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City and CPS officials press for data, partnerships to expand after‑school programs and year‑round youth work
Summary
At a joint meeting, Cincinnati City Council and Cincinnati Public Schools officials agreed to collect student and program data and pursue partnerships with the Cincinnati Recreation Commission to expand after‑school programming, internships and year‑round youth employment; CRC said space and licensing, not staff, limit expansion.
At a joint Healthy Neighborhoods Committee and Cincinnati Public Schools board meeting, city and school leaders said they will gather data and pursue city‑school partnerships to expand after‑school programming and youth employment opportunities.
The push grew from concerns about dismissal‑time crowding and gaps in after‑school participation. ‘‘We need to start with the data,’’ Vice Mayor Jan Michelle Lisonbee Kearney said, calling for CPS to report how complaints and student volume compare with last year. Board members and councilmembers asked CPS and the Recreation Commission to survey students and tally who is not participating in after‑school activities so programming can be targeted.
CPS Deputy Superintendent Alicia Smith described the district’s immediate response when the SNAP waiver ended: schools compiled community partner resources, ran food drives and set up referral pathways so principals and assistant superintendents could ensure students in need receive meals. ‘‘We cannot, by law, give out food and just hand it out anymore,’’ Smith said, underscoring why coordinated local efforts matter for families now.
Daniel Betts, director of the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, told the joint meeting that CRC’s principal constraint is space and state licensing at specific sites, not staff shortages. He said Hyde Park serves ‘‘roughly a 197 young people’’ in its after‑school site but lacks licensed space to expand; CRC has increased licensed sites from one to 13 and is seeking capital to upgrade additional centers. ‘‘If there’s additional space, then we will work strategically…with the city to get funding to accommodate that,’’ Betts said.
Members discussed scaling elements of CRC’s successful RECOGNITE program in schools. Betts said CRC will apply for a recent federal grant opportunity and offered CRC’s 23 sites as potential partners. Councilmember Anna Albee and others proposed exploring staggered dismissals and improved bus sequencing to reduce student concentration at arrival and dismissal, while Assistant Superintendent Amy Randolph cautioned that 9–12 schedules offer limited room to shift instructional time.
The group identified near‑term steps: CPS will collect and present data on after‑school participation and dismissal‑time incidents, CPS and CRC will identify potential school‑center co‑use opportunities, and Council offices will pursue funding to restore year‑round youth hire levels that have fallen since federal cuts. Vice President Eve Bolton said the city and district should develop programming that is ‘‘cost efficient or doesn’t have a cost at all’’ for families who can’t pay activity fees.
No formal votes were taken. Officials said they expect updates at the next joint meeting, including data from CPS and follow‑up meetings between CRC, CPS resource coordinators and council staff.
