership transition and student outcomes.

Evans said COTA has continued programming in music, robotics and art at Oak Hill Middle School and Fayetteville PreK–8 and has added piano, drums and digital art. He noted a leadership change: Esther Mori (founder) remains involved as board president and in development while he has taken on executive leadership.

Evans reported enrollment figures for the most recent school year: 173 students at Oak Hill Middle School and 162 at Fayetteville PreK–8, with an unduplicated count of about 260 students served across the two sites. He said COTA students showed measurable improvements comparing end-of-year results, stating about a 2% improvement in English language arts, 5% in math and roughly 20–21% in science for the period described as the 2024–25 school year.

Evans also introduced several interns who described their experiences and performed for the board; one intern said she began with COTA in middle school and later joined the program as an intern. Evans thanked the board for supporting transportation and meal costs that enable the programs and announced a community event at the COTA property on May 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

"We have continued our programs in music, robotics, and art," Evans said; he added that COTA is exploring additional STEAM and engineering opportunities such as 3-D printing for upcoming terms.

Evans asked the board to continue support for partnerships and grant-seeking to sustain and expand programming.