The mayor’s office will partner with national non-profit FUSE to identify gaps and better connect Davidson County families to programs in their area
Mayor John Cooper is launching a new initiative that will strengthen out-of-school programming for Nashville students and give families a new resource to find activities in their area. The mayor’s office will partner with FUSE, a national non-profit dedicated to helping local communities improve education and advance racial equity, to create a database of out-of-school local services that will be available for families across every neighborhood.
Cooper is calling on all non-profit and community organizations to fill out a survey that will assist in building out the database.
“Improving education and ensuring our children have the resources they need to thrive is key to achieving the kind of sustainable and equitable growth that benefits everyone,” said Cooper. “We’re grateful to our partners at FUSE for helping us advance this new initiative that will give parents across Nashville a new tool to find out-of-school programs for their children. Research has consistently shown that access to out-of-school programming can improve attendance, lower dropout rates, close the performance gap in underserved communities and contribute to a host of other benefits for our kids. Today is an important first step toward educating parents about the options available to them and their children.”
FUSE Fellow La’Kishia Harris is playing a key role in collaborating with Metro Nashville Public Schools and the Nashville After Zone Alliance (NAZA) to keep Metro students safe and productive after school by launching the out-of-school program database and locater service. FUSE’s work across the country often finds them partnering with local governments to fully understand the challenges cities face and design yearlong strategic programs to solve issues specific to that community.
“Through Mayor Cooper’s leadership, we look forward to assembling an easy and effective way for parents to better understand the out-of-school programs available in their area,” said Harris. “We are urging nonprofits, local organizations, community leaders, churches, and grassroots groups to participate in this survey so we can assemble the best data possible.”
Out-of-school providers may fill out the brief survey on <hubNashville>.
