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Addressing the huge demand to provide expanded learning opportunities for the millions of children who lack adult supervision during out-of-school hours, President Clinton has asked Congress to fund a dramatic expansion of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program. Part of a $22 billion-proposal to improve child care for America's families, the request would provide schools with $1 billion over the next 5 years and support approximately 4,000 Community Learning Centers.
The initiative is designed to help public schools, in partnership with community organizations and businesses, offer educational, social and recreational activities to children in the community, thus allowing them to pursue academic and recreational interests in a safe, drug-free, and supervised environment. Centers typically offer activities such as basic skills mentoring, enrichment in core academic subjects, arts and music classes, choir and band.
The notion of transforming schools into all-day, year-round learning centers appears to be a popular one. The U.S. Department of Education received an unprecedented 2,000 applications from urban and rural public schools for the $40 million available this year, but only one in 20 received support. Awards were made to 99 applicants to support 321 school-based Centers in 36 states, with new programs beginning as early as this summer.
The degree of private support has also been astounding. In collaboration with the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program, private foundations are committing significant resources to the initiative. For example, the Charles S. Mott Foundation has pledged up to $55 million over 5 years to ensure that grant recipients receive high quality, ongoing training and technical assistance; are able to share common problems and solutions through a national network; and can benefit from rigorous evaluations.
Two early activities resulting from Mott Foundation support were a series of regional workshops, co-sponsored with the Department, that were attended by over 5,000 potential 21st Century Community Learning Center applicants, and a national teleconference with Vice President Gore to highlight ways to create and support high-quality after-school programs. For more information or to order a videotape of the workshops, call 1-800-USA-LEARN or visit http://www.ed.gov/programs/21stcclc on the Internet.
For FY 1999, the Administration is proposing that Congress amend the legislation to focus on serving students in high-need communities, extend the grants to 5 years, require local matching funds, and, on a limited basis, allow community-based organizations to collaborate with public schools to receive grants or host Centers.
[Assistant Secretary Named]