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More than 260 groups call on Senate HELP Committee to support 21st CCLC afterschool

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More than 260 groups call on Senate HELP Committee to support 21st CCLC afterschool

Today a broad coalition of 266 local, state and national organizations urged the Senate HELP Committee to maintain the 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) initiative as a separate and specific federal funding stream for school and community partnerships to support students in grades Pre-K through 12 during the hours outside of the school day.  Quality afterschool, before-school and summer learning programs provide young people with the academic, social and emotional learning opportunities they need to be successful in school and in life.

Organizations ranging from the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) and the Food Research and Action Center, to the American Heart Association and the National Education Association, all came together on the letter because of the broad value of afterschool and summer learning programs as a platform to make a difference in the lives of children.  Whether it is inspiring girls to pursue a STEM career or providing a venue to offer a nutritious meal and vigorous physical activity, comprehensive afterschool programs funded by 21st CCLC since 2001 positively impact more than 1 million school-age children each year.  The letter comes in response to Senate HELP Committee Chairman Alexander’s discussion draft ESEA bill, which would eliminate 21st CCLC and replace it with a block grant that could be used for afterschool and summer learning or a variety of in-school student supports.  

The full text of the letter along with signing organizations including groups from 35 states and more than 50 leading national organizations can be viewed here and follows below.  Maximize the impact by emailing your Senators and urging them to support 21st CCLC—take action now!

January 30, 2015

 

The Honorable Lamar Alexander                                                      The Honorable Patty Murray

Chairman                                                                                               Ranking Member

Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions

United States Senate                                                                           United States Senate

Washington, D.C. 20510                                                                     Washington, D.C. 20510

 

Dear Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray:

 

As Congress prepares to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the below signed 266 organizations urge you to maintain the 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) initiative as a separate and specific federal funding stream for school and community partnerships to support students in grades Pre-K through 12 during the hours outside of the school day. The undersigned local, state and national organizations strongly support maintaining and strengthening 21st CCLC to provide the next generation of before-school, afterschool and summer learning programs that keep young people safe, inspire them to learn and support working families. 

For more than 15 years 21st CCLC has leveraged school and community partnerships to help millions of low-income children become engaged in their academic studies, while sparking new interests in a wide variety of topics from the sciences to theater. Authorized in Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the 21st CCLC  initiative provides students attending high-poverty schools with academic enrichment activities; a broad array of additional services designed to reinforce and complement the regular academic program, such as: hands on experiments to excite children about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), access to physical activity, drug and violence prevention programs, formal and informal mentoring, counseling programs, art, music, opportunities to be creative and technology education programs; as well as literacy and related educational development services to the families of children who are served in the program. 

A decade of research proves the wide-ranging impacts of quality afterschool and summer learning programs:

  • Studies have shown that quality programs give students the academic, social and career-ready skills they need to succeed. Students who regularly attend programs have better grades and behavior in school; better peer relations and emotional well-being; and lower incidences of drug-use, violence and unintended pregnancy.
  • Research in 2011 and 2012 from several state education agencies found that teachers report that students regularly participating in 21st Century Community Learning Centers show improvements in homework completion, class participation, attendance, behavior in class, and reading and math achievement scores and grades (American Institutes for Research, 2011 & 2013; Evers, 2012).
  • A separate 2013 study out of the University of California, Irvine’s School of Education found that regular participation in afterschool programs helped to narrow the achievement gap between high-income and low-income students in math, improved academic and behavioral outcomes, and reduced school absences (Pierce, Auger & Vandell, 2013).
  • More than half of the achievement gap between lower- and higher-income youth can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities. As a result, low-income youth are less likely to graduate from high school or enter college (Alexander et al, 2007). 21st CCLC supports low-income children during the summer as well as before-school and afterschool during the school year.

Now is the time to step up support for students during the time when they are not supported by school or family, the hours after school when 11.3 million children are unsupervised and juvenile crime and other inappropriate activities peak. The unmet demand for afterschool programs has steadily risen over the last 10 years to approximately 19.4 million children (41 percent) in 2014 that are not currently in an afterschool program but would be enrolled in a program if one were available to them, according to their parents (America After 3PM, 2014).  Eliminating the dedicated 21st CCLC funding stream would mean most, if not all, of the funding currently supporting 1.6 million students in afterschool and summer programs is at risk of being redirected to other purposes.

Afterschool and summer learning programs can be essential partners to community schools and provide an infrastructure to bring in other resources to our children including access to mentors, tutors, nutritious snacks and meals, and in some places medical, dental and mental health programs.  For-profits, faith-based organizations, community-based organizations (CBOs), tribal organizations, non-profits, charter schools, local governments, colleges and universities and others currently serve as critical partners and lead organizations under 21st CCLC and help foster the broad positive results the program has yielded. Afterschool STEM programs play an important role in developing workforce skills and preparing a diverse range of young people to access higher education and jobs in these fields that are critical to the economic well-being of the nation. The ability of quality programs to leverage state, local and private resources, offer professional development and training to staff, and achieve desired outcomes around student success will be lost given the broadening of the funding stream and competing provisions.

We ask that the ESEA reauthorization process be used as an opportunity to maintain and strengthen 21st CCLC to enhance the quality of federally funded afterschool and summer learning programs; better emphasize science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), 21st century skills, creation and support of evidence-based mentoring relationships for children and physical activity and nutrition education; improve the manner in which the 21st CCLC initiative is evaluated; and strengthen the school-community partnerships that are the hallmark of quality afterschool and summer learning programs.

Sincerely,

A World Fit For Kids!

Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK)

Afterschool Alliance

After-School All-Stars

America SCORES

American Anthropological Association

American Heart Association

Association of Science-Technology Centers

Boys and Girls Clubs of America

Campaign for Environmental Literacy

Campaign for Youth Justice

Candler County Family Connection

Champions, Knowledge Universe

Children’s Home Society of America

Coalition for Juvenile Justice

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)

Developmental Studies Center

Early Autism Project

Early Care and Education Consortium

Ecological Society of America

Education Development Center, Inc.

Elev8

Every Child Matters Education Fund

First Focus Campaign for Children

Food Research and Action Center

Foster Family-based Treatment Association

Girls on the Run (GOTR)

Girls Inc.

Iron Will Kids

Kids Included Together 

MENTOR

National 4-H Council

National Afterschool Association

National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth

National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP)

National Collaboration for Youth

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

National Council of Youth Sports (NCYS)

National Education Association

National Farm to School Network

National Network for Youth

National Recreation and Park Association

National Summer Learning Association

National Writing Project

NIAAA (National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association)

Oral Health America

Save the Children

School Nutrition Association

STEM Education Coalition

The Children's Aid Society

The National Girls Collaborative

Trust for America's Health

United Way Worldwide

YMCA of the USA

 

 

AK

Alaska Afterschool Network

AK

Alaska Children’s Trust

AK

Alaska Food Coalition

AK

Anchorage Youth Development Coalition

AK

Fairbanks After School Coalition

AK

Food Bank of Alaska

AK

Juneau Afterschool Coalition

AK

Sitka School District

AK

United Way of Anchorage

AL

Alabama Afterschool Community Network (ALACN)

AL

Alabama Community Education Association (ACEA)

AL

Alabama Math, Science, Technology, Engineering Coalition

AL

Guntersville City Schools

AL

Stevenson Middle School

CA

California School-Age Consortium

CA

Techbridge

CO

Redhouse Training and Consulting

CT

Connecticut Afterschool Network

CT

Opportunities Industrialization Center of New Britain, Inc.

DC

DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation (DC Trust)

FL

 Children's Campaign

FL

Children’s Home Society of Florida

FL

Florida Afterschool Network

GA

Boys & Girls Clubs of the CSRA

GA

Boys and Girls Club of Candler County

GA

Future Foundation Inc.

GA

Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power & Potential

GA

Georgia Statewide Afterschool Network

GA

Operation P.E.A.C.E., Inc.

GA

Positive Growth Inc.

GA

Reach for the Stars Program/Cobb County School District

GA

Stages Early Learning Enrichment Center

GA

Towns County School System

GA

Voices for Georgia’s Children

GA

VOX Teen Communications

IA

Child and Family Policy Center

IA

Iowa Afterschool Alliance

IA

Siouxland Human Investment Partnership (SHIP)

ID

Coeur d'Alene School District

ID

Idaho Afterschool Network

ID

Idaho Hunger Task Force

ID

Marsing 21st CLCC

IL

ACT Now Coalition

IL

Brighton Park Neighborhood Council

IL

Illinois Alliance of YMCAs

IL

Chicago Youth Centers

IL

Children’s Home + Aid

IL

Enlace Chicago

IL

Federation for Community Schools

IL

Metropolitan Family Services

IL

Y.O.U.

IL

Zion Elementary School District 6

IN

Indiana Afterschool Network

IN

MCCOY Inc.

IN

The Villages of Indiana

KS

Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence

KS

Boys & Girls Clubs of Topeka

KS

CGS After School Program

KS

Johnson County Park & Recreation District

KS

Kansas Afterschool Network

KS

Kansas PTA

KY

Kentucky Out-of-School Alliance 

MD

Advocates for Children and Youth

MD

Family League of Baltimore

MD

Girls on the Run of Montgomery County, MD

MD

Maryland Association of Local Management Boards

MD

Maryland Out of School Time (MOST)

MD

Mid-Atlantic Girls Collaborative (MAGiC)

MD

Montgomery County Collaboration Council

MD

Queen Anne’s County Community Partnerships for Children

MI

Michigan’s Children

MI

Michigan PTA

MI

Michigan After-School Partnership

MI

Priority Children

MN

Ignite Afterschool, Minnesota's Afterschool Network

MO

Child Care Aware® of Missouri

MO

Missouri AfterSchool Network

MO

Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry

MO

Missouri School Age Community Coalition (MOSAC2)

MO

Science Pioneers, Inc.

MO

United 4 Children

MO

Vision for Children at Risk

NC

NC Center for Afterschool Programs

NH

New Hampshire Kids Count

NH

NH Afterschool Network

NJ

Impact 21 Community Development Corporation

NJ

Impact21/Destiny Afterschool Haven

NJ

New Jersey Community Development Corporation (Paterson, NJ)

NJ

NJSACC

NJ

REAL Center (Regional Enrichment & Learning Center)

NJ

Team Walker Inc.

NM

Appletree Educational Center

NM

Boys and Girls Club of Sierra County

NM

New Mexico PTA

NM

YMCA of Central New Mexico

NY

AfterSchool Works! New York

NY

Alliance of New York State YMCAs

NY

Boys & Girls Clubs of Buffalo

NY

Boys and Girls Club of the Northtowns

NY

Capital Region Sponsor-A-Scholar, Inc

NY

Child & Adolescent Treatment Services

NY

Child Care Resource Network

NY

ChildCare Network of the Niagara Frontier, Inc

NY

Children's Agenda

NY

Citizen Schools New York

NY

Community Action Organization (CAO) of Erie County, Inc.

NY

Comprehensive Development, Inc. (CDI)

NY

Concerned Ecumenical Ministry

NY

Early Care & Learning Council

NY

ENACT, Inc.

NY

Esperanza Preparatory Academy

NY

Gateway Youth Outreach

NY

Good Shepherd Services

NY

Greater Rochester After-School Alliance

NY

Greater Southern Tier BOCES

NY

Henry Street Settlement

NY

Hornell City School District consortium

NY

Hudson Bluehawk Nation Afterschool Program

NY

Kids Creative

NY

Lt. Col. Matt Urban Human Services Center of WNY

NY

Neighborhood Family Services Coalition

NY

New York State 4-H Youth Development Program

NY

New York State Afterschool Network

NY

Northwest Buffalo Community Center

NY

Oasis Children's Services, LLC

NY

P2L: Pathways to Leadership

NY

Proaction of Steuben and Yates Inc.

NY

Say Yes Buffalo

NY

Southside Community Center

NY

St. Anne’s Institute

NY

The Valley Community Association Inc.

NY

United Activities Unlimited

NY

United Neighborhood Houses

NY

United Way of Greater Rochester, Inc.

NY

Vision Education & Media - Robofun

NY

Watkins Glen Central School District

NY

Wings of Eagles Discovery Center

NY

YMCA of Hornell, New York, Inc.

OH

America SCORES Cleveland

OH

Bellaire-Puritas Development Corporation

OH

College Now Greater Cleveland

OH

From Me 2 U, Inc.

OH

Greater Cleveland Neighborhood Centers Association

OH

Horizon Education Centers

OH

Ohio Afterschool Network

OH

Ohio Alliance of YMCAs

OH

Ohio Association of Child Care Providers  

OH

Ohio Child Care Resource & Referral Association

OH

Parma Area Community/Business/School Partnership

OH

The Goddard School

OH

United Rehabilitation Services

OH

United Way of Greater Toledo

OH

University Settlement

OH

Urban League of Greater Cleveland

OH

Voices for Ohio’s Children

OR

Oregon Girls Collaborative Project

OR

OregonASK

PA

A+ Schools

PA

APOST (Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School Time)

PA

Educational Advocates Reaching Today's Hardworking Students, Inc. (EARTHS)

PA

LifeSpan School and Day Care

PA

Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA

PA

Sarah Heinz House

RI

Children & Families First

RI

Rhode Island Afterschool Plus Alliance (RIASPA)

SC

The Richard W. Riley Institute at Furman University

TN

Black Children's Institute of Tennessee (BCI)

TN

Memphis Urban League

TN

Music City (TN) Chapter, The Links Incorporated 

TN

NAACP, Tennessee State Conference

TN

Raise Your Hand Tennessee

TN

Tennessee Afterschool Network

TN

United Way of Greater Knoxville

TN

United Way of Metropolitan Nashville’s

TN

United Way of the Mid-South

TN

United Ways of Tennessee

TX

Engineering for Kids

TX

IT'S TIME TEXAS

TX

Texas Afterschool Association

TX

Texas Partnership for Out of School Time (TXPOST)

UT

Community Education Partnership of West Valley City, Inc.

VA

Virginia Partnership for Out-of-School Time (VPOST)

VT

Burlington Parks & Recreation, City of Burlington

VT

Caledonia North Supervisory Union

VT

ENCORE After School and Summer Programs

VT

Caledonia Central Supervisory Union

VT

Franklin Northwest Supervisory Union

VT

GRACE Project

VT

Grand Isle Supervisory Union

VT

Hunger Free Vermont

VT

Lamoille North Supervisory Union

VT

Open Doors in St. Albans

VT

Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union

VT

REACH! Afterschool & Summer Programs

VT

Student Success Winooski School District

VT

Unbound, the Peoples Academy Program

VT

Vermont Afterschool, Inc.

VT

Vermont Superintendents Association

VT

Voices for Vermont’s Children

VT

Windham Central Supervisory Union

WA

School’s Out Washington

WI

Racine Unified School District Extended Learning

WV

Lincoln County 21st Century Community Learning Program

WV

Monongalia County Schools

WV

Mountaineer Boys and Girls Club

WV

PATCH

WV

Playmates Preschools and Child Development Centers

WV

Southern Appalachian Labor School (SALS)

WV

Spring Hill Elementary

WV

Wayne County 21st Century Community Learning Centers

WV

West Virginia Statewide Afterschool Network

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BY: Chris Neitzey      05/11/23

State legislatures looking to increase investments in afterschool

We took at look at how governors across the country are supporting afterschool in a previous post, but what kind of progress is being made in state legislatures for afterschool? It turns out, quite a bit. Below is a sampling of the different bills that have been introduced in state legislatures...

BY: Chris Neitzey      03/24/23

Governors for afterschool – 2023 edition

Last year, governors from across the country highlighted the vital role afterschool programs play in their State of the State speeches and budget proposals. Some of these efforts led to new funding streams for afterschool, as in in Alabama and Michigan; expansion of funding in states like...

BY: Chris Neitzey      03/07/23

FY 2024 Appropriations update: Six spending bills passed; new deadline for education spending

Crisis averted. Yet again. The first week of March was another “shutdown week” in Washington, D.C. However, by week’s end, the House and Senate had passed a package of six appropriations bills that headed off a partial federal government shutdown, as funding for four spending...

BY: Erik Peterson      03/13/24

Biden administration releases FY 2025 budget proposal, includes afterschool related increases

Today, the Biden administration released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 discretionary budget request, formally kicking off the FY2025 appropriations process. With regard to afterschool and summer learning support, the proposal requests $1.3 billion for afterschool and summer programs funded through the...

BY: Erik Peterson      03/11/24

FY 24 Appropriations update: Continuing Resolution, education spending bills, and… shutdown averted?

Update – Nov. 16, 2023: Last night the ‘two-tiered’ Continuing Resolution that will keep federal funding intact until Jan. 19, 2024, (for Military Construction-VA, Agriculture, Energy and Water, and Transportation-HUDs) and until Feb. 2, 2024, (for all other federal agencies...

BY: Erik Peterson      11/15/23

Federal appropriations update: Are we headed for a shutdown?

Congress is back in session after its annual August recess, and at the top of their to-do list is addressing spending for the fiscal year that begins October 1. As we touched on last month, lawmakers are staring down a fast-approaching deadline for action on FY 2024 spending. It is clear that...

BY: Erik Peterson      09/15/23

Summer is ending! What is the status of appropriations for STEM education on Capitol Hill?

As is the case each August, Congress has left Washington D.C., for several weeks. The month’s slower pace gives STEM, education and afterschool advocates an opportunity to digest what happened in the frantic days before the recess and assess what remains to be done in 2023. The annual...

BY: Anita Krishnamurthi      08/28/23

Back to school means back to D.C. for Congress. What’s ahead in September?

The slower pace of August in Washington, D.C., is nearing its end. The imminent return of the U.S. Congress to Capitol Hill and the people’s business suggests the need for revisiting what lawmakers did before the August recess and what faces them in September. As students and teachers go back...

BY: Erik Peterson      08/25/23

Senate appropriators propose level funding for 21st CCLC in FY 2024

The Senate Appropriations Committee released and marked up their Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) bill on July 27, 2023. The bill proposes $224.4 billion in total funding for Fiscal Year 2024. The Nita M Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Center Initiative...

BY: Erik Peterson      07/31/23

House Appropriators mark-up FY 2024 Education spending bill

This week, the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee pushed the FY 2024 appropriations process forward by holding multiple subcommittee mark-ups. On Friday, July 14, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (LHHS-ED) and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its...

BY: Erik Peterson      07/14/23

Congress passes deal to raise debt limit and constrain spending

UPDATE: June 2, 2023: Late on the night of June 1, the U.S. Senate passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act by a vote of 63-36, about 24 hours after the House passed the bill with a bipartisan vote of 314-117. The President is expected to sign the bill into law today. On May 31, the House passed the...

BY: Erik Peterson      06/01/23

Making the case for increasing 21st Century Community Learning Centers funding

On March 23, Alabama Expanded Learning Alliance Co-director Felicia Simpson testified at a hearing of the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS-E) Appropriations Subcommittee in support of increased funding for Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning...

BY: Erik Peterson      03/27/23

FY 2024 Appropriations update: Six spending bills passed; new deadline for education spending

Crisis averted. Yet again. The first week of March was another “shutdown week” in Washington, D.C. However, by week’s end, the House and Senate had passed a package of six appropriations bills that headed off a partial federal government shutdown, as funding for four spending...

BY: Erik Peterson      03/13/24

Comments sought on proposed change to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) regulations

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) recently proposed changes to improve the effectiveness and integrity of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) regulations. This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) is meant to help...

BY: Erik Peterson      11/21/23

Summer is ending! What is the status of appropriations for STEM education on Capitol Hill?

As is the case each August, Congress has left Washington D.C., for several weeks. The month’s slower pace gives STEM, education and afterschool advocates an opportunity to digest what happened in the frantic days before the recess and assess what remains to be done in 2023. The annual...

BY: Anita Krishnamurthi      08/28/23

Back to school means back to D.C. for Congress. What’s ahead in September?

The slower pace of August in Washington, D.C., is nearing its end. The imminent return of the U.S. Congress to Capitol Hill and the people’s business suggests the need for revisiting what lawmakers did before the August recess and what faces them in September. As students and teachers go back...

BY: Erik Peterson      08/25/23

Senate appropriators propose level funding for 21st CCLC in FY 2024

The Senate Appropriations Committee released and marked up their Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) bill on July 27, 2023. The bill proposes $224.4 billion in total funding for Fiscal Year 2024. The Nita M Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Center Initiative...

BY: Erik Peterson      07/31/23

House Appropriators mark-up FY 2024 Education spending bill

This week, the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee pushed the FY 2024 appropriations process forward by holding multiple subcommittee mark-ups. On Friday, July 14, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (LHHS-ED) and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its...

BY: Erik Peterson      07/14/23

Congress passes deal to raise debt limit and constrain spending

UPDATE: June 2, 2023: Late on the night of June 1, the U.S. Senate passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act by a vote of 63-36, about 24 hours after the House passed the bill with a bipartisan vote of 314-117. The President is expected to sign the bill into law today. On May 31, the House passed the...

BY: Erik Peterson      06/01/23

March madness = Budget & appropriations process kickoff!

This year, early March means the release of the president’s budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year and the beginning of the FY 2024 appropriations process in Congress. Here's what we know so far about how this year’s process may roll out in the coming year.  On or...

BY: Erik Peterson      03/01/23

STEM education update: Good news and looking ahead

In the final weeks of 2022, Congress passed a $1.7 trillion spending bill to fund every agency through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2023. The bill was the product of weeks of negotiations and defense spending, supporting the CHIPS and Science Act and some policy issues attached to the bill took...

BY: Anita Krishnamurthi      02/23/23

Mammoth spending bill includes support for afterschool, summer, mentoring, and more

In December, the 117th Congress approved a $1.7 trillion bill that included a $40 million increase for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative and additional increases across the US Department of Education important to afterschool programs, public schools,...

BY: Erik Peterson      01/23/23

White House Domestic Policy Council focuses on summer learning

Photo by René DeAnda on Unsplash On March 13, just days after the administration released their FY 2025 budget proposal, the White House Domestic Policy Council (DPC) hosted a Summer Learning Convening in the White House Executive Office Building. The meeting was kicked off by DPC...

BY: Erik Peterson      03/18/24

Afterschool and summer learning called out in Improving Student Achievement agenda

Earlier this month the Biden administration announced a new effort focused on providing students with the support they need to accelerate learning and be successful in school and life. The Improving Student Achievement Agenda for 2024 was launched at the White House on January 17 and is focused on...

BY: Erik Peterson      02/01/24

Extending the liquidation deadline of ESSER III funds to promote student success

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education released a letter sent to state education agencies outlining the process for requesting American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) funding extensions. The process will be similar to what was announced for ESSER I and...

BY: Erik Peterson      01/19/24

21st CCLC is 25: Join us in an upcoming year of visioning the future of 21st Century Community Learning Centers

As the year wraps up, we offer a final cheer in celebration of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative’s twenty fifth year! It was a year filled with an information packed 21st CCLC Summer Institute; the continuation of the federal Engage Every Student...

BY: Jillian Luchner      12/20/23

New law clarifies the use of federal funds for archery and other programs

Image by 422737 from Pixabay Last week, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the “Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act” (H.R. 5110). The law specifically allows schools to use federal education funds for archery, hunting, or other shooting sports. The bipartisan legislation...

BY: Erik Peterson      10/04/23

Beyond relief – New tools to help sustain the impactful pandemic investments in afterschool and summer

Children’s Funding Project, in collaboration with Grantmakers for Education and our team at the Afterschool Alliance released an important new tool for the field, “Funding Out-Of-School Time Programs – Now and in the Future.” Recognizing that COVID-19 education and child...

BY: Jillian Luchner      09/29/23

OST college preparation programs close opportunity gaps for students of color

On June 29, 2023, the United States Supreme Court ended the use of race-based admission policies at higher education institutions. As an advocate for equitable education and a current college student who comes from a background that would qualify me to be a beneficiary of affirmative action, I am...

BY: Mazzi Ingram      08/22/23

ED extends time for comments on 21st CCLC Draft Non-Regulatory Guidance

Afterschool providers and allies now have until July 7 to comment on the 21st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) Draft Non-Regulatory Guidance. We are grateful to the Department of Education for recognizing the significance of this updated guidance and providing additional time for feedback....

BY: Jillian Luchner      06/22/23

Your feedback needed on 21st Century Community Learning Center draft non-regulatory guidance

UPDATE: The deadline has been extended from June 16th to July 7th. The U.S. Department of Education is accepting feedback through June 16, 2023, on Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) Draft Non-Regulatory Guidance PDF. This represents the first time in 20 years that...

BY: Erik Peterson      05/22/23

Department of Education calls for commitment of community service across universities

College students have long played an important role in supporting younger youth. The afterschool field has benefited from these student’s expertise, enthusiasm, diversity, and near-peer levels of mentorship for decades. Now, a nationally organized initiative is working to ensure more...

BY: Jillian Luchner      05/17/23