Grant Details

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Authority

Summary

History of Funding

This is a highly competitive competition and, in the past, OSPI has only been able to fund approximately one third of eligible applicants. Find a list of 21st Century Learning Grantees here https://www.k12.wa.us/policy-funding/grants-grant-management/nita-m-lowey-21st-century-community-learning-centers-program

Additional Information

?OSPI will be holding TWO simultaneous competitions, Track A and Track B.

Applicants in Track A and Track B will follow all the same application requirements. However, Track A will only be competing with Track A applicants, and Track B will only be competing with Track B applicants. Available funding will be split between Track A and Track B.

• Track A is for new grantees, an eligible entity that does not have a grant in cohorts 16-18.
• Track B is for current grantees, a current grantee is defined as an entity that currently has a 21st CCLC grant(s) in cohort 15-17 and is applying for a new site(s). For a current list of grantees in Cohorts 16-18 please visit the 21st Century Grant Management web page.

First year grantees in Track A will receive onsite technical assistance support during the first year of program implementation. A contracted provider will provide an onsite technical assistance coaching visit early in the program year to support program implementation best practices, including defining goals and objectives, designing processes and procedures related to 21st CCLC activities, determining resource allocation, and designating team member responsibilities.

Family Engagement and Educational Services Requirement: Community learning centers are required to offer families of participating students a minimum of two hours per month of family literacy and related educational development opportunities that are designed to promote active and meaningful engagement in their children's education. Family literacy services and related educational development opportunities are defined as services provided to participants on a voluntary basis that are of sufficient intensity in terms of hours, and of sufficient duration, to make sustainable changes in a family. Family literacy and related educational development opportunities should align with the needs of families, and this may be different for each community. To ensure that these services meet the needs of the community consider findings from current and past needs assessments, how to build relationships with families, home language of families, the assets of families, and demands on time and other factors that can influence the design of these services.

Examples of family literacy and educational development services that may be funded using 21st CCLC funds include, but are not limited to:

1. Parent engagement workshops that can enhance collaboration between schools, families, and out of school time leaders.
2. Reading and literacy classes that share strategies on how parents can support and strengthen children's reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills.
3. Adult education such as GED completion classes or English language fluency or literacy classes
4. Employment and interview support resources and classes.

Staffing: Programs must employ a .5 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) or greater Site Coordinator (responsible for overseeing a site) and a .5 FTE or greater Director (responsible for meeting grant requirements and supervising site coordinator(s), and salary and benefits must be adequate to employ highly qualified individuals in this role. Applicants should budget for staff planning time, and professional learning while program is not in session.

Intensity and Duration fo Services-School Year: Programs will operate 32 weeks (not inclusive of school breaks) from September through June and/or up to the last week of the regular school year, with a total of 12 hours in a typical week, at least four days per week, and at least two hours a day. The 21st CCLC program is not a drop-in program. Students must attend a minimum of 30 days to be considered a regular attendee, and 60% of regular attendees are expected to attend 60–90 days or more to benefit significantly from the program. Washington State performance indicators have a goal that 80% of enrollees will be regular attendees. Programs are most effective when they target struggling students who attend regularly for significant periods of time.

Intensity and Duration fo Services-Summer: Programs must develop and implement a summer learning program that operates a minimum of 20 hours a week, for a minimum of four weeks. Ideally, the program will serve the regular attendees of the school year program and collaborate with other programs providing summer services to enhance and expand the offerings for the targeted population. 

Recipients may use the award funds to carry out a broad array of activities that advance student academic achievement and support student success, including—

1. academic enrichment learning programs, mentoring programs, remedial education activities, and tutoring services, that are aligned with— a. the challenging State academic standards and any local academic standards; and b. local curricula that are designed to improve student academic achievement;
2. well-rounded education activities, including such activities that enable students to be eligible for credit recovery or attainment;
3. literacy education programs, including financial literacy programs and environmental literacy programs;
4. programs that support a healthy and active lifestyle, including nutritional education and regular, structured physical activity programs;
5. services for individuals with disabilities;
6. programs that provide after-school activities for students who are English learners that emphasize language skills and academic achievement;
7. cultural programs;
8. telecommunications and technology education programs;
9. expanded library service hours;
10. parenting skills programs that promote parental involvement and family literacy;
11. programs that provide assistance to students who have been truant, suspended, or expelled to allow the students to improve their academic achievement;
12. drug and violence prevention programs and counseling programs;
13. programs that build skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (referred to in this paragraph as ‘‘STEM''), including computer science, and that foster innovation in learning by supporting nontraditional STEM education teaching methods; and
14. programs that partner with in-demand fields of the local workforce or build career competencies and career readiness and ensure that local workforce and career readiness skills are aligned with the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.) and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.). 

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