She called the grant application process “highly competitive” and CBI’s success over the years “speaks to how CBI manages grants and shows fiscal responsibility.”

The grant from the ODE must be used for after-school programming, Stewart said. The program is open to students in all seven elementary schools, the Sixth-Grade Center and the middle and high school, she said.

Of the district’s 6,300 students, Stewart said about 270 participate in the program and most are from low-income, under-served communities.

The instructors assist the students with tutoring, homework, social and emotional assistance and provide field trips on days when their teachers have in-service.

All of the after-school programs are held in the students’ schools and they’re aligned with the district’s curriculum, Stewart said. The students are provided a snack, and when the program ends every day, they are transported home or they can be picked up by a parent or guardian, she said.

It’s important, Stewart said, to “build relationships” with students and it’s best for those to start early in the educational process. The goal is to get the students on “a certain pathway” to their post-high school plans, whether that’s college, trade school or the workforce.

Stewart said students who “keep connected” to the program for at least 30 days see “significant growth in their academics. The goal is for every student to raise their grades by one letter.

Since the grant dollars are restricted to programming, Stewart said CBI must fundraise to cover administrative costs and overhead.

ODE has allowable and disallowable expenses, said Marie Edwards, out of school program director. She said food is not an allowable expense unless it’s directly tied to a curriculum activity. CBI partners with Children’s Hunger Alliance for daily meals/snacks, she said.

The after-school program is part of CBI’s “cradle to career” programs. Other programs include Community Health Worker prenatal care services, the Parent Resource Center (PRC), an early education initiative focused on getting kids ready for kindergarten, youth and adult recreation, workforce solutions through Ohio Means Jobs Employment Success Program, and offers GED and ESOL classes.

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If you have a story idea for a future feature, please send it to staff writer and columnist Rick McCrabb at rick.mccrabb@coxinc.com or by postal mail to Journal-News, c/o The Benison, 100 S. Third St., Hamilton, OH 45013.