Photo courtesy of Urban Ohio

The next Rothenberg School community engagement meeting will be held at 5 PM Thursday at the Peaslee Neighborhood Center, in Over-the-Rhine.

The goal of the process is to to gather neighborhood and community council representatives, school staff, Rothenberg partners, parents and students to decide what types of programs should be offered in a renovated community learning center (CLC).

As part of its CLC initiative, Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) and the Community Building Institute is working with local communities to create schools as centers of the community, connecting youth and families with City programs.

Community learning centers are designed to offer:

* After-school programs
* On-site wellness programs
* Job-readiness classes
* Community, family-oriented activities
* Safety and security programs
* Coordination of community resources

The shift to a community-based facility will require residents and stakeholders to line up project partners to fund and implement the desired programs.

The historic brick building at (BIRD'S EYE) was originally scheduled for demolition and a rebuild, but CPS reconsidered after finding that the cost savings of such a move would be minimal.

The design process for the renovated building is scheduled to begin in April, and construction is expected to take about 18 months.

Partners in the CLC program include the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati's Community Services branch, United Way of Greater Cincinnati, the Greater Cincinnati Foundation and the KnowledgeWorks Foundation.

Previous reading on BC:
Community brainstorms on Rothenberg engagement process (2/28/08)
Peaslee to host meeting on Rothenberg (1/15/08)