MAKING THE MOST OF 21 ST CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS

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1 A TASC POLICY BRIEF MAKING THE MOST OF 21 ST CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS States have a remarkable opportunity to build the capacity of schools to ready students for college and careers, increase graduation rates and improve student and teacher retention by re-imagining school-and-community partnerships to give students more transformative learning opportunities. This brief describes how states can strengthen their use of federal 21 st Century Community Learning Center funds to motivate students to achieve at the levels essential for citizenship in a global economy, and to help them draw on their full capabilities so that all students can discover their greatness. In many cities and towns, community organizations such as Ys and Boys and Girls Clubs work to equalize opportunity and provide students with learning options that under-resourced public schools cannot. They reinforce what students learn by exposing them to core subjects in new ways; for example, giving them opportunities to apply their math skills to building projects. They offer enrichments such as chess and dance which help students develop persistence, critical thinking and decision-making skills. Organizations with strong neighborhood ties are also well-positioned to provide services such as family literacy programs and referrals to mental health counseling. For these reasons, it s easy to see why school-andcommunity partnerships are a key component of 21 st Century Community Learning Centers (21 st CCLC), created by the federal government under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind. The program was developed to support high-quality after-school and summer programs for disadvantaged students struggling to learn in low-performing schools. 1 Now under ESEA Flexibility waivers, some states have the option to use these funds to support expanded learning time which adds time to the regular school day, week or year as well as traditional after-school programs. 2 These states could encourage schools to partner with community organizations to redesign the school day and provide a well-rounded and balanced education to students who would otherwise lack opportunities like immersion in the arts or experiential science and technology. Several organizations are already using 21 st CCLC to deepen partnerships between schools and community organizations that share a common vision and accountability for student outcomes. ExpandED Schools by TASC, for example, use a blend of 21 st CCLC funds and other public and private investments to expand the school day. These elementary and middle schools work with experienced youth-serving organizations to give kids more time to master core subjects through individualized instruction. They offer a wide range of enrichment activities throughout the day to provide a balanced curriculum.

2 States now have a chance to re-think 21 st CCLC to provide a well-rounded, inspiring, high-impact education for all. Schools expand the faculty to include a blend of classroom teachers and community partner staff, such as teaching artists and AmeriCorps members. Families and students have a voice in determining how to deploy the additional learning time and resources to best meet students needs. ESEA FLEXIBILITY AND 21 ST CCLC Early in his first term, President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan laid out plans to relieve states from some of the stringent requirements of ESEA and to offer federal support for expanded learning time. Given delays in reauthorizing ESEA, the Department of Education invited states to submit applications for flexibility from aspects of the existing law. In exchange, states were charged with developing comprehensive plans to improve student outcomes and instructional quality. States that apply for this flexibility have the option to waive the requirement that restricts 21 st CCLC funds to activities that happen outside of the regular school day. All other requirements for this program still stand. 3 (See A Brief Primer: 21 st Century Community Learning Centers.) A BRIEF PRIMER: FEDERAL 21 ST CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS PROGRAM The [21 st CCLC] program helps students meet state and local student standards in core academic subjects, such as reading and math; offers students a broad array of enrichment activities that can complement their regular academic programs; and offers literacy and other educational services to the families of participating children. Any public or private organization is eligible to apply for a 21 st CCLC grant. Programs should provide a range of services to support student learning and development. Funds must supplement, not supplant, federal, state and local funds. Districts must describe the partnership between a community-based organization, or another public/ private organization, if appropriate. If the applicant is not a school district, it must provide assurance that its program was developed and will be implemented through collaboration with the schools the students attend. States must give competitive preference to joint applications submitted by at least one school district receiving Title I funds and at least one community organization. (Districts that show they are unable to partner with a community organization must receive the same priority.) To learn more, review 21 st CCLC non-regulatory guidelines at: www2.ed.gov/programs/21stcclc/guidance2003.pdf. To learn more about how waivers affect the 21st CCLC program, review the U.S. Department of Education s ESEA Frequently Asked Questions at:

3 In ExpandED Schools, families and students have a voice in deploying more learning time and resources. THE NEXT STAGE OF 21 ST CCLC States now have a chance to re-think 21 st CCLC to maximize impact on student learning, while preserving the original intent of the program. Schools may not use these funds to duplicate what students already do during their school days. More of the same won t lead to the results state leaders want and kids need. These funds can, however, enable schools and community partners to work together to revolutionize the school day by re-engineering staffing, curriculum and instruction to give students the skills to excel in school and careers. As of November 2012, 20 of 35 states that had won approval of ESEA waiver requests had opted for 21 st CCLC flexibility (ten states were awaiting the agency s response or were working to revise their applications). The Department of Education recently announced that states that had not requested a waiver of 21 st CCLC regulations may still ask for this flexibility. Most states, in their applications, provided only a general framework regarding what expanded learning time programs funded by 21 st CCLC would look like in practice. Additionally, because these grants are multi-year, few states have issued revised Requests for Proposals based on the new flexibility. However, some states have begun to lay a foundation for strong expanded learning time initiatives in their communities. An example of this is New York State. In its waiver request, New York committed to allowing multiple 21 st CCLC models afterschool, summer and expanded learning time and required active and meaningful schooland-community partnerships in all 21 st CCLC proposals. The Request for Proposals states, All programs must be implemented through a partnership that includes at least one school and at least one community organization with demonstrated records of success in designing and implementing before school, after school, summer learning, or expanded learning time activities. 4 Both partners school and community organization must be involved in planning and implementation. Vendors that provide services to students but are not involved in the planning process are not considered community partners. States should encourage schools to partner with community organizations to redesign the school day.

4 RECOMMENDATIONS Like New York, states should use 21 st CCLC to support multiple school-andcommunity partnership options (including after-school, summer learning and expanded learning time) to allow individual communities to decide which models best suit their local needs. To promote innovation, high quality and positive effects on student outcomes, state departments of education and local intermediaries should: 1. Foster collaboration among educators, families and communities to support better outcomes. State agencies should meet and collaborate with Statewide Afterschool Networks and other intermediary out-of-school time organizations on ways to adapt 21 st CCLC to benefit students and families. State leaders should share with schools, communities and families best practices and research-based strategies that support strong academic and youth development outcomes. An example of authentic collaboration is that a state issues a concept paper that details the specifics of its proposed 21 st CCLC plan so that networks, practitioners and others can provide meaningful feedback in advance of the state s Request for Proposals. 2. Ensure active and meaningful schooland-community partnerships in all 21 st CCLC awards. Regardless of who is the fiscal agent for a 21 st CCLC grant, schools and their community partners should form strong relationships in which both partners share in the planning, implementation and decision-making around how to deploy these resources. State education departments may consider requiring evidence of strong partnerships in proposal narratives and partnership agreements. As an example, in New York, reviewers of 21 st CCLC proposals are guided by the scoring rubric to look for detailed descriptions of the roles and responsibilities of each partner, how the partners were chosen, and the unique contribution each partner brings to the initiative. 3. Ensure that expanded learning time models are well-aligned with 21 st CCLC goals and do not duplicate what goes on during the regular school day. Using these funds for expanded learning should result in innovative strategies that make the most of additional learning hours. As the U.S. Department of Education stated in a February 2012 document addressing frequently asked questions about ESEA flexibility, Using 21 st CCLC funds to support expanded learning time should not be just more of the same ; it should involve careful planning by the eligible entity to ensure that the programs or activities will be used to improve student achievement and ensure a wellrounded education that prepares students for college and careers. States should support active learning opportunities for students by requiring the use of project-based, inquirybased and technology-based strategies. Each organization within a partnership should offer well-aligned, but distinct, opportunities for students. 4. Support quality initiatives. States can ensure high quality by: Requiring the use of models or curriculum with an evidence base that shows impact on student success Building further on evidence of what works by requiring enrollment and regular attendance by students, rather than allowing student drop-ins Ensuring that principals are engaged with

5 their community partners, and that 21 st CCLC programs align with school goals Using the data from required evaluations of 21 st CCLC-supported initiatives to improve practice and build professional capacity. 5. Identify other public funding sources that can be blended with 21 st CCLC to scale initiatives to serve more students in need of these opportunities. States that have received waivers no longer need to require school districts to set aside 20 percent of their Title I allocations for Supplemental Educational Services (SES) and School Choice. States should now think creatively about how to best use these resources and redeploy other funds (such as Title I, Title III and local school district perpupil allocations) to build strong initiatives that can reach more students. If changes in 21 st CCLC policy are well-implemented by leaders who take these recommendations into consideration, this is an opportunity for schools and communities to support each other in helping every student receive an excellent public education. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This paper was authored by Saskia Traill and Elizabeth Olsson of TASC. We thank the Ford Foundation, the Open Society Foundations and The Wallace Foundation for their support. ABOUT TASC The mission of TASC is to expand the school day to give disadvantaged students more opportunities to discover and develop their talents; more support to overcome the challenges of poverty; and more time to achieve at the high levels essential for success in the global workplace. Since our founding in 1998 we have helped more than 460,00 kids, supported more than 525 public schools, partnered with more than 360 community and cultural organizations and colleges and trained 21,000 community members to work in schools. For more information, please contact Saskia Traill, Vice President of Policy and Research, at straill@expandedschools.org or (646) BROADWAY, 16 TH FLOOR, NEW YORK, NEW YORK W T (646) BY THE AFTER-SCHOOL CORPORATION. COPY, DISSEMINATE OR OTHERWISE USE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION WITH PERMISSION AND APPROPRIATE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 1 U.S. Department of Education, 21 st Century Community Learning Centers. 2 U.S. Department of Education, ESEA Flexibility Frequently Asked Questions Revised August 3, U.S. Department of Education, ESEA Flexibility Frequently Asked Questions Revised August 3, New York State Education Department, 21st Century Community Learning Centers