Compton Unified School District (CUSD) announced that it will now provide After School Education and Safety (ASES) programs at 28 school sites throughout the District. They will do this through a partnership with Think Together, one of California’s largest nonprofit providers of expanded learning programs.

CUSD and Think Together both believe in the importance of providing students from low-income families with high-quality learning experiences that help to close the achievement gap. Think Together and CUSD are working together to implement an afterschool program model that aligns with in-school instruction to create a cohesive learning day for students.

"Providing quality, enriching afterschool experiences for students has been shown to both improve student achievement, and provide safe environments for students to remain engaged in educational and fun experiences beyond the school day,” said CUSD Superintendent Dr. Darin Brawley.

CUSD previously operated the afterschool p rograms in-house. Due to rising costs with employee benefits that make operating the programs internally fiscally challenging, the district issued requests for proposals to partner with qualified afterschool providers. Think Together applied and was selected in November 2018.

“The critical importance of investing in quality afterschool programming is undeniable-students benefit and parents benefit,” said Micah Ali, CUSD President. “The Board has full confidence in Think Together as our afterschool program partner. We are proud to be able to offer this valuable programming at almost every school site in the district.”

After the contract was signed, Think Together and CUSD worked together to staff and launch the programs. Many CUSD program staff members previously employed by the district became Think Together employees. Think Together also provided new jobs for Compton and the surrounding communities by hiring local residents to fill other program positions.

Think Together’s core afterschool ASES program will engage Compton students in enriching, collaborative activities that focus on Think Together’s Programmatic Spotlights: English Language Arts [ELA], math, STEM, arts and enrichment, and youth development. Think Together will work with Compton USD teachers and administrators to make sure afterschool curriculum is academically aligned to support district goals as outlined in the Local Control and Accountability Program (LCAP).

“Think Together is thrilled to partner with CUSD,” said Think Together Deputy Chief of Innovations and Partnerships Tommy Brewer II, “We’re committed to working with the district to prepare its students for college and career.”

The partnership increases Think Together’s footprint in Los Angeles County where the organization is already partnering with 14 other districts, including Lynwood Unified School District and Bellflower Unified School District, to serve over 50,000 kids. With this new partnership, Think Together will partner with CUSD to change the odds for kids and support the district’s commitment to “elevate Compton”.

Founded in 1997, Think Together partners with schools and communities to pursue educational equity and excellence for all kids. As a nonprofit organization, Think Together innovates, implements and scales academic solutions that have changed the odds for over 150,000 students from San Diego to San Francisco. Think Together’s program areas include early learning, afterschool, school support services and leadership development for teachers and school administrators. For more information, call (888) 485-THINK or visit www.thinktogether.org.