Program Purpose
The National Technical Assistance Center (NTAC) under the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Programs supports State educational agencies (SEAs) and their subgrantees operate 21st CCLCs in providing academic enrichment opportunities for students attending high-poverty, low-performing schools during non-school hours.
Program Description
The 21st CCLC program provides essential out-of-school time learning that helps accelerate academic recovery and support students' social, emotional, and mental health. While out-of-school time opportunities are always essential, they have been especially critical as students continue to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 21st CCLC NTAC will help 21st CCLC grantees and subgrantees provide effective out-of-school time opportunities that have the biggest possible positive impact in students' lives.
Funding
Funding for the NTAC is through the 21st CCLC national activities funds. The amount for program funding per fiscal year are included in the chart below.
Fiscal Year (FY) | Funding for new and continuation awards |
FY 2023 | $4,600,000 |
FY 2024 | $4,100,000 |
FY 2025 | $4,100,000 |
FY 2026 | $4,100,000 |
FY 2027 | $4,100,000 |
Legislation
The 21st CCLC has the authority through Title IV, Part B of the ESEA, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (20 U.S.C. 7171-7176) to provide States and subgrantees with technical assistance support through the use of national activity funds.
Governing Regulations/Cost Principles
The program's administrative regulations are Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR), and the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements found at 2 CFR Part 200 (Uniform Guidance).
Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) and other applicable grant regulations can be found here.
Eligible Applicants: To be considered for an award under this competition, an applicant must be a research organization.
1. a. Cost Sharing or Matching This competition does not require cost sharing or matching.
b. Indirect Cost Rate Information: This program uses an unrestricted indirect cost rate. For more information regarding indirect costs, or to obtain a negotiated indirect cost rate, please see www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocfo/intro.html.
c. Administrative Cost Limitation: This program does not include any program-specific limitation on administrative expenses. All administrative expenses must be reasonable and necessary and conform to Cost Principles described in 2 CFR part 200 subpart E of the Uniform Guidance.
2. Subgrantees: A grantee under this competition may not award subgrants to entities to directly carry out project activities described in its application.
FY 2023 21st CCLC National Technical Assistance Center (NTAC)
CALL FOR PEER REVIEWERS
CONTEXT: The U.S. Department of Education (Department) seeks individuals to serve as external peer reviewers of applications for the Department's discretionary grant for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) National Technical Assistance Center (NTAC). The purpose of the 21st CCLC NTAC is to support State educational agencies (SEAs) and their subgrantees that operate 21st CCLC programs. The 21st CCLC NTAC will initially focus on: (a) students' academic and mental health needs and alignment with the traditional school day (e.g., literacy, math, overall well-being); (b) academic recovery (e.g., acceleration, high-dosage tutoring); (c) science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) activities; (d) providing 21st CCLC programming in rural areas; (e) improving attendance and student engagement of middle and high school students; (f) re-engagement of disengaged youth; (g) implementation and evaluation of 21st CCLC programs; (h) supporting multilingual learners; (i) financial literacy; (j) supporting discretionary grants funded with 21st CCLC funds, including the U.S. Department of Education's (Department) four current 21st CCLC Out-of-School Time Career Pathway grants; and (k) any other priority areas mutually identified by the grantee and the Department through annual service plans. In addition, the 21st CCLC NTAC will provide sessions and resources to support SEAs and their 21st CCLC subgrantees in the development and implementation of robust 21st CCLC programs. The grantee will periodically gather data from SEAs and a sample of 21st CCLC subgrantees, as well as the Department, to determine its activities and to plan its technical assistance using a multi-tiered system of supports and/or a multi-session series that incorporates principles of adult learning, resulting in improved systems and processes for SEAs and 21st CCLC subgrantees.
WHO: The Department seeks peer reviewers with up-to-date and relevant knowledge of educational interventions and practices across the learning continuum, from elementary education to college and career, and a variety of learning settings, including charter schools, public schools, tribally operated schools, private schools, and institutions of higher education. Department peer reviewers are education professionals who have gained subject matter expertise through their education and work (e.g., Kindergarten through grade 12 teachers, out-of-school time directors, professors, school administrators, school counselors, researchers, evaluators, curriculum developers, advocates, consultants). The Department seeks reviewers with experience implementing high quality out-of-school time activities. The Department is also seeking reviewers with knowledge of high needs communities and the challenges faced by students and their families, particularly those with expertise in one or more of the focus areas listed in the section above. Peer reviewers can be active education professionals in any educational level or sector or those who are retired but stay informed of current educational content and issues. No prior experience as a peer reviewer is required.
WHAT: The Department will offer peer reviewers an honorarium. Peer reviewers will independently read, score, and provide written comments for grant applications submitted to the Department under the NTAC program. These reviews will be used to recommend applications for funding. Copies of the reviewer's comments will be shared with respective applicants following the review; however, personally identifiable information will be redacted. Comments regarding winning applicants will also be made available to the general public following the completion of the application review process. Reviewers must adhere to the requirements listed in this call for peer reviewers.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Availability: Each reviewer will need to dedicate approximately 60 hours of time for reading, scoring, developing comments, and discussing assigned applications over a four-week period, likely beginning on or around June 14, 2023, and ending on or around July 14, 2023. Reviewers must also participate in the Department's webinar-based technical assistance session to prepare for the review. This webinar is tentatively scheduled for June 14, 2023. Reviewers must be available for the duration of the peer review and should anticipate reviewing applications over the weekend if necessary. No panel calls will take place on June 19 or July 4.
- Tools: Each reviewer must have access to the Internet, a phone, and the ability to interact within the web environment. The review will be conducted totally online.
- Quality of review: Each reviewer must provide detailed, objective, constructive, and timely written reviews for each assigned application.
- Review Schedule: Once the review schedule is finalized, each reviewer must commit to the schedule in writing. Reviewers who are unable to commit to the agreed upon schedule during the competition will be dismissed.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST ISSUES:
If you are affiliated with an organization that intends to apply for a grant under the NTAC competition, you may not be eligible to serve as a reviewer. As a reviewer, you will have a conflict of interest if (a) you helped prepare an application, regardless of financial interest in the success or failure of that application; (b) you have agreed to serve, or you have been offered a position, as an employee, advisor, or consultant on the project; and/or (c) your personal financial interest will be affected by the outcome of the competition, which would include any family members, employees or associates of the project applying for funding. These and other potential conflicts of interest will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis once identified/disclosed.
TO APPLY: To apply to be a peer review, please send an updated resume, in Word or PDF format, to 21stCCLC@ed.gov no later than May 12. You are encouraged to highlight your areas of expertise that are aligned with the areas of focus mentioned above. Please include the following in the subject line of your e-mail: "2023 NTAC Peer Review."
- You must register as a reviewer and submit your resume in G5 (www.g5.gov). If you need help, you may contact the G5 helpdesk at edcaps.user@ed.gov or call 1-888-336-8930. The G5 system will require you to submit your resume in a PDF format only; please ensure your resume (maximum of 5 pages) includes a brief list of career highlights and/or outlines your specific expertise in one or more of the areas outlined in the above call for reviewers. You are encouraged to highlight your areas of expertise that are aligned with the areas of focus mentioned above. Please do not exceed the five-page limit for resumes.
- Please note that registering in G5 does not guarantee that you will be selected as a reviewer.
- To expedite consideration of your resume, be sure to send a copy (maximum of 5 pages) to 21stCCLC@ed.gov.
Note: If you are retired, please list all consulting positions or other relevant positions you have held since retirement. Please provide a full description of your professional work experience and substantive professional experience that are relevant to this type of work. We are interested in all work you have accomplished involving elementary and secondary education, out-of-school-time programming, academic needs and recovery, mental health needs, nontraditional educational settings, and implementation and evaluation of 21st CCLC programs, including any grant reviewing experience of other Federal programs.
Reasonable Accommodation Policy: The Department's policy is to provide reasonable accommodation for volunteers, part-time employees, student interns, detailees, and temporary employees who are qualified individuals with disabilities, unless doing so poses an undue hardship. After a candidate is notified of his or her appointment as a reviewer, it is the reviewer's responsibility to inform the Department in a timely manner of any disability that would require a need for reasonable accommodations in order to perform the duties of the position.
If you have any questions about any aspect of this document, please contact us at 21stCCLC@ed.gov.
Timeline
Applications Available: March 31, 2023
Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: May 1, 2023
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 30, 2023
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 31, 2023
FY 2023 NTAC Notice Inviting Applications (NIA)
The NIA for the NTAC is available in the Federal Register on March 31, 2023 and may be accessed here: Federal Register :: Applications for New Awards; Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers National Technical Assistance Center.
FY 2023 NTAC Application Instructions
The NTAC Application Package is available for applicants to download and use as a guide only. This document can also be found on Grants.gov. Unless the applicant qualifies for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, all NTAC grant applications must be submitted electronically via Grants.gov.
FY 2023 NTAC Application Instructions may be found here.
FY 2023 Pre-Application Support and Technical Assistance
To assist applicants in preparing applications, the Department will host a TA webinar on Thursday April 20, 2023, 2:00 — 4:00 pm Eastern Standard Time via Microsoft Teams for those interested in applying.
Please find information to join the meeting below.
- Microsoft Teams Download Teams | Join on the web
- Click here to join the meeting
- Meeting ID: 216 994 077 551
- Passcode: Rh7nj3
- Phone Conference ID: 671 171 256# Find a local number
- Click here to join the meeting
The PowerPoint slide deck that accompanied the technical assistance webinar can be found here:
FY 2023 NTAC Pre-Application Webinar PowerPoint Presentation
FY 2023 Notice of Intent to Apply
We are able to develop a more efficient process for reviewing grant applications if we have an understanding of the number of applicants that intend to apply for funding under this competition. Therefore, we strongly encourage each potential applicant to notify us of the applicant's intent to submit an application for funding. This notification should be brief, include the applicant's name and contact information. Submit this notification by email to 21stCCLC@ed.gov with "Intent to Apply" in the email subject line.