21st Century Community Learning Centers 101

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21st Century Community Learning Centers 101

• Presented by
• Dorothy Hershey, Pennsylvania Department of
  Education
• Shileste Morris, Center for Schools and
  Communities
• Faith Goldstein, Pennsylvania Service-Learning
  Alliance

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PDEMISSION STATEMENT

• The mission of the Pennsylvania Department of
  Education is to lead and serve the educational
  community to enable each individual to grow into
  an inspired, productive, fulfilled lifelong
  learner.

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Commitment to Improving Education by Governor Ed
Rendell

• Increase in Subsidy
• 78,000,000 Proposed for Tutoring
• Early Childhood and High School Reform
• Proposed 250,000,000 for Accountability Block
  Grants
• Quality Pre-Kindergarten Programs/Quality
  Full-day Kindergarten Programs
• Social and Health Services
• Tutoring Assistance
• Academic Performance of Subgroups
• Science and Applied Knowledge (e.g. Information
  Technology)
• Professional Education
• Literacy and Math Coaching
• Incentives for Certified Teachers
• Research-Based Improvement Strategies
  (District-Specific)

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BUREAU OF COMMUNITY AND STUDENT SERVICES

• Migrant Education
• Pregnant and Parenting Teens
• Private Residential Rehabilitation
  Institutions
• Refugee children
• Safe Drug Free Schools
• Safe Schools
• Services to Non-Public Schools
• State Board of Private Academic Programs
• Successful Student Partnerships
• Textbooks/Supplies for Non-Public Schools
• Truancy
• Tutoring
• Unsafe School Choice Option

• 21st Century Community Learning Centers
• Alternative Education
• Character Education
• Charter Schools
• Commonwealth Student Assistance Program
• Community Collaboration Advisory Committee
• Community Service Grant Program
• Correctional Education
• Crisis Response/Homeland Security
• Dropout Prevention
• ELECT Programs
• Homeless Education
• Learn Serve America

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• Building Community-School Partnerships for
  Student Success
• Pennsylvania Department of Education
• Division of Student and Safe School Services

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Purpose

• The primary purpose of the 21CCLC program is to
  assist schools and community partners to develop
  and implement comprehensive extended learning
  opportunities for children in grades pre K-12 as
  a means of increasing academic achievement and
  building resiliency.

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History

• 1998-2001 U.S. Department of Education provided
  21CCLC funding to Local Education Agencies (LEAs)
  and community programs, on a competitive basis.
• 2002 Reauthorization under the No Child Left
  Behind Act. Greater focus on working with low
  income populations. Transition to state
  administration of 21CCLC grants. Nonprofit and
  community organizations now eligible for awards
• 2006 Pennsylvania currently has three 21CCLC
  cohorts, totaling 107 grantees

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Target Population

• The intent of 21CCLC is to provide services to
• 1. Students who primarily attend ---
• a.  schools eligible for school wide programs
  under section 1114 of the law, or
• b.  schools that serve a high percentage of
  students from low-income families and
• 2.  The families of students described in item 1
  above.

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Eligible Participants

• Public and private/non-public school students,
  both boys and girls, pre-kindergarten through
  twelfth grade.
• Programs should target the ages/grades deemed to
  be at greatest risk. Adult family members of
  students participating in the community-learning
  center may also be served through activities that
  are appropriate for adults.

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Integration of Services

• Programs are highly encouraged to integrate with
  existing federal and state education initiatives
  operating in local schools such as
• Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities
• Title I funded services
• Homeless Childrens Initiative
• Student Assistance Program

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Parental and Community Involvement

• Programs are highly encouraged to develop
  collaboration between diverse school and
  community groups, organizations and agencies.
• Parental involvement is an important focus of
  21CCLC. Communication with families should be
  frequent and accessible.
• Volunteers, such as community members and college
  students, are of great asset to programs

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Center Operation

• Centers should be located at the school or
  alternative site that is available and
  accessible.
• The Center must have
• Appropriate equipment
• Adequate security
• A clear strategy for the safe transport of
  students to and from the Center and home
• Accommodations for participants with special
  needs
• Site emergency readiness plans

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Effective Center Policies

• Handbooks for staff and participating families
  that detail policies, procedures and goals of the
  after school program
• Regular staff meetings and professional
  development opportunities for staff, specific to
  after school programming
• Frequent communication between school-day
  teachers and after school teachers regarding
  academic goals and student performance
• Regular communication with parents and families
• Parental involvement activities such as open
  houses

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Important Components

• 21CCLC programs are required to provide
• Academic enrichment, using innovative teaching
  methods to connect school-day and after
  school-day activities (beyond homework help)
• Resiliency building opportunities personal
  skills development

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Important Components

• 21CCLC programs are strongly encouraged to
  provide
• Relationship building activities
• Creative and recreational activities
• Parental involvement activities

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Other Suggested Activities

• Entrepreneurial education
• Service-learning as a teaching methodology
• Integration of science and technology into
  academic programming
• Cultural enrichment activities
• Expanded library service hours
• Family literacy instruction
• Assistance to students who have been truant,
  suspended or expelled
• Extra learning opportunities        

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Performance Measures

• Programs must meet the following measures
• Participants in 21st Century programs will
  demonstrate educational and social benefits and
  exhibit positive behavioral changes.
• Increasing percentages of students regularly
  participating in the program will meet or exceed
  state and local academic achievement standards in
  reading and math.
• Students participating in the program will show
  improvement in the performance measures of school
  attendance, classroom performance and reduced
  disciplinary referrals.

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Evaluation

• A local level evaluation (internal or external,
  qualitative and quantitative) must be
  established. Information collected should be
  used for continuous program improvement
• Staff and volunteers should be evaluated on a
  regular basis, and given clear feedback for
  continuous performance improvement

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PA Program Reporting Requirements

• Program Profile and Program Information forms,
  due within one month of contract execution and at
  the beginning of each subsequent year
• Monitoring Forms, as required by the US and the
  Pennsylvania Departments of Education
• Other Reports as required.

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Federal Reporting Requirements

• All grantees must complete an online Annual
  Progress Report (APR) using the PPICS system from
  Learning Point. Information to provide includes
• Grantee profile and site information (for
  multiple sites)
• Community partners
• Student attendance
• Student PSSA scores
• Teacher Survey

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Release Forms

• All non-school 21st CCLC grantees must develop
  and utilize a written release form to secure
  parental permission to gain performance reporting
  data from the school records of program
  participants.
• The release form should include specific language
  indicating exactly to which records parents are
  granting access.

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Monitoring Visits

• Monitoring visits are performed with each grantee
  one time during the three year funding period
• Monitors meet with program staff, teachers,
  community partners, evaluators, families, and
  students
• The goal is to support grantees in successfully
  following their contract and meeting 21CCLC
  requirements

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Required Grantee Meetings

• One annual State-wide Pennsylvania Department of
  Education meeting for 21CCLC grantees
• Two approved national conferences that focus on
  after school programming, attended by two staff
  members

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Community Advisory Board

• A required component of 21CCLC programs in
  Pennsylvania
• Members aid in the grantees sustainability,
  offer advice and deliver services
• Board should be representative of the target
  population being served, including members from
  the local community and the for profit sector
• Parent and student participation is required
• At least two (2) meetings per year are required
  meeting at least quarterly is highly suggested

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Sustainability

• 21CCLC funds are limited
• Programs are highly encouraged to focus on
  sustainability activities (grant writing,
  community collaborations, etc.) throughout their
  grant in order to ensure program continuation
  beyond the three year funding cycle

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State-Wide Technical Assistance and Training
(STAT) Center

• This collaborative effort, funded by the
  Pennsylvania Department of Education, is a joint
  venture between the Center for Schools and
  Communities and the Pennsylvania Service-Learning
  Alliance.
• The mission is to provide expert training and
  technical assistance to Pennsylvanias 21st CCLC
  grantees by offering information and resources to
  ensure effective high quality programs.

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STAT Center Resources

• Professional Development and Training
• Policy and Advocacy Support
• Monitoring and Site Visits
• Professional Development Teleconferences
• Comprehensive Website and Message Board
• Newsletters
• Network Meetings

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State-Wide Advisory Board

• The PA 21CCLC Advisory Board is comprised of
  educators, program directors, community leaders,
  and after school advocates
• The mission of the Advisory Board is to support,
  advance and advocate for the 21st Century
  Community Learning Centers, their participants,
  their families and their communities in promoting
  academic achievement, youth development and a
  strong sense of community.

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Web Resources

• Pennsylvania Department of Education 21CCLC
  Program
• www.pde.state.pa.us/21stcclc
• Pennsylvania Service-Learning Alliance 21CCLC
  Support
• http//21cclc.paservicelearning.org/
• Center for Schools and Communities 21CCLC
  Support
• http//www.center-school.org/
• U.S. Department of Education
• http//www.ed.gov/programs/21stcclc/
• Charles Steward Mott Foundation After School
  Programs
• http//www.mott.org/21/about.asp
• Afterschool Alliance
• http//www.afterschoolalliance.org/
• Coalition of Community Schools
• http//www.communityschools.org/
• Information on the context of after school
  funding, and purpose

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21st Century Community Learning Centers

• Building Community-School Partnerships for
  Student Success