FAQs

The purpose of the program is to establish or expand community learning centers that provide students with academic enrichment opportunities along with activities designed to complement the students’ regular academic program. Community learning centers must also offer families of these students literacy and related educational development. Centers – which can be located in elementary or secondary schools or other similarly accessible facilities – provide a range of high-quality services to support student learning and development, including tutoring and mentoring, homework help, academic enrichment (such as hands-on science or technology programs), and community service opportunities, as well as music, arts, sports and cultural activities. At the same time, centers help working parents by providing a safe environment for students during non-school hours or periods when school is not in session. Authorized under Title IV, Part B, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the law’s specific purposes are to: (1) provide opportunities for academic enrichment, including providing tutorial services to help students (particularly students in high-poverty areas and those who attend low-performing schools) meet State and local student performance standards in core academic subjects such as reading and mathematics; (2) offer students a broad array of additional services, programs, and activities, such as youth development activities, drug and violence prevention programs, counseling programs, art, music, and recreation programs, technology education programs, and character education programs, that are designed to reinforce and complement the regular academic program of participating students; and (3) offer families of students served by community learning centers opportunities for literacy and related educational development.

A community learning center offers academic, artistic, and cultural enrichment opportunities to students and their families during non-school hours (before or after school) or periods when school is not in session (including holidays, weekends or summer recess). According to section 4201(b)(1) of the program statute, a community learning center assists students in meeting State and local academic achievement standards in core academic subjects, such as reading and mathematics, by providing the students with opportunities for academic enrichment. Centers also provide students with a broad array of other activities – such as drug and violence prevention, counseling, art, music, recreation, technology, and character education programs – during periods when school is not in session. Community learning centers must also serve the families of participating students, e.g., through family literacy programs.

The 21st CCLC serves as a supplementary program that can enhance State or local reform efforts to improve student academic achievement and to support their overall development. In particular, 21st CCLC funds will create and expand after-school programs that offer extended learning opportunities for children and their families. Once these programs have been established with 21st CCLC funds, other Federal, State, or local funds can also be used to provide activities and services in these centers. Some illustrative examples of how 21st CCLC programs can operate in conjunction with other Federal programs to meet mutual goals and provide additional resources to target populations are provided below.

For the purposes of this program, the definition of State (Section 4201(b)(4)) includes the 50 States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.