Mayor John Cooper has announced the official launch of Nashville’s first Metro Out-of-School Time Program Locator, which is a new online tool that connects Nashville parents with after-school programs in their area. As of today, nearly 60 locations across Metro Nashville are part of the database and will serve nearly 74,000 students each year.

This new tool will live on <Nashville.gov>, as well as on the websites of partner organizations Metro Nashville Public Schools, Nashville After Zone Alliance (NAZA), and United Way of Greater Nashville.

Mayor Cooper visited Inglewood Elementary in East Nashville to celebrate the launch and visit with students. Inglewood is one of a few Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) that utilize a unique funding formula to incorporate teachers, faculty, and staff into more robust after-school programming. Inglewood’s after-school program also includes MNPS high school students who are interested in a career in education. These students are part of MNPS’ work-based learning, which bridges the gap between high school and high-demand, high-skill careers in Nashville and across the state.

“Research has consistently shown that access to out-of-school programming improves attendance, lowers dropout rates, closes the performance gap in underserved communities, and contributes to a host of other benefits for our kids,” said Mayor Cooper. “We also know from our 2010 Child and Youth Master Plan that many parents and youth are unaware of the quality programs that are being offered in their area. We are addressing that gap, and this new tool will help parents across the city find the right after-school program for them and contribute to better outcomes for Nashville’s young people.”

In April 2022, the Mayor’s Office encouraged nonprofits and community organizations to participate in the out-of-school program locator initiative as part of his Agenda For Nashville’s Young People.

“Metro Nashville Public Schools is grateful to partner with the Mayor’s Office, NAZA and United Way to bring a new resource to Nashville parents,” said Makeda Watson, MNPS Extended Learning coordinator. “The Out-of-School Program Locator fills an important need to streamline the process for parents, and we hope lead to more kids participating in extended-learning opportunities both through MNPS and our outside partners.”