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21st Century Community Learning Centers

After School Programs for Elementary, Middle, and High School Students

Background

The 21st Century Community Learning Centers program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education and administered by the California Department of Education (CDE.)   Senate Bill 638 (Torlakson) made a number of changes to the prior law governing 21st Century funding in California, including:

• Stronger alignment of rules governing the state After School Education and Safety
• (ASES) program and 21st Century elementary and middle school grants
• A switch from the attendance-based reimbursement system to direct grants;
• Reform of the evaluation system to include measures that align to local program/community   priorities;
• An increase in the set-aside for high school grants from 6% to 50%, allowing many more programs for teens to be established across the state.

Program Overview

Historically CDE has issued two separate applications for five-year grants serving elementary/middle schools and high schools respectively. Based on prior applications, the following key elements are expected:

• Applicant agencies must collaborate with public schools but are not required to be Local Education Agencies (LEAs).  Applicants can be cities, counties, LEAs, community-based organizations, public or private agencies, or a consortium of two or more such agencies.
• The focus is on helping children and youth in schools serving high poverty areas succeed academically through the use of scientifically based practices and extended learning time.
• Programs must assess the need for family literacy activities and address that need with appropriate activities.
• Program sites do not have to be located at a school, but must be as safe and accessible as a school site.
• Each collaborative will determine the appropriate frequency of student attendance, but CDE recommends that elementary students attend 5 days per week and middle school students at least 3 days per week.  High school grants have no minimum attendance policy.

Program Components

The purpose of the program is to provide opportunities for communities to establish or expand activities that focus on the following three areas: (1) Improved academic achievement; (2) Enrichment services that  complement the academic program; and (3) Family literacy.

21st Century Community Learning Centers are required to provide the following:

• Academic Assistance Component
  The academic assistance component must incorporate a broad array of activities that are designed to help students, particularly those in low-performing schools, to meet state and local student academic achievement standards. Examples of allowable activities include:

  • Tutoring or homework help
  • Support with reading, language arts, math and science
  • Language skills development for limited English proficient students
  • Technology
  • Project-based learning

  The academic assistance component must be aligned with the pupils' regular academic programs. 

  High School programs must include at least one of the following activities: preparation for the high school exit exam; tutoring; homework assistance; or college preparation, including information about the Cal Grant Program.

• Educational Enrichment Component
  The educational enrichment component must offer an array of additional services, programs, and activities that reinforce and complement the regular academic program of participating students. Examples include but are not limited to:

  • community service and service learning
  • career and technical education/job readiness
  • mentoring and tutoring of younger pupils
  • arts and music education  
  • computer and technology training
  • physical fitness and recreation
  • drug and violence prevention  
  • counseling and other prevention activities
• Family Literacy Component
  

  Programs must assess the need for family literacy services. Family literacy services are defined as services provided to participants on a voluntary basis that are of sufficient intensity in terms of hours, and of sufficient duration, to make sustainable changes in a family, and that integrate ALL of the following activities:

  • interactive literacy activities between parents and their children
  • training for parents regarding how to be the primary teacher for their children and full partners in the education of their children
  • parent literacy training that leads to economic self-sufficiency

Funding: Elementary/Middle Schools

Core Funding
Grant funds to serve elementary and/or junior high/middle school students are available through two parts: core funding and supplemental funding, both of which are now direct grants.  Annual awards for core grants will be based on the projection of the number of children to be served. After school programs are funded at a rate of $7.50 per day per participating student up to $112,500/year for elementary schools and $150,000/year for middle school (large schools can receive increased amounts).

Before school programs are provided base funding of $5 per day per student. Limited amounts of supplemental before school funds are available to fund program operations on non-school days (up to 30% of the before school base grant amount).

Access and Family Literacy Grant Funding
Two optional supplemental grants are competitively available, one to support equitable access to and participation in programs according to needs determined by the local community (up to $25,000 per site per year), and the other to provide assistance to schools/sites that identify a need to provide family literacy services to families of students participating in 21st CCLC programs (up to $20,000 per year).

The application will provide more detailed information on funding calculation. In the past, grants have been made as five, one-year grants.  Following these five years, continuation funding will be dependant on the availability of funds and will be offered competitively.

Funding: High Schools

Grant funds to serve high school students will also be made on a direct grant basis. Funding will be awarded in grants of a minimum of $50,000 per year and a maximum of $250,000 per year per site. Grant funding will be determined based on proposed attendance and effective use of resources, and other factors as determined by CDE. High School grants are not tied to a specific daily per student rate, and there is no minimum attendance required.  In the past, awards have been made as five one-year grants. Based on the new law, expiring high school grantees that have adequately performed will have priority in the competition for new funds when they re-apply.

Eligibility & Priorities

Local education agencies (LEAs), community-based organizations (CBOs), cities, counties, public or private entities (including faith-based organizations), or a consortium of two or more of such agencies, organizations or entities are eligible to apply. A school may participate in only one 21st CCLC application for funding.  All applicants are required to consult with private schools in the community to gauge whether or not their students will need services through the 21st Century program.

Federal law requires that a majority of students must come from:

• Schools eligible for Title 1 Schoolwide Programs

    OR

• Schools that serve 40% or more of students from low-income families eligible for the free and reduced lunch program
• CDE may include additional eligibility criteria that would allow the inclusion of schools below the 40% free and reduced threshold, such as feeder school data and other potential measures of need that may not be captured in a school’s free and reduced lunch numbers.

Priority for funding will be given to applications that are submitted jointly by school districts receiving Title 1 funds and community-based partners, AND the application includes school(s) deemed Program Improvement under NCLB.  The applicant should include a Memorandum of Understanding describing how both entities were involved in the design of the program and will jointly implement the program. Priority will also be given to applications proposing to serve students from schools deemed Program Improvement under federal law.

For high schools, CDE will consider the following when making funding decisions:

• Strength of the educational element and alignment with state academic standards, preparation for the high school exit examination, and other academic interventions
• Strength of the enrichment element
• Evidence of community collaboration, including demonstrated support of the principal and staff from participating schools
• A description of the manner in which programs will provide a safe physical and emotional environment and opportunities for relationship building, and promote active pupil engagement
• A description of the manner in which the program design will be periodically reexamined in order to maintain strong pupil interest.
• A description of plans to attract pupils, particularly pupils considered at risk or in need of academic support

For elementary and middle schools, it has not yet been determined what CDE will consider when making funding decisions, however, it is likely the following criteria will be strongly considered:

• Strength of the educational element and alignment with school day activities
• Strength of the enrichment element
• Evidence of community collaboration
• Evidence of how the program will be sustained after 21st Century funding expires
• Other as determined by CDE  

Applicants will be required to certify that they have conducted an assessment of pupils’ preferences for program activities, that there are computers available to students, and that opportunities for physical activities and nutritious snacks are available.