No Child Left Behind - Title IV-B: 21st Century Community Learning Centers
What are 21st Century Community Learning Centers?
The 21st Century Community Learning Centers program provides services, during non-school hours or periods, to students and their families for academic enrichment, including tutorial and other services to help students, particularly those who attend low-performing schools, to meet state and local student academic achievement standards. While the focus is on improving students’ academic achievement, other activities associated with youth development, recreation, the arts, and drug prevention, as well as literacy services for parents, are permitted.
21st Century Community Learning Centers:
• Focus services on promoting students’ academic achievement after school
• Require programs to meet principles of effectiveness
• Extend the duration of grant awards and allows states to require a local match
• Require a comprehensive evaluation of the program and activities
• Designate more entities as eligible to meet parents’ needs
• Target services for students in schools eligible for Title I school wide projects or schools that serve a high percentage of students from low-income families
How is 21st Century Community Learning Centers funding distributed?
The new 21st Century program is a state-administered discretionary grant program in which states hold a competition to fund academically focused after-school programs. Funding is distributed to states based on their portion of Title I funding.
How can 21st Century Community Learning Centers funding be used?
Funding may be used for a wide variety of purposes:
• Implementing promising education reform programs
• Providing a continuing source of innovation and educational improvement
• Helping meet the special education needs of at-risk and high-need students
• Supporting programs to improve school, student, and teacher performance
The 21st Century Community Learning Centers program provides services, during non-school hours or periods, to students and their families for academic enrichment, including tutorial and other services to help students, particularly those who attend low-performing schools, to meet state and local student academic achievement standards. While the focus is on improving students’ academic achievement, other activities associated with youth development, recreation, the arts, and drug prevention, as well as literacy services for parents, are permitted.
21st Century Community Learning Centers:
• Focus services on promoting students’ academic achievement after school
• Require programs to meet principles of effectiveness
• Extend the duration of grant awards and allows states to require a local match
• Require a comprehensive evaluation of the program and activities
• Designate more entities as eligible to meet parents’ needs
• Target services for students in schools eligible for Title I school wide projects or schools that serve a high percentage of students from low-income families
How is 21st Century Community Learning Centers funding distributed?
The new 21st Century program is a state-administered discretionary grant program in which states hold a competition to fund academically focused after-school programs. Funding is distributed to states based on their portion of Title I funding.
How can 21st Century Community Learning Centers funding be used?
Funding may be used for a wide variety of purposes:
• Implementing promising education reform programs
• Providing a continuing source of innovation and educational improvement
• Helping meet the special education needs of at-risk and high-need students
• Supporting programs to improve school, student, and teacher performance
