2026-09-02 - Youth Committee

25:11[laughter]

25:17She said, "You want?"

25:20>> Yes, you guys do.

25:27>> Get out of here. I love you.

25:31>> I love

25:32>> I know you guys do. I look like

25:35>> I'm just trying to help Max out cuz he's

25:37a daddy.

25:42>> Just handed out our stuff to you all.

25:49>> Oh, thank you. I'm still trying to feel

25:52some summer time.

25:54>> Keep it alive. Try and keep

25:56>> It's very cold.

25:59Did he stop gay by saying a song?

26:01>> Not yet.

26:10>> We ready.

26:11>> You can go.

26:24Just you can now

26:39meeting to order.

26:42Meeting can be viewed on board of alers

26:45you chief. Board of New Haven notice.

26:48The youth services committee will meet

26:50in person on Wednesday, September 2nd,

26:522026 at 6 PM located at 165 Church

26:56Street, second floor, Board of Alers,

26:58Chamber, New Haven, Connecticut to hear

27:00and act upon the following items.

27:03LM-206-0309

27:08resolution of the board of the city of

27:10New Haven authorizing the mayor of the

27:13city of New Haven to execute an

27:15agreement with the Connecticut

27:17Department of Energy and Environmental

27:19Protection to accept an urban act bond

27:21award in the amount of up to $1 million

27:26for improvements to East Shore Park,

27:28including youth soccer facility. LN206-

27:340315

27:36Order of the New Haven Board of Orders

27:38authorizing the mayor to execute a

27:40contract with Boys and Girls Club of

27:42Greater New Haven in the amount of up to

27:46$240,000

27:48for the period of September 1st, 2026 to

27:51December 31st, 2026 to provide citywide

27:55reading and enrichment programming to

27:58the New Haven public school students

27:59under the New Haven After school

28:01initiative LM-2026-0317

28:07order of the New Haven Board of Orders

28:09authorizing the mayor to execute a

28:11contract with New Haven with New Haven

28:15counts in the amount of up to $600,000

28:19for the period of September 1st, 2026 to

28:23December 31st, 2026 to provide citywide

28:26math and sports programming to New Haven

28:28public school students under the New

28:30Haven After School Initiative. These

28:33items are on file and available for

28:35public inspection in the Office of

28:37Legislative Services, 165 Church Street,

28:40New Haven. Per order, Honorable Kimberly

28:42Edwards, chair, attest. Honorable Mike

28:45Smart, city clerk. If you need an

28:47accessibility related accommodation,

28:49please contact 203-9467651

28:54voice or 2039468582

28:59tty in accordance with the city of New

29:02Haven COVID 19 guidelines. Masks are

29:04optional now. Public may send comments

29:07to public testimony at new havenct.gov.

29:10And I will have the committee members

29:12starting on my right introduce

29:14themselves. Oas Theodore, Ward One,

29:16Frank Credenti, W 15.

29:18>> Herman Rodriguez, W six. Taiisha Walker

29:20Meers, W 23. Britney May, W 20.

29:25>> I will now pull up the city presenters

29:27for the first item.

29:37>> And when you arrive to the table, can

29:38you please give your name and address

29:40for the record?

29:44Hello everyone. I'm Max Webster. I'm the

29:47parks director for the city and my

29:49address is 48 Street

29:52and we're talking about East Shore Park

29:54and improvements at Eastore Park. And so

29:56I think I passed out um this concept

30:01plan. So, folks may be familiar with um

30:06the current configuration of the soccer

30:08fields that are at

30:10let's see here

30:13um at Eastore Park um which does not

30:18look like this current configuration.

30:19And so those those soccer fields that

30:21are out there right now are are um

30:23currently used by New Haven youth

30:25soccer. Um they have hundreds of kids

30:27that participate in their programming uh

30:30each year. Um the fields that they

30:34currently [clears throat] use in the

30:35current location are a little bit tough

30:37in terms of how you know they can be

30:39maintained. They haven't been maintained

30:42um

30:44appropriately for a long time and the

30:46location where they are and sort of the

30:48situation of where those fields are. Um

30:52the underlying soil material, proximity

30:54to the water, all that stuff make it

30:56really hard to actually maintain those

30:58soccer fields in that location. um they

31:01flood regularly, it's super windy, all

31:04all lots of stuff that do not make it

31:06the best spot for um for soccer. So um

31:11we actually decided to take a different

31:13kind of approach with this. um had some

31:16conversations with um uh Representative

31:18uh Al Pelo who is a champion at the

31:21state level for for this funding along

31:23with uh Senator Martin Looney um and uh

31:27decided to look at the the complex that

31:30currently is the baseball complex at

31:33Eastore Park. So, if you've been park,

31:35you may be familiar. There's sort of

31:36this circular area where there's four

31:38baseball fields and uh well, three

31:41baseball fields and a softball field.

31:43And that space has its own challenges

31:46and is is disused and not functional as

31:48a as a baseball complex right now. And

31:52so we saw an opportunity to use this

31:56million dollar urban act grant uh

31:59alongside aside some additional funding

32:01that the city had previously gotten for

32:04improvements in that part of the park.

32:07uh to combine those resources and meet

32:10the both, you know, the best of both

32:12worlds in terms of um uh developing a

32:16really fantastic soccer complex that

32:18would complement the other soccer field

32:20that's sort of tucked away back there.

32:21If you could see on this map, um sort of

32:24in your your upper left corner, there's

32:27another soccer field with lights that's

32:29over there. Um, so,

32:33so with these soccer field, with this

32:36sort of new complex where we would, we

32:38would convert a couple of the soccer

32:40fields into a new soccer complex or

32:44couple of the baseball fields into a new

32:45soccer complex. Take advantage of the

32:47lights and some of the infrastructure

32:48that's already installed out there, and

32:50then use the current resources that we

32:52we already have secured to really invest

32:55in developing a a really fantastic

32:58facility. both for um soccer and

33:03baseball in this area. We think it'd be,

33:05you know, a win for everybody and really

33:08help with activation uh in that part of

33:10the park. Uh this would also allow us to

33:13maintain those other fields that we

33:14currently have as a flex space both for

33:17community play, after school programs,

33:19and if there ever was maintenance that

33:21was needed on one of these fields, we

33:22could move New Haven Youth Soccer over

33:24there for a period of time to do that

33:26maintenance. So, um, so yeah. So, that's

33:29that's the the basic proposal right

33:31there that we're looking at and I'm glad

33:33to answer any questions from from the

33:35committee.

33:36>> I'll take questions from the committee.

33:39>> What other

33:40>> Thank you, Madam President. Um, as

33:43somebody who sat on the board at the

33:45Anacool League for years, my kids both

33:47were raised in that place.

33:48>> I know how bad those back fields were.

33:51Um,

33:54now I know they're just trying to orient

33:56myself. If I'm coming from the Yes.

33:57Annex Little League, this is crossing

34:00over the marsh.

34:01>> So, if you look on this map to the right

34:04side, you'll see there's that that

34:08rotary circle that is uh that would be

34:10the parking lot.

34:11>> That's the entrance, right? And then to

34:13the right of that, you can see uh the

34:15faded footprint of the annex little leaf

34:17fields are this entrance here. This is

34:19actually Woodward Avenue here. Correct.

34:21>> Y that's right.

34:24>> So this is not inclusive of the the two

34:26little league fields on the on wood

34:28where this is behind.

34:28>> Correct. Yep. Yep. So those fields are

34:31are not touched by this plan.

34:33>> So the soccer fields would be on the

34:34outside part by the water.

34:36>> Yes.

34:37>> Baseball. Well purpose fields. My

34:39question I just have one question about

34:40it.

34:41>> Just because our city high school

34:43[crying] fields are in just really rough

34:46shape. Could those one one of those

34:49baseball fields be fashioned for our

34:51high school?

34:52>> Yeah. So, yeah. So, so this field that

34:55you see right here, which would be the

34:58the baseball field that has, you know,

35:00soccer fields configured for the

35:01outfield, that is a 90 foot diamond. So,

35:04if we needed to flex a high school team

35:06over there or JB team for whatever

35:08reason, then we could do that. Um, we'll

35:11also have a renovated field at Rice

35:14Field for a 90 foot diamond. that's

35:16going to come [screaming] online this

35:17fall as well. Uh and then we've been

35:19working on rehabbing the field at Hammer

35:21Field as well for

35:22>> There's nothing like playing on on the

35:24water though.

35:25>> Correct. Yeah. I mean we

35:28>> the reason I ask is just because my

35:30[clears throat] son played at cross and

35:32career.

35:32>> Yeah.

35:33>> And not and the fields are much better

35:35shape now than they were.

35:36>> Yeah.

35:37>> It's just you know playing down there

35:40night games, the lights, the water. um

35:43when you go away to other schools

35:45[crying] especially in the summer and

35:46those fields are always so nice you know

35:48what I mean so just give us like a

35:50>> a dime

35:53are there any more questions

35:58>> thank you madam chair thank you director

36:02this is really exciting one of something

36:04I worked on when I was a student at

36:06cross was pushing for better baseball

36:07fields I echo all the redenti that

36:09>> a lot needs to be done um I guess can

36:12Can you articulate again what about this

36:15plan will lend to easier maintenance? Um

36:20>> well yeah so so there's there's an

36:23aspect of when you do a capital project

36:27you have to follow up with the

36:29maintenance plan pretty much immediately

36:31or you're going to start to lose aspects

36:33of it. Right? The fields that you see in

36:37their current state were constructed in

36:39the early 1980s and there was not a

36:43regular followup of a of a maintenance

36:46plan for those fields. So they were they

36:48were dealt with you know as capacity was

36:50available and so on and so forth. Right?

36:52So there is a heavy capital need just to

36:56invest in these fields to get them back

36:58in good shape. Right? Their current

37:00situation there's not we can't just

37:02maintain them back into good shape. we

37:04kind of have to do a total do, right?

37:07>> And that's what this is. Once we do that

37:10total doover, then we have an

37:11opportunity to reset the maintenance

37:13plan and program and uh get things

37:16moving in the right direction.

37:18>> Sweet. Okay, that makes sense. So, it's

37:20not like necessarily a new drainage

37:22system or a different

37:24>> There is that. There is that. Yeah. So,

37:26yeah. So, drainage is an aspect. Um

37:29we're trying to get creative in terms of

37:31uh you know big cost for this and a big

37:34part of the quality that drives the

37:35quality is irrigation. Um these are this

37:39is a wet site to begin with. So

37:40irrigation is a little bit of a

37:42challenge. We're looking at drainage

37:44often more than than irrigation but

37:46looking at how we can use um some

37:49creative ways to get water on these

37:51fields in terms of how they they get

37:53maintained as well. So, um, drainage is

37:56a factor, grading these fields,

37:58[clears throat] getting the right seed

38:00mixes out, um, and then following up

38:02with that in a routine way over time.

38:05>> Fantastic. Okay. Thank you very much.

38:07Thank you, Madam Chair.

38:08>> I would like to note for the record that

38:10order from Kansas. Are there any more

38:12questions?

38:12>> I just got one more if you don't mind.

38:14>> Okay.

38:15>> Is there

38:16>> So, at one point there was a sprinkler

38:17system, right?

38:18>> Yes.

38:19>> Is that's just

38:20>> it's not functional at this point in

38:22time.

38:22>> Yeah, that's all I have.

38:24Are there any more questions from the

38:26committee?

38:27>> See none. Thank you.

38:28>> Thank you.

38:47>> We will now have the city presenters for

38:49item number two and three.

38:53And when you come to this table, can you

38:55please state your name and address for

38:57the record, please? Thank you.

38:58>> Absolutely. Hello everyone.

39:06[laughter]

39:08>> Good evening to everyone. Uh Williams,

39:11Latino artist in New Haven. Good to see

39:14everyone after this enriching summer.

39:17Hope you are well. We hope we will not

39:20take too much of your time.

39:21[clears throat] Um the information that

39:24I'm going to share with you today will

39:27give you a greater understanding of the

39:29contracts that we are asking for your

39:31approval. the New Hagen after school

39:34initiative which is the PowerPoint which

39:35I just handed out to you with this

39:37information and so [snorts] we to give

39:40you a brief overview this initiative um

39:44which was given us given to us the

39:46vision from our mayor's office which we

39:49embraced and we ran with it is to make

39:51sure that there is after school

39:52programming for all children in every K

39:55through8 school in the city of New

39:57Haven. We know that is a very important

40:00time to grab our young people to have

40:02them in a con uh not constructive a

40:05constructive constructive constructive

40:08environment

40:09>> [laughter]

40:09>> um for continued learning even when we

40:13get out of school hours. And so there

40:16are 31 schools K through8 schools in the

40:20city of New Haven and we are focused on

40:2228 of those schools. And so I

40:26[clears throat] don't it has been a

40:27question that has been posed to us. This

40:29is an expansion of the tutoring

40:31initiative that was started

40:33approximately two years ago, three years

40:36ago. And so we are not disregarding or

40:39sunsetting the tutoring initiative. We

40:42are expanding it because after the

40:44briefing we recognized that there were

40:45more needs for the young people and that

40:48we needed to touch more young people

40:50than were who we were touching under the

40:52tutoring initiative. Our program

40:55partners for running this session

40:57currently is the Boys and Girls Club of

40:59Greater New Haven and New Haven Counts,

41:01which are the two contracts that we

41:03bring forth to you today. What we have

41:06decided to do to structure this

41:07initiative um to be realistic, we are

41:10going to have it in two sessions. So,

41:13fall session, spring session. The first

41:15session will be starting on September

41:179th, which is the Tuesday right after

41:19Labor Day to go until December 22nd,

41:22which is up the up to the date of when

41:25schools will break for the Christmas

41:26holiday. And then we will come back in

41:29January when they return to school. And

41:31the second session will go from January

41:33to end in June. If you look at the

41:35bottom half of page two, we try to give

41:39you a brief overview of all of the

41:41programming that is going on in

41:44everyone's school. One of the projects I

41:47I would say accomplishments and goals

41:49that we were able to do a wonderful

41:51mapping of all of the programs that are

41:54going on in the school. We are working

41:56very closely with the board of education

41:58in order to make this happen. Actually,

42:00we're probably meeting with them two or

42:01three times a week with different

42:03sectors of the board of education. And

42:05we are so grateful that the

42:06superintendent, Dr. Negron, has bought

42:08into this vision as well as our

42:11assistant superintendent going down to

42:13the principles and the administrators of

42:15the school. I think the mapping was an

42:17extremely important part of this pro um

42:20of this project because of the fact that

42:22there are so many great grassroots

42:25organizations who are doing work, but we

42:27didn't know they were doing the work.

42:29And so we were trying to get everyone

42:31together and not duplicate services, but

42:34our goal was to fill the gap. So when

42:37there were services in those schools, we

42:39wanted to make sure that we have

42:41programming in there to fill the gap. So

42:44we have broke this down into two

42:45sectors. We have K through four and then

42:48we have 5 through 8. And that's because

42:50we recognize that the learning is

42:53different for those two distinct

42:55populations. And so in every school we

42:58make sure there is an organization who

42:59is specifically focused on either K

43:02through 4 or 5 through 8 which is very

43:04important to us. I know this is small

43:06but I have no issue in making sure that

43:08I send the PowerPoint and it's full so

43:12that you can actually really look and

43:13see. But if we wanted to just, you know,

43:15just for an example, so if we look at

43:20Southern Tunnel School, they have a bell

43:23time where they get out at 2:25. And in

43:26that school, we will have the Boys and

43:29Girls Club who will be focusing on ages

43:32K through four. And then we also have

43:34New Accounts who will focus on 5 through

43:378. our two partners have been um

43:41recruited to focus on specific

43:43populations. So if you go into a school

43:46and you see New Haven Council in the

43:48building, you know that they are

43:50focusing on program for grades 5 through

43:528. And if you see Boys and Girls Club,

43:55they are specifically focusing on young

43:57people K through four. That was very

44:00important for us that we had a very

44:02distinct and we established the

44:03boundaries because we want to make sure

44:05that our young people are receiving the

44:07targeted services that we want for that

44:09age group. If we go to the next page, I

44:11just wanted to share with you some

44:12program highlights.

44:14As stated in the beginning, the New

44:16Haven after school initiative and you

44:18know we have a wonderful knack of always

44:20coming up with an acronym for something.

44:22So NHAI is building upon the existing

44:25school-based after school programs to

44:27ensure that our K through8 after school

44:29options are offered for all of the New

44:32Haven public schools K through 8. And

44:34then we do have a website that is live

44:37and available. You can get to that link.

44:39If you go on to the youth and recreation

44:41page, we do have a big icon at the top.

44:45the same way we've done our summer

44:46programming or mayor's youth guide or

44:49applying for a summer job. There's a

44:51icon that you can click on for our

44:53afterchool program. So, it is easily

44:56accessible. They don't have to dig and

44:58go through a whole bunch of pages. It's

45:00right there for them and we have

45:02provided the link. We are working with

45:04the New Haven Board of Education with

45:06bus transportation. And so we are our

45:09options for transportation at this time

45:12is that if there is not a program in

45:14your school that is existing, we will

45:17help you get busing to an alternative

45:19school. So for example, if there was not

45:21a program for K through 8, K through 4

45:25in your school, but it was at a school

45:28on the other side of town that has the

45:30same bell time. And I will get back to

45:32that point in one second because the

45:34bell time is extremely important for us

45:37in this processing and this mapping. We

45:39[snorts] will provide um the busing over

45:43to that school so that you can have

45:45access to the programming where

45:47applicable if there are siblings and

45:49they are going to different schools. As

45:52long as they have the same belt time,

45:53New Haven Public Schools busing will

45:56help us to get transportation for that

45:58sibling to be with their sister or their

46:01brother so that it is easier for the

46:03parents to pick them up. One of the

46:05important things to note is that the

46:07parents do have to pick up their young

46:09person. There is no busing for after

46:12school. The bell time is at 5:30. I

46:15don't want to say bell time. The ending

46:16of the program is at 5:30. And so

46:18parents are responsible to pick up their

46:20young person at 5:30. Um the program has

46:24been set for five days a week. So we are

46:27not shortch changing any parent because

46:29most of us have to work on Friday. And

46:31so we wanted to make sure that there was

46:33coverage for 5 days a week, Monday

46:35through Friday, and there is until 5:30

46:38p.m.

46:40We know our young persons are going to

46:42come to us hungry. We have worked out um

46:46we have worked out with the New Haven

46:48public schools food and services to make

46:51sure that snacks and supper is provided

46:53as appropriate for your school and we

46:56will follow all the rules and

46:57regulations and you know there is a lot

46:58when you're getting food coming in with

47:00count but it has already been taken care

47:03of negotiated so our young people will

47:04get there and they will have food.

47:07We have um each program our staff that

47:11is in will be over our young people will

47:14be CPR

47:16and first aid certified. That is a

47:20requirement the same way we do with our

47:23summer camps that we have with the youth

47:25and recreation department. That

47:27expectation is the same with the new

47:29after school init um initiative.

47:32Students you can't use your phone when

47:34you're doing it. We are continuing that

47:37same trend. Of course, you can have your

47:38phone, but it has to be in a bag. And we

47:40understand emergencies happen, but we

47:43are not responsible if you take your

47:44phone out and the kid takes it. So, we

47:47have that same messaging that is going

47:49across the board that their phone should

47:51be in their book bag unless there's

47:53emergency. We are also following the New

47:56Haven public school code of conduct even

47:58during our afterchool program. So it

48:01does not end when the bell time happens,

48:03but it continues until you are actually

48:05in the care of your parents. Both the

48:08Boys and Girls Club and New Haven

48:09Council will have a program supervisor

48:12at every site. And these are the persons

48:14that will be responsible for speaking

48:16with the staff and the family to make

48:18sure that there are no issues or if

48:20there's an issue, we have that point

48:22person who will be able to resolve the

48:25problem. Anyone who is working with our

48:28young people are required to follow a

48:30background checked. None of that has

48:32been exempted. You still have to follow

48:35the requirements with the New England

48:37public schools and the expectations of

48:39youth and recreation in order to work

48:41with our young people. And we are

48:43continuing to look for volunteers. Now,

48:46the programs at each school, what I

48:47referred to was bell time. It was

48:49something new that I learned. So that's

48:51why I'm so excited to tell you. But I

48:53did not recognize [laughter] I am I

48:56learned something new. We all should

48:57learn something new every single day.

48:59And so for that day, I learned that

49:01there was tears for the school. And the

49:05reason I'm bringing up this point

49:07because as your constituents may come up

49:09to you and someone may say, well, you

49:11know what, I have a student at Roberto

49:13Clemente and I want them to do

49:14programming over at Hill Central. and

49:17we're not able to offer that because

49:19they have different bell times. And so

49:22there are some schools that get out of

49:24school at 2:25. There are others that

49:26get out at 3:05. And then you have some

49:29schools that get out at 3:45. So we have

49:32to make sure we're matching the school

49:34that you're going to has the same bell

49:36time as the one that you are leaving

49:38because the schools will not hold you.

49:41Roberto Clemente gets out at 3:05. The

49:43health central does not have a bell time

49:45till 3:45. That means for 40 minutes

49:49someone would have to be responsible for

49:51that young person and the schools are

49:53not going to hold a student. You have to

49:57either get on the bus and go home or go

49:59to a after school program. So it has

50:01been a a juggling act for us. It has not

50:05been you know we are trying to perfect

50:07it and take out any potential errors

50:10that may occur on the first day. I wish

50:12that we could say we were absolutely

50:14perfect, but we know we will be able to

50:16respond if there is an issue or a

50:19problem right now. So, we are extremely

50:21excited for this program and we are

50:23coming to you because we have to have

50:25partners to help us get this work done.

50:28We are talking about having an

50:29afterchool program in 28 schools out of

50:33the 31 K through eight schools. You you

50:36all know I have a staff of 13. So there

50:38is no way that I'd be able to expand

50:42ourselves. We do not have the bandwidth

50:44or the capacity. So we have to go to

50:46established

50:48well-known grassroot organizations where

50:51they have been doing this for a while

50:53and they are a hand at it. We all know

50:57the reputation of the New Haven Boys and

50:59Girls Club and I don't think that has

51:01ever been challenged. They do great work

51:03with in our community.

51:05New Haven Counts has been a premier

51:07partner starting off with our

51:09neighborhood, our new New New Haven

51:12tutoring initiative. We actually had two

51:15and so I just want to bring this up in

51:16case there is a question or an elephant

51:18in the room. We had two partners at that

51:20time. New Haven Reads and we also had

51:23New Haven Counts. We went to both

51:25partners and Eliza so graciously shared

51:28the vision of what we wanted to do. The

51:31reason that New Haven Reed will still be

51:33doing tutoring, but they did not have

51:35the capacity to expand the way we needed

51:39for them to do. New Haven counts was in

51:4116 schools, and they will actually be

51:44taking on 18 18 of the schools. They

51:48were able to expand their programming at

51:50an extremely discounted rate. and Eliza

51:54will be telling you our numbers, but I'm

51:57sure that you know in order to hire

51:59proper staff and have people committed,

52:01it does take a lot of money in order to

52:04do it. But after sitting down and with

52:06their passion and their zeal for the

52:08premise of this program, New Haven

52:10Counts and Boys and Girls Club are still

52:12willing to work with us for what we're

52:15able to do. And we're hoping that we

52:17will be able to continue on and um find

52:20additional fundings. We have carved a

52:23pathway out for some sites, but we are

52:25just coming to you tonight for hoping

52:28that you will find value

52:31in what we are trying to do in the

52:33number of kids that we are trying to

52:34touch in every school and will, you

52:37know, give your hand of approval on this

52:40program. So, I'm going to do the warm

52:42hand off to Eliza who is going to bring

52:44to you some figures and then of course

52:46we are here for all of the questions

52:48that you want to ask us.

52:51Thank you, Eliza Holy 129 Marvel. Um Dr.

52:56Gwen did an amazing job covering really

52:58a lot of ground. So I don't have a ton

53:01to add. Um but just to say that we are

53:04really excited for the opportunity to

53:06serve more kids, to serve them um in all

53:10of our K8 schools and to as as Dr. Wen

53:14said to build on existing partnerships.

53:17So the mapping that she was talking

53:19about is a really important piece of

53:21this. Um we're scaling, we're growing to

53:24between um Boys and Girls Club and you

53:27know even counts we anticipate serving

53:3013-,400

53:32students and then that will be

53:34supplemented by the other partners that

53:36you see um listed in very small print.

53:40Um or if you go to the website you can

53:42see that there are other partners um and

53:46our contribution to this initiative is

53:49um for right now we are asking for the

53:52um those two primary contracts. Um I

53:56will also add that the board of ed is

53:59contributing to afterchool programming

54:02through the other partners. So they are

54:04bringing resources to the table to

54:06support those other programs to make

54:08sure that there's K8 programming at

54:10every school. Um but uh just to to

54:14understand those numbers, basically the

54:16way it breaks down is the um $150 a

54:20month per child is what we are given to

54:23each partner organization. And the

54:26reason the contract for New Haven counts

54:28is significantly larger than New Haven

54:31uh Boys and Girls Club is that they're

54:34serving eight 18 schools and Boys and

54:37Girls Club is serving eight. um really

54:40the limiting factor there growing um big

54:44and like to that many schools uh does

54:48does take extra work and planning and so

54:51our hope is that Boys and Girls Club can

54:54continue to grow over time but this is

54:56the growth they felt they could they

54:58could manage for this upcoming year

55:00which is why you see that discrepancy in

55:02in number of schools. The other thing I

55:04will add um to the earlier presentation

55:08is just it is a really big deal. Last

55:10year programming was two to three days a

55:12week. To move to five is is um almost as

55:17big an undertaking as increasing the

55:20numbers is getting that much

55:22programming. The reason that we've been

55:24working so hard at it is that we know

55:26there are a lot of parents that really

55:28need um five days a week um so that they

55:32can know their child is safe and engaged

55:36um and and and be at work for a full

55:38workday. So um really excited to uh to

55:43launch the initiative with all the

55:45partners that Dr. described um and are

55:50happy to answer any questions. We also

55:51brought some flyers just so you have um

55:55copies. Um it's English and Spanish. One

55:58side Spanish one say English. So let me

56:00pause there if you have any questions

56:02about members or happy. [clears throat]

56:04>> Are there any questions from the

56:06committee?

56:09Um yes, thank you. Um

56:13I do have two questions really one I

56:16think how I'm going to

56:18um how many kids per school and is it

56:23broke down like in groups or how many

56:26groups like how how you guys do that as

56:29far as the groups and how many kids per

56:31school.

56:32>> Oh, sure. Okay. Um yes. So, it's a

56:36little different depending on the

56:37program. With K4s, you um they're

56:41there's a 1 to 10 ratio. Um and they're

56:45in they're often in the same space but

56:47in smaller groups of of 10 for the HK4.

56:51There are um four Boys and Girls Club

56:54and New Haven counts. Um the the target

56:57number for each school is 50 students.

56:59So 50 uh K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K

57:01K K K K K4, 50 grades 5 through eight.

57:04Um in some cases when you look at the

57:07chart there may be other programming

57:09offered by the school itself. So there

57:12may be additional seeds but for the

57:14purposes um of of these agreements it's

57:1850 students per program per school. Um

57:21and for New Haven counts because they're

57:24working with older students um they're

57:26typically breaking breaking them up into

57:29two larger groups. um and they're doing

57:32the combination of athletics and um and

57:35the enrichment and tutoring. Um so those

57:39are typically in larger groups of

57:41approximately 20 to 25.

57:49>> Thank you, Madam President. Thank you

57:51both so much for your hard work on this

57:53and the detailed description. It's

57:54really exciting. Um I'm seeing the $25

57:57per week enrollment fee on the flyer. I

57:59guess just curious to hear a little bit

58:01more of the financial mechanics of this

58:03all. Will that come back to the city? Is

58:06that going to these partners?

58:08>> That's a great question. I should have

58:09highlighted that. That goes back into

58:11programming. Um and we from what we're

58:15seeing right now, um we do have the

58:19majority of our families are applying

58:22for fee waivers. So, if you apply for a

58:24fee waiver, um whether it's you have

58:27care for kids or you have other

58:28benefits, you you will get into the

58:31program for free. Um all of that is

58:33being managed by Dr. Gwen's amazing

58:36[laughter] team. They are managing

58:37registration across all programs so that

58:39it's consistent and clear um and and the

58:43the money does actually get deposited to

58:45the city's account. Yes. Again, so we

58:48can channel it back into programming. So

58:50we have worked you know I want everyone

58:52to know we have worked with so many

58:54various departments in the city to make

58:56sure that this is a fluid process. So we

59:00have the buyin from our finance and

59:02controller and making sure that we have

59:03set up all proper mechanisms for parents

59:06to be able to pay in various forms. So,

59:09if you're paying by cash, I don't think

59:11we said checks, but if we're paying by

59:13cash, debit, credit card, we are able to

59:16um support the parent. And the way we do

59:18our waiverss, as Eliza said, if you are

59:21receiving any form of benefits, so TANF

59:24and medical, they're following the same

59:26standard of either either at poverty or

59:30below poverty. And so, that's how you're

59:32able to obtain that waiver.

59:34>> Great. Thank you. Um, a couple more

59:36questions.

59:38New Haven Counts, this might be a dumb

59:39question. New Haven Counts does reading

59:41and math. They're not just math. No,

59:44>> they they are they are math. Um they're

59:47they're probably doing the math

59:49tutoring. Um and the Boys and Girls Club

59:52is doing the reading based.

59:54>> So our students K through four are

59:57getting reading, five through eight are

59:58getting math.

59:59>> That's correct.

1:00:00>> Okay. Um,

1:00:02is there anything like I'm no pedagogy

1:00:05expert, but like

1:00:08I don't know was there ever discussed a

1:00:10way that

1:00:12and I'm sure this is more expensive but

1:00:13that our kids could be getting both of

1:00:15those in after school or is there a

1:00:17reason why K through 4 is getting

1:00:19reading 53 is getting that? So really it

1:00:22was the the way the programming broke

1:00:25down is as we talked about building on

1:00:29last year and and the ages that were um

1:00:32that were being served by those

1:00:34programs. Um I think we are we are open

1:00:40to exploring how to get how to get both

1:00:43how to grow. Um, I think what we were

1:00:46really focused on right now was making

1:00:48sure we could launch at a scale that

1:00:50felt like it was accessible to most

1:00:52families. Um, and we do want to make

1:00:55sure that we are highlighting other

1:00:58opportunities as well. So, um, and and

1:01:02both programs have um, an element of

1:01:04homework help as well. So tutoring is

1:01:07obviously different than just general um

1:01:10general support, but this is really we

1:01:13see it as a um as a starting point, not

1:01:16an ending point.

1:01:18>> Cool. Thank you. Is that reflected in

1:01:20the like you're applying for

1:01:23just this I guess semester the the till

1:01:26the end of the school year right now for

1:01:28funding. Might there be changes made

1:01:31come next year?

1:01:34Yeah, from year to year certainly. I

1:01:36mean I think um and you jump into So we

1:01:40were just discussing Were you referring

1:01:42to the contract date that we had?

1:01:44>> Yeah, just that it's only through 26.

1:01:46>> Correct. So we had when we started off

1:01:49we were looking at the monies that we

1:01:50had and we were simultaneously looking

1:01:53for additional funds to be reasonable

1:01:56and transparent. We knew we had enough

1:01:59dollars to get through to the end of the

1:02:01year. And actually that was a question

1:02:03we were going to pose to the committee

1:02:05of you know should we actually expand it

1:02:08because we have almost secured

1:02:10additional dollars or just to come back

1:02:13in October or November to say that we

1:02:15would like to expand or extend the

1:02:18additional contract that we have. We're

1:02:20open to that feedback once you have been

1:02:22able to kind of sit and unpack this and

1:02:25digest it and say, you know what, I

1:02:26really think it would be a better route

1:02:28if you just did it for the entire fiscal

1:02:30year and then we can change the dollars

1:02:33or no, keep it on, you know, to the end

1:02:35of this first semester cycle of it and

1:02:38then come back to us. So, we're open for

1:02:41the plan. It's just when we initially

1:02:43did this, um, we put it into the end of

1:02:46the year because we [clears throat] knew

1:02:47we had the funding.

1:02:48>> Got it. And there is like every reason

1:02:51to think that these partners will be

1:02:53coming back like there will be cookie

1:02:54shaped.

1:02:55>> Yes. Yeah, that is the plan. The other

1:02:57thing I will just add and what Dr. Gwen

1:02:58said is that um they are they have

1:03:01committed to raising additional dollars

1:03:03to make this work. So that that was the

1:03:06other piece of it. The partners are

1:03:08saying yes this is a big um a big vision

1:03:11and we want to be a part of it. So they

1:03:14are applying for other grants to

1:03:15supplement as well. Um, part of the

1:03:18[clears throat] the other reason that

1:03:20again as Dr. Gwen said, we wanted to be

1:03:23transparent in saying like these are the

1:03:24dollars we we do anticipate based on

1:03:28where we are now that we can probably

1:03:30stretch with those dollars to the end of

1:03:32January.

1:03:34Some of it will also be based on fees,

1:03:36right? So, the amount of fees that come

1:03:38in can extend us further. So, um, we're

1:03:42we're working to be as transparent as as

1:03:44possible with where we are. um on

1:03:47extending those resources, but um been

1:03:51very grateful to the partners for

1:03:52committing to um to raising additional

1:03:55funds as well.

1:03:56>> Sweet. One last question, a rookie

1:03:58question, but just wanted to make sure

1:04:00this is coming not from the board of ed

1:04:02budget. This is your department and the

1:04:05city's general funds.

1:04:07>> Correct.

1:04:08>> Cool. Okay.

1:04:08>> The monies that are coming from the

1:04:10board of education are funds that they

1:04:12have already reached out for under

1:04:14centric 21. What did I say?

1:04:16>> 21st century.

1:04:17>> 21st century. I'm sorry.

1:04:20Side. So um yes. So those dollars they

1:04:24have they are doing their regular

1:04:26programming and we are using that as a

1:04:28partnership on that list. So for example

1:04:30they have a program called ALM

1:04:34which is under century 21st.

1:04:37>> Well it's not that particular funding

1:04:40but yeah no they have a couple different

1:04:42funding sources that they are waiting to

1:04:44hear from. some they have title one

1:04:47those those funds title ones and um so

1:04:50those are the funds that will if you see

1:04:52anyone listed on the partner that is not

1:04:56um boys and girls club boarding accounts

1:04:59um most likely they are getting support

1:05:01from the board of ed directly those

1:05:04other partners listed

1:05:05>> that's all I got thank you guys madam

1:05:07>> president that's question

1:05:11>> thank you madam president I just have

1:05:13one um question just for clarity

1:05:15purposes. Um so you said that um both

1:05:18New Haven Counts and Boys and Girls Club

1:05:21are going to serve 28 out of the 31 K

1:05:24through8 schools. Correct.

1:05:27>> They're actually it sort of depends on

1:05:29how how you how you count them. But but

1:05:33um Boys and Girls Club is serving eight

1:05:36and um New Haven Council is serving 18,

1:05:40>> but they don't overlap at every school,

1:05:42which is which is how you get to the 20

1:05:45served by those two programs. And then

1:05:47at the other six schools, they are um

1:05:51they have a range of other programs.

1:05:54>> So some schools will have both New Haven

1:05:56Counts and Boys and Girls there, but

1:05:58some some schools will just have one or

1:06:00the other. Correct. And it's 50 students

1:06:02per program.

1:06:04>> Correct. Whether it's 100 kids at the

1:06:07same time at one school or 50 and 50.

1:06:10>> Correct. So

1:06:13>> So basically like if if New Haven counts

1:06:16and the Boys and Girls Club was at

1:06:18Roberto Clemensy, there would be they

1:06:19the most they could serve is 50 per 50

1:06:22per

1:06:22>> would be 100 at the same time. Yeah. So,

1:06:25yeah, our goal as we were planning was

1:06:28to make sure that there was a minimum of

1:06:30100 spaces at every school.

1:06:32>> And so, you get to that 100 through

1:06:35different scenarios depending on what

1:06:38the school is,

1:06:39>> but [clears throat] the baseline is 100.

1:06:41In some cases, there are actually more

1:06:43than 100 kids that will be served at

1:06:45each school. Um, but it depends a little

1:06:48bit. Again, building on pre-existing

1:06:51programming. Um and then uh really what

1:06:55we were working hard to do was make sure

1:06:57that there were there were 100 spaces at

1:07:00each school.

1:07:01>> Thank you.

1:07:02>> Any more questions from committee? See

1:07:05none. Thank you.

1:07:07>> You have one more.

1:07:08>> Okay. I'll follow.

1:07:10>> Thank you, Madam President. I just do we

1:07:13have a sense of

1:07:15how like the demand for after school

1:07:17programming?

1:07:17>> Yeah.

1:07:18>> Yeah. Is 100 going to be really tight

1:07:20and competitive and if so how will spots

1:07:23be given out?

1:07:24>> Yeah. You want to start?

1:07:26>> Well yeah I will start on that one. So

1:07:28the the thing because we are kicking off

1:07:30this program you know it is in its

1:07:32infancy. We had to have just a benchmark

1:07:35and then allow us to be able to go back

1:07:37and say that there is a greater need at

1:07:40Roberto Clemente versus Bishop Woods and

1:07:43then we can go back and debrief and then

1:07:45we can adjust accordingly. But we

1:07:47figured a reachable level was for a

1:07:50hundred in each school. We think we felt

1:07:53that that was a realistic number that we

1:07:55really could reach. And so far, the last

1:07:58time I checked, we were

1:07:59>> 478.

1:08:00>> We were at 478 parents that have

1:08:02registered for the after school

1:08:03programs.

1:08:04>> And that was like the school just

1:08:06started on Monday. So, we do anticipate

1:08:08those numbers will grow because we

1:08:12understand how it goes. Parents are

1:08:13unsure. But then once my child goes home

1:08:16and say, "Well, you know, my friend is

1:08:18in this program. Mom, can I stay?" And

1:08:20then they realize that it's something

1:08:22that is affordable and reasonable. We

1:08:25know that no one is going to get after

1:08:27care until 5:30 for just $25 a week

1:08:31>> as well as your child being fed and

1:08:34having their homework done

1:08:35>> and being in a safe place.

1:08:37>> I wish this was around when I had my

1:08:39child. Yeah, [laughter]

1:08:41>> I paid a lot of money for, you know,

1:08:44after school programs for him. And so

1:08:46this is it is amazing feat. I don't want

1:08:49to say that I'm patting myself on the

1:08:52back, but the collaborative effort from

1:08:55all of the partners recognizing the need

1:08:57that we have. Again, this is just the

1:08:59beginning. We don't know where it's

1:09:01going to end. I look at some of the

1:09:02other programs that we have started with

1:09:04Yard and where they are today and how

1:09:06they have just been now is assimilated

1:09:10into the whole feeling of what we're

1:09:13doing for youth. I'm very proud to be a

1:09:16part of this inaugural program. I would

1:09:18just add last year council there 16

1:09:21schools 15 to 16 schools. Um Betsy Ross

1:09:26ended up transitioning just because they

1:09:28have an older group. Anyway, um they

1:09:30served between 30 and 50 students per

1:09:33program last year. Um and we can tell

1:09:37you from the numbers that what's filled

1:09:39up the fastest is the K4. So, um so Boys

1:09:43and Girls Club like the applications are

1:09:46coming really quickly. We anticipate

1:09:48because of the counts numbers last year

1:09:51that they will they'll hit their 50 just

1:09:54based on what what they've already what

1:09:56they've already done.

1:09:57>> Okay. and we're more than happy to come

1:09:59to you, you know, at our next meeting in

1:10:01October to tell you where our numbers

1:10:03are. Yeah, we have housing.

1:10:05>> So, the other thing that was also that's

1:10:07also connected to this point about how

1:10:10far we can stretch the way we're working

1:10:12to structure it with our partners is by

1:10:15students. So, if they're not hitting the

1:10:1725 or the 50 enrollment, the numbers

1:10:21won't we projected based on 50. Um, but

1:10:25if there aren't 50 kids there, it

1:10:27wouldn't necessarily be the full amount.

1:10:29So then then we can obviously stretch

1:10:32those numbers.

1:10:33>> So our our goal is is to meet demand,

1:10:37show show the need and interest and then

1:10:39build from there.

1:10:41>> Thank you both so much. Thank you, Madam

1:10:43President.

1:10:43>> Are there any more questions for the

1:10:45committee?

1:10:46>> See, thank you.

1:10:47>> You're welcome. Please know that we are

1:10:49always open to any um feedback that you

1:10:51have, especially in regards to that

1:10:53question. We asked you I we are so

1:10:55sincere. Give us carve the pathway for

1:10:58us. Let us know what is really the best

1:11:00route so that we don't have to come back

1:11:02to you again. Call you want me to call

1:11:04you. I'll send an email out to everyone

1:11:07just to remind you. Let us know what you

1:11:09think is the best pathway.

1:11:11>> Get back to you with the best path.

1:11:12[snorts]

1:11:13>> We like seeing the youth department come

1:11:15before us. Just so you know. [laughter]

1:11:19>> I love you all too. Thank you for your

1:11:22continued support. I know we coming to

1:11:24you all with some crazy stuff, but it

1:11:26works and it's because you all have

1:11:28bought into our crazy vision. So, thank

1:11:30you so very much and we know this

1:11:33collaboration with all all of us is

1:11:34going to be successful as well.

1:11:38>> Good evening.

1:11:46>> Is there any members from the public

1:11:48that would like to give public testimony

1:11:50on all three items on the agenda?

1:11:52>> [snorts]

1:11:55>> Is there anybody from the public that

1:11:57would like to give testimony on all

1:12:00three items on the agenda?

1:12:02>> Action for the third time. Is there

1:12:04anybody from the public wanting to give

1:12:07public testimony on the three agenda

1:12:09items?

1:12:09>> Madam President, make a motion close.

1:12:13>> Second.

1:12:13>> Motion has made second. Discussion.

1:12:16Seeing none, all in favor of closing the

1:12:18public portion, please say I. I. Any

1:12:20opposed? Any the public portion is now.

1:12:24>> Madam chair, I move all three items.

1:12:27>> Second.

1:12:28>> The items have been moved and second

1:12:29discussion.

1:12:32>> Any discussion? I call order. Thank you,

1:12:35Madam Chair. I think that everything

1:12:38that was presented this evening is of

1:12:41value to our youth and growing and

1:12:45continuing to grow the these programs.

1:12:47Um, this is great. We're looking at the

1:12:50affordability piece, safety

1:12:53uh for our children, staying engaged,

1:12:57involved, and when we're talking about K

1:13:00to for reading um in 5 to 8, getting

1:13:03children um at the levels of reading and

1:13:06math is important moving forward um into

1:13:09the high school area. So, I think I

1:13:12support this 100%. This is going to good

1:13:14value for our kids.

1:13:18I would like to say that I support this

1:13:20initiative um as well and having the

1:13:25children in four to eight actually 5 to

1:13:278 actually um having an emphasis on math

1:13:30is important because we all know when

1:13:32the standardized testing come out around

1:13:34third grade you kind of see where the

1:13:36people that's really strong in English

1:13:38isn't as strong in math. So I think it

1:13:41for whatever reason balances out. I

1:13:43think the $25 is very affordable and

1:13:46having the option to have a fee waiver.

1:13:48Um I know other programs charge $6 a

1:13:51week for after school and it's no busing

1:13:54and you got to pick them up. So I think

1:13:56um it's going to be a good initiative. I

1:13:57actually look forward to them coming

1:14:00back to explain like how much they think

1:14:02they need, how much they raise so we can

1:14:04make a like a real informed decision

1:14:06about our investment in the program.

1:14:09Thank you. Would anyone else from board?

1:14:11Thank you, Madam President. Um, I also

1:14:15will speak in support of all of these

1:14:16items. I think I had so many questions

1:14:18about the after school program because

1:14:21it is so important and having things for

1:14:24our youth to do from those hours,

1:14:27especially when, you know, many parents

1:14:28are still working is so important and it

1:14:31will set them up for a good future and

1:14:35yeah, just provide them the support and

1:14:37community they need to thrive. Um, I

1:14:40agree with you, President Walker. I

1:14:41think there's a ton of value in them

1:14:43coming back. And my question at the end

1:14:45about, um, demand I think is an

1:14:47important one because we don't want this

1:14:49to be exclusive. And if there's, you

1:14:52know, 200 students [clears throat] at

1:14:53Betsy Ross or something who want to be a

1:14:55part of this, I think it's really

1:14:57helpful for us to know that and to try

1:14:58and make it work because, um, yeah,

1:15:01again, afterare is so important. And so

1:15:04I look forward to them coming back and

1:15:06I'm excited to see where this goes and

1:15:08how it expands.

1:15:10>> Any further discussion?

1:15:12>> Seeing none, all in favor say I. I.

1:15:14>> Any opposed? Any decision ite

1:15:21has been made and second.

1:15:23>> All in favor say I. Any opposition? We

1:15:27are. Thank you.

```*