After-School All-Stars Cleveland (ASAS Cleveland) serves a population of students whose schools and communities have suffered from poor academic performance and low-test scores. ASAS Cleveland launched at their first school in 2015. “While we have made some progress, we still have a lot of work to do and more communities to impact,” said Traci L. Jadlos, the ASAS Cleveland Executive Director. ASAS began its programming with two original CMSD School sites and over the last two years has grown to six sites total; three school sites: Case Elementary and Hannah Gibbons STEAM Elementary, Buhrer Dual Academy; one City of Cleveland Recreation site: Fairfax Community Center; and two CMHA neighborhoods: Outhwaite and Woodhill. ASAS Cleveland serves low-income communities with under-resourced schools and students who suffer from homelessness and food insecurity. More than 90% of their students qualify for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program.
ASAS Cleveland applied for and received a 21st Century grant that allows them to extend their student’s afterschool time by half an hour and hire more college interns that can provide additional support and mentorship to students.Case Elementary and Hannah Gibbons STEAM are close to downtown Cleveland, but like many schools in urban areas, the students witness more asphalt than greenery. After School All Stars provides academic enrichment, social emotional learning, physical sports and healthy choice lessons, and on-site, 1:1 business career exploration. Hoop Heroes is a summer day camp free to students and funded by ASAS Cleveland, through the previous generous support of Dominion, and the Rainey Institute. The camp pairs students with adult mentors in their community while leveraging basketball to expose kids to career and educational paths.
ASAS Cleveland works to engage as many students as possible through their daily after-school programming. To increase participation and impact, ASAS CLE expanded its programming sites so families would have access right in the neighborhoods they live in. In 2018 ASAS CLE was awarded both a Cleveland Foundation and Starting Point grant to pilot OST programming in two Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority Communities (CMHA). These sites included the Outhwaite and Woodhill community. And in 2019, the chapter was one of the City of Cleveland’s pilot awardees for Restorative Justice programming at its Fairfax Community Center.
In 2019; building off of the Cleveland Plan; The City of Cleveland, in partnership with CMSD, The Cleveland Foundation and the National Say YES to Education Foundation, began the goal to increase education levels of Cleveland residents; boost and retain population in the city of Cleveland; improve college access for middle- and low-income families in Cleveland; and spur economic growth and expansion in the region. This goal required key Coordinating Community Partners to be selected for 15 Cleveland Public School sites, and hold the responsibility of connecting schools and school families to essential services as after-school and summer learning opportunities. ASAS CLE was proud to be selected in this inaugural round as the key Coordinating Community Partner for Buhrer Dual Academy.
