July 27, 2008
HOME > Technos > E-zine > Interviews
21st Century Community Learning Centers
The U.S. Department of Education sponsors the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) through its Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Academic Improvement and Teacher Quality Programs. The 21st CCLC grant program is a key component of President Bush’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, re-authorized under Title IV, Part B of the Act.
According to the 21st CCLC Web site, “the focus of this program is to provide expanded academic enrichment opportunities for children attending low performing schools. Tutorial services and academic enrichment activities are designed to help students meet local and state academic standards in subjects such as reading and math. In addition, 21st CCLC programs provide youth development activities, drug and violence prevention programs, technology education programs, art, music and recreation programs, counseling and character education to enhance the academic component of the program.”
Each state conducts its own 21st CCLC. In the state of Indiana, it is called the Indiana 21st Century Community Learning Center and Partner Network. AIT’s staff asked leaders of the Network two questions: What are the most important qualities inherent in the program? and What are your biggest concerns? Read their responses here.
Judy Fraps, Grant Coordinator for Metropolitan School District in Washington (Indiana) Township
It is absolutely critical that once the CCLC are in communities, that they are sustained. We must have sustainable funding. Providing quality after-school care is critical. Many students need extended learning. Additional learning time affords students help with homework, tutoring in reading and math, and enrichment activities. This program still exists. Some schools provided AYS—At Your School (which parents pay for)—or other similar programs that offer services before and after school.
A strong component of After School program is providing for families training on how to help with homework, the importance of reading and doing math over the summer, and the notion that parents are indeed their children’s first teacher.
Studies show that children watch 1000 hours of television a year and spend 900 hours in school. Parents have to know what their children are watching and how to provide time to do homework and to study.
In MSD Washington Township our goal is to have children reading by third grade in order to be in compliance with the NCLB Act. We know from research that if students are not reading by the end of third grade, it is much more difficult for them to learn to read and to be successful in school.
The MSD Washington Township is pleased that the third-grade African-American students were first in the state on passing ISTEP. (This statistic is in reference to schools with over l00 students.) We attributed this accomplishment to a national program that was provided during the first month of school, Project SEED, the diligence of third-grade teachers, and the Community Learning Center After School Program.
Herb Higgin, Safe Harbor Coordinator, Michigan City (Indiana) Area Schools
I believe partnerships on different levels are the link in providing sound, cost-effective after-school programs. Partnerships with children, staff, and community agencies are critical. All partnerships must have a common interest of working with children. The kids are the rallying point. They are the core, our future. I have never run across a business, agency, or governmental official who has not put children first.
If you create programs that create student achievement, the challenge is how to keep those programs going. There must be a strong reliance on grant dollars. Families in need simply do not have the resources available to provide quality childcare and quality educational achievement that the after-school programs provide, so they really rely on grant dollars. We need to explore all possible revenue streams that will provide a safe place for kids to achieve after school.
Dré Knox, Program Consultant, 21st CCLC Program, Indiana Department of Education
The 21st CCLC Program is a key component of No Child Left Behind. The program will give students and their families an opportunity to continue to learn new skills and discover new abilities after the school day has ended. Congress has supported this initiative by appropriating $1 billion for after-school programs in fiscal year 2002 (up from $846 million in 2001). Under this reauthorization funds will flow to states based on their share of Title I, Part A funds. Of the $1 billion appropriation, approximately $325 million will be available for new grants nationwide; Indiana’s projected allocation for fiscal year 2005 is $11,964,017. Part of this amount will be used to continue funding grants previously awarded. Around $5 million will be available for statewide grants during the current competition cycle.
Normally, staying after school is something students try to avoid, especially if it involves more learning. However, the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program allows students the opportunity to look forward to attending something that takes place after school. The participants that are involved with after-school programs are impacted for life with experiences and memories.
The Indiana Department of Education funds currently 27 grantees statewide, with the $5 million dollars that is available now, we can expect more grantees added to the state.
Clyde Remmo, Director of Community Education, Elkhart (Indiana) Community Schools
When 21st CCLC began, we wanted to provide a safe haven, an alternative for kids who were left alone after school. The concept was very sound. As the program has evolved, the focus has become providing academic content as related to ISTEP scores for 3rd, 5th, and 8th graders. While commendable, we have not found a device that determines the learning style of each participant.
The bigger issue, especially for those youngsters who are classified as generational poverty, is to find more data and assistance on how to cope with this group. Convergent with Ruby Payne’s Generational Poverty, we need to develop good techniques—understand the language differences, as well as many other critical differences.
We simply must get much better at working with these kids—and that means understanding better their point of reference. We must translate our point of reference in a way that they can accept. We must talk with them about how to succeed, partner with them, but in a way that they can understand.
Linda Tarr, Program Management Supervisor, Hoosier Uplands Economic Development Corporation, Mitchell, Indiana
At the Mitchell 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program, the staff quality, not materials, makes a difference. The staff at our program love the kids—and the kids love them back. In a lot of cases, the after-school staff have more time to listen and respond to them than their parents do.
The kids know the after-school program is a place where they feel safe and have a lot of hands-on, fun activities. A lot of kids in this small, rural community go home alone because their parents are working. The program is not just an extension of the school day but an enhancement of it. They get homework help, plus they can learn while being part of the cooking club or graphing out colors of Skittles at the math tables.
Funding is our biggest obstacle. Mitchell has a waiting list for the program most of the time, so we know the need is there, but we just can’t serve that many kids due to staffing shortages. The staff have lots of good ideas, but again funding sometimes keeps us from addressing those ideas. Another disadvantage is being from a rural community where we do not have access to a lot of programs that would be found in large cities. Our small community has been great to bring in local resources for programs, but we are still very limited.