Think Together Launches First-Ever Central Valley Programs Through New Partnership with Visalia Unified School District
Think Together Enrichment Academies to Serve Nearly 900 Students Across 29 School Sites
Santa Ana, Calif. (September 15, 2025) – Think Together, California’s leading nonprofit provider of expanded learning, afterschool, education staffing, and school improvement services, is extending its reach to the Central Valley through a new partnership with Visalia Unified School District (VUSD), offering afterschool enrichment academies at 29 school sites, supporting up to 862 students in the region. Programs will focus on visual and performing arts, STEM, and specialty offerings like ukulele instruction, with an emphasis on student engagement, creativity, and whole-child development.
“Through our partnership, Think Together and Visalia Unified School District are turning afterschool hours into powerful opportunities,” added Jacob Hutchinson, VUSD’s Interim Director of the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program. “Students receive academic support and engaging enrichment activities that are essential for learning, growth, and meaningful connection.”
This partnership represents Think Together’s first expansion in the Central Valley and supports Visalia Unified’s “One Visalia” vision to unify expanded learning offerings across the district. Approved by the Visalia Unified Board of Education earlier this year, Think Together will be among 14 expanded learning providers and is part of a multi-partner effort to build cohesive and high-quality expanded learning opportunities for students and families.
As part of the launch, Think Together has appointed Executive Director Cynthia Rocha, reporting to Area Vice President Cobán López for Think Together’s Central and Northern California regions, to lead programs in the Central Valley. Her hiring is in addition to a program supervisor and 22 enrichment instructors to support regional growth and program implementation.
“We are honored to bring Think Together’s mission to Visalia and partner with a district that shares our deep commitment to student success,” said López. “This collaboration is an exciting milestone and reflects a growing demand for meaningful and intentional enrichment experiences statewide.”
Central and Northern California are projected to be strong areas of growth for Think Together as the organization works to meet the state’s six-fold investment in expanded learning and aims to double its footprint and scale the reach and impact of its expanded learning programs across California.
“We’re thrilled to collaborate with Visalia Unified and excited for the impact we’ll make together in the lives of students and families,” said Katy Wallace, M.Ed., Director of District Partnerships for Think Together. Wallace leads district partnerships across the newly launched Central Valley including those located in Tulare, San Joaquin, Fresno, Ventura, Kern, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Kings, Merced, Madera, and Stanislaus counties.
Think Together currently serves nearly 200,000 students annually with afterschool, school improvement and education staffing across California and continues to grow its impact in partnership with school districts, charters and community-based organizations.
“Think Together is reaching more students than ever and launching in the Central Valley marks a pivotal step in the journey of impacting more students with high quality expanded learning opportunities,” added Wallace.
For more information about Think Together and its expanded learning programs, visit thinktogether.org.
About Think Together
For over 25 years, Think Together has partnered with schools and communities to pursue educational opportunity and excellence for all kids. As a nonprofit organization, Think Together innovates, implements, and scales academic solutions that change the odds for hundreds of thousands of California students each year. Think Together’s program areas include early learning, afterschool programs, staffing, and leadership development for teachers and school administrators. For more information, call (888) 485-THINK or visit www.thinktogether.org.
