A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

21st Century Community Learning Centers

The focus of the 21^st Century Community Learning Centers Program is to provide expanded learning opportunities for participating children in a safe, drug-free and supervised environment. The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CLC) program enables schools to provide a safe, after-school learning environment where all children have the opportunity to receive mentoring and tutoring in the core academic skills, and to participate in recreational activities, such as chorus, band and the arts.

21st Century programs typically include the following enrichment services and include volunteers as well as paid staff.

A Look at 21st Century Schools:

• 1,133 of the schools are considered rural; 985 are inner-city.
• Among the total amount of current grantees (about 2,100 schools):
• 38 percent of the Centers are in middle schools, 44 percent in elementary schools, 9 percent in high schools, and 9 percent in other school-owned facilities (for example K-12 or vocational-technical schools).
• Among the 1999 award recipients (777 schools):
• In 3/4 of the participating schools, more than 50 percent of the children qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

A Total of 593 Grants Have Been Awarded. These Grants:

• Are located in 49 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands;
• Support programs in approximately 2,100 schools;
• Propose to serve about 400,000 children and about 200,000 adults;
• Offer expanded learning opportunities for children and services for other community members.

21st Century Programs Must Have Partnerships and Offer Extended-Day Opportunities

21st CCLC Contact Information:
Robert Stonehill at (202) 260-8228
Internet: www.ed.gov/21stcclc E-mail: 21stCCLC@ed.gov
Fax: (202) 260-3420

Examples

Marshalltown Community School District, Marshalltown, Iowa

Partners: Fisher Controls, Mid-Iowa Community Action, Mental Health Center of Mid-Iowa, Substance Abuse Treatment Unit of Central Iowa, and Iowa Valley Community College District

Project Abstract:
The Caring Connection 21st Century Community Learning Center project provides before- and after-school, weekend and summer programming in two middle schools. Marshalltown has experienced significant change in the demographics of its youth over the past 10 years. Students qualifying for free and reduced-price lunch have increased 20 percent. Significant changes in academic achievement have accompanied this change in poverty. Local community studies show a child's participation in extracurricular activities directly relates to the family income. Children living in households earning less than $10,000 participate in 1.6 extracurricular activities yearly, while children in households of incomes of $40,000 or more participate in 6.7 activities. Approximately 900 students, grades 6-8, and 360 adults will participate in activities such as recreation, tutoring and homework support, substance abuse and violence prevention, family outreach, and adult education. The goals of this project are to increase academic achievement, and reduce aggressive behavior and substance use.

Hamilton County Board of Education, Chattanooga, Tennessee

Community Partners: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga State Technical Community College, TN Department of Human Services, Private Industry Council, Signal Centers, City of Chattanooga, Chattanooga Nature Center, Tennessee Aquarium, WTVC Science Theater, Girls, Inc., Chattanooga Regional History Museum, Creative Discovery Museum, Chattanooga Ballet, Retired Teachers? Association, Family Resource Centers, Ballet Tennessee, Arts and Education Council, Allied Arts, Community Foundation, Memorial Hospital, Chic Beauty Salon, Parents are First Teachers, Title I, Children?s Advocacy Center, Chattanooga Police Department, CARTA, Provident, First Things First, Eastside Health Department, Ryan?s Steakhouse

Project Abstract:
The Hamilton County Board of Education has established 21st Century Community Learning Centers at a total of five schools (three elementary and two middle schools). These are rural and inner-city schools in neighborhoods where an average of 74 percent receive free or reduced-price meals; fewer than 9 percent of adults have college degrees; 48 percent of families are headed by single-parent households; and juvenile delinquency, teen pregnancy, and domestic violence are common. The program serves approximately 690 students per year. These centers operate after school and during summers, offering homework assistance and tutoring, recreation and athletics, art and music programs, and cultural outings for children as well as parenting programs and adult basic education services for adults. The centers help communities strengthen families, improve parents? capacity to earn income, demonstrate the value of education to children, provide a safe haven for children, and guide the healthy development of children.

School District 6, New York, New York

Partners: Children?s Aid Society, Center for Children and Technology, Columbia University, Broadway Theater Institute, New York Restortarion Project, Hope For Kids School of the Arts

Project Abstract:
The Community School District 6 has built on their existing partnership with the Children's Aid Society to provide extended day, school vacation and summer services to 1,495 students and 705 parents. The program uses the nationally recognized community school program to enhance existing services and develop new services for a nearby middle school, and three feeder elementary schools. Washington Heights has one of the highest crime rates and most overcrowded school districts in all of New York City. This consortium focuses on students in 4th through 8th grades. The goals of this program are: 1) to ensure that a minimum of 900 students in the district perform at or above grade level in reading and math; 2) to provide services to a minimum of 100 students with limited English proficiency so that they can participate in academics at their grade level; 3) to inspire future aspirations and to reduce antisocial behavior in more than 1,000 students through extracurricular activities, including sports, clubs, community service and conflict resolution programs; 4) to provide leadership and entrepreneurial programs to 300 students; 5) to provide primary medical, dental and mental health care services for students at four of the participating schools; and 6) to engage 400 parents through basic needs assistance, ESL, computer literacy, and family workshops. Both quantitative and qualitative analysis of the learning center's impact will be conducted by the Center for Children and Technology of the Educational Development Center, Inc.

Publications

For more information on our 21^st Century Community Learning Centers, please visit: http://www.ed.gov/21stcclc/

• Bringing Education into the Afterschool Hours (Summer 1999) helps local after-school providers understand how to integrate content such as reading, math, college preparation, technology, and the arts into their programs to enhance children's learning and build on the regular school program.
• Safe and Smart: Making After-School Hours Work for Kids (June 1998) is a report, jointly authored by the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice, that highlights research evidence on the potential of after-school programs to increase the safety of children, reduce their risk-taking, and improve learning. Find out more about the evidence of success for after-school activities, key components of high-quality programs and effective program practices, and how communities are meeting their local needs for after-school activities.
• Keeping Schools Open as Community Learning Centers: Extending Learning in a Safe, Drug-Free Environment Before and After School (June 1997) is designed to help schools and community-based organizations begin the process of keeping neighborhood schools open for children and families.

[ Class-Size Reduction ]

[ Reading Excellence Act ]