Wauwatosa board approves letter of intent with Boys and Girls Club’s Blue Door Academy for expanded care

The Wauwatosa School District board on May 20 approved a letter of intent to partner with the Boys and Girls Club’s Blue Door Academy to provide before-school and after-school programs, summer programming and 4-year-old kindergarten wraparound services for district students.

Tanisha Grimes, who identified herself as representing Blue Door Academy, outlined the program model and said it uses four 9-week sessions aligned to the school year, with daily blocks for community building, academic support, targeted programming and deregulation before pickup. “About 93 percent of our our club members said they try to do their best at school, and then about 84 percent said they understand how their feelings affect what they do,” Grimes told the board as evidence of program outcomes.

A district staff member recommended placing a letter of intent on the table for board approval. The board then questioned representatives about program balance, special-needs adaptations, staff training and affordability. The chair said many parents value free play and asked how Blue Door would limit screen time; Grimes replied the initiative emphasizes movement and hands-on learning and that brief adaptive digital activities generally run about 15 minutes or less for younger children.

District administrators described their vendor-selection process, saying they interviewed four providers and used a decision matrix that made two items mandatory: compliance with federal and state regulations and student safety. Other weighted factors included minimizing family cost, program evaluation and reporting, strength of family communication, and the vendor’s ability to access Wisconsin Shares and scholarships. Administrators said one goal is to make participation “net neutral” for families and not increase the district’s budget burden.

Board members pressed about staffing and transitions from the current provider. The district liaison for before- and after-school care said she has been working with both the incumbent provider and the Boys and Girls Club leadership to preserve trusted site staff where possible and to conduct site visits and oversight to ensure consistency across schools. Blue Door representatives said they expect existing site staff to be able to apply for roles with the club and that training and quarterly program-quality assessments would support consistent implementation.

The motion to approve the letter of intent was brought to a roll-call vote and carried. The roll call shows five yes votes (Mister Wadhir; Miss Lamers; Doctor Worley; Mister Bauer; Miss Brzezinski) and two excused (Miss Tamara Rolland; Miss Bach). The chair announced the motion carried and welcomed the Boys and Girls Club to the district; administrators said a formal contract will be brought to the board later this summer and a kickoff meeting has been scheduled.

What the board approved is a letter of intent and not a finalized contract. Officials said the next formal step is drafting and presenting a contract for board consideration; details such as final pricing, scholarship implementation and staff hiring processes will be resolved in that contract. The district and Blue Door representatives emphasized they will continue outreach to families about program structure and tuition assistance.

The special meeting adjourned after the vote.