A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Financing a Community
Learning Center

While some schools and communities may recognize the benefits of extending learning through Community Learning Centers, they may think that such an enterprise is too costly or too complicated. This is not necessarily so.

Costs for after-school and summer programs vary widely, based on the type of activities and services offered, the times that the program operates, whether transportation and materials are required, the experience of the staff, and the number of skilled volunteers. Salary figures for staff vary since factors such as geographical location and program size, as well as staffing patterns and job descriptions, cause great discrepancy.

Summer Learning Fills a Gap When a state tax-cutting initiative reduced summer school funding, parents in San Diego established their own summer enrichment program for students in grades 1-12. The Gateways program, which enrolls 2,000 students, offers challenging educational opportunities for students who have mastered basic courses. Gateways offers two three-week sessions every summer; students can register for up to four classes a day. Most classes focus on science and the arts, with topics that include stained glass design, how to get published, and fencing, in addition to physics, computer programming, and rocketry. A core group of teachers participates in Gateways every year to them, the program is a chance to work with highly motivated students and develop courses on topics not typically offered during the school year. Students see the program as a chance to experiment with academically challenging topics without fear, because they do not receive grades for the summer courses. The program rents 55 classrooms from the school district; most students pay $75 per class, although scholarships and work-study arrangements are available. Teachers earn $386 per class, and 66 student assistants earn $6 an hour. Gateways spends about $30,000 a year on supplies.

Experts agree that while there are wide variations in staff salaries, hours, benefits, and qualifications, it has generally been true that where staff are paid reasonably and given benefits and other financial incentives, quality staffing is the result. The use of work-study students, interns, senior citizens, and other volunteers can lower program costs, but many programs find that in order to maintain the quality they are striving to achieve, volunteer and low-cost labor is an important but complementary asset to hiring a highly qualified staff.

Because extensive variations in circumstances make it difficult to establish "typical" program costs, the experience of some programs can serve as a guide (see "Sample Costs and Funding for Three Successful Programs" below).

Programs have many options to meet costs. Many charge minimal fees, which offset some costs but are kept low enough to make programs accessible to all families in the community, or use a sliding-fee scale based on income. Programs usually rely on a mix of local, state, and federal government funding (including Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act which offers extra help in basic skills such as reading and math and funds from the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act -- both of which are funded by the U.S. Department of Education, and the newly established Child Care and Development Fund originating from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources) and often are able to acquire competitive public or private grants by providing specific services. Some form partnerships with youth organizations (e.g., Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCAs, Junior Achievement, and Girl Scouts). Some encourage parents to volunteer their time in a cooperative arrangement; some give families a discount for free after-school sessions in proportion to the time they volunteer to help with the after-school or summer program (see Appendices A and B for more details on program costs and financing Community Learning Centers).

Sample Costs and Funding for Three Successful Programs

How One Community Learning Center Funds its Program Ankeny Community Schools, IA The Community Education Department serves 5,000 students (K-12) and a community of 25,000. Programs are offered for all ages in nine Ankeny public schools and one community resource center. The estimated budget profile for the community learning center at Westwood Elementary School is as follows: Part-time Community Education Coordinator: salary    $20,000 fringe      $5,500 School-Age Child Care Program (100% funded by user fees) $68,000 After-School Enrichment Program (100% funded by PTA and registration fees) $17,000 Adult Education Classes (100% funded by registration fees) $7,500 Ankeny Substance Abuse Project Prevention presentations, staff/student/family direct client services; 25% funded by Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, 75% funded by local voluntary contributions (No fees are charged to participants) $8,000 Ankeny Family Advocacy Project Attendance and truancy program; juvenile court liaison, in-home family counseling services, prevention program to reduce tobacco use, absenteeism, poor parenting, crime, violence, interaction with gangs (No fees are charged to participants) $8,000 City Leisure Service Youth and adult recreation programs during evenings and weekends; 15% funded by city, 10% by schools, 75% by fees $14,000 Community use of Westwood facilities YMCA, Scout groups and youth-serving organizations, Adult-Church-Community-Business requests for local, non-profit purposes, private use reservations, 50% funded by schools, 50% funded by rental fees $22,000 Other programs unique to Westwood each year $3,000 Total program and administrative budget each year $173,000

Stretching Dollars: The Alabama Model for State and Federal Funds as Seed Money Alabama's Community Education Program uses a combination of federal, state, and local funds to develop extended-day programs in public schools. During the 1995-96 school year, Alabama spent $811,296 in state funds in community education, with the majority of it going as salary supplements for local community education coordinators in 62 different school systems. Each local system develops its program around its needs, which generally include areas such as services for preschool children, at-risk youth, community relations, community involvement, business partnerships, parent training and involvement, and extended-day/extended-year programs. The State Department of Education administers the Federal Dependent Care Grant of approximately $205,000 and makes grants to local school systems to plan, develop, or expand extended-day programs. Thirty-two systems received funds, with the vast majority being operated through the local community education program. Each coordinator oversees several schools or community areas. In 1994-95, the programs generated more than $9 million in local funds through fees and grants. As reported by the local programs, generated funds allow the local system to provide additional extended-day opportunities, and tutoring programs for children and youth at risk, as well as training and involvement programs for parents.

There are several funding and cost saving strategies that Community Learning Centers can undertake to make the most out of limited resources.

• Utilize Federal Work Study College Students. President Clinton and Secretary Riley have proposed that more than 100,000 college work study students be made available to help with tutoring in schools and that, if they help with reading in elementary schools, the required local match for their salary be waived.

• Link Existing Programs. Some programs, such as youth and sports leagues, may already exist in the community. Linking these programs to a Community Learning Center benefits both partners. The learning center expands the services it offers, and the program acquires meeting and practice space, gains improved access to its participants, and eliminates transportation costs.

• Recognize Eligibility for Many Types of Funding. Many programs provide an array of services, and are therefore eligible for several kinds of funding. A program which provides after-school care, drug education, and recreational opportunities may meet the criteria for funding in each of these areas. By running a multi-faceted program on school grounds, providers lower costs, and funding for each service goes further.

• Save and Reallocate Funds. Funding can be reallocated from areas where it is no longer needed. For example, when the school day was extended to match the parents' work day, schools in Murfreesboro, Tennessee found that many parents preferred to pick up their children themselves after the extended day program. The savings in transportation funding that was no longer needed for these students was reallocated to the program.

• Rent Out Unutilized Areas. Some spaces can be rented out to community groups.

• Shift Staff Hours During the Regular School Day.Rather than hire new personnel or extend staff hours, some schools use flex-time scheduling or relieve teachers during lunch and recess periods with lower-cost support personnel and volunteers. This allows expert personnel to be available during extended hours to offer specialized instruction, such as intensive reading services and other academic help.

Twilight Family Learning Center Elk Grove Unified School District, California The Twilight Family Learning Center program opened at one year-round elementary school in 1993. Today there are Twilight Centers at four large elementary schools in the district. All the schools that house Twilight Learning Centers are open year round (as are the Centers) and have school-wide Title I programs; however, all district students and their parents are welcome to attend the programs. The centers offer K-12 homework/tutoring activities, pre-school classes, and a variety of classes for adults on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. All the programs emphasize literacy development, and many of the participants are recent immigrants. The activities generally focus on improving student performance through parent involvement, but there is a special emphasis on helping language minority students and their families. The activities the Centers offer are loosely structured. The largest of the three Twilight Center programs provides students in grades K-12 help with homework and tutoring. Students work in groups of 20 and are supervised by a certified teacher, a teaching assistant, a high school or college volunteer, and a community or parent volunteer. Students who are off-track can participate in reading or math activities at special activity tables and teachers lead younger children in literacy development activities on the stage of the multipurpose room. Pre-school-aged children attend classes based on the Head Start model and focused on pre-reading activities in the schools' kindergarten room. Parents can choose from a variety of classes including ESL (there are large Vietnamese and Latino populations in the district), citizenship, parenting, and adult education classes in the school's classrooms. All participants take a break at 5:30 to eat soup donated by Campbells, a large local employer. On a typical night, the four Twilight Learning Centers attract a combined total of 800 students, parents, and pre-school children. All classes maintain a 1:20 teacher to student ratio. In addition to the certified teachers, each group of 20 students is joined by high school student volunteers, interns from two local universities (the University of California at Davis and California State University at Sacramento), AmeriCorps volunteers, and community volunteers. Eighty percent of the program funding is from Title I. Additional funding comes from the Gifted and Talented program and emergency immigrant program funds.

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[Extending Learning Time: Creating Safe Havens for Learning] [How to Open Schools for Extended Learning and Safety After Hours and During the Summer]