After-school Programs & 21st Century Community Learning Centers

After-school programs provide children and teens with safe places to try new activities, develop new skills, have fun, and learn.

Learn365RI 

n April 2023, Governor Dan McKee announced a new out-of-school learning initiative, Learn365RI, which is designed to shift learning from the traditional 180 school days to 365 days of learning by supporting partnerships between municipalities, local education agencies (LEAs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) to expand high-quality, extended learning experiences. Please see the Learn365RI page for more.

Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) grant program

21st Century Community Learning Centers are federally funded, high quality after-school and summer learning programs. They complement students' regular academic program by providing them academic support, enrichment, and family engagement opportunities. RIDE currently supports programs in nearly 50 elementary, middle and high schools. All 21^st CCLCs must show a partnership between the target school(s) and a community-based organization.

21st CCLC programs provide a broad array of opportunities for students and their families including such things as:

• Academic Enrichment
• Well-rounded Education Activities
• Literacy Education, including financial literacy and environmental literacy
• Healthy and Active Lifestyle
• Services for Individuals with Disabilities
• Activities for English Learners
• Cultural Programs
• Telecommunications and Technology Education
• Expanded Library Service Hours
• Parenting Skills and Family Literacy
• Assistance to Students who have been Truant, Suspended, or Expelled
• Drug and Violence Prevention and Counseling
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, including computer science
• Career Competencies and Career Readiness

Funds are awarded through a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) process that prioritizes high poverty areas. There are two cohorts of five-year grants. The next RFP is anticipated to be released during the 2026-27 school year, for new grants beginning on July 1, 2027.  

Are You Ready for a 21st CCLC Grant?

This self-assessment tool is designed to give you a sense of the scope and expectations of the 21st CCLC grant and help you determine whether your organization or school is ready to apply.

Schools served by 21st CCLCs

Support

• All program directors and select staff participate in professional development and training opportunities.
• Programs staff participate in monthly network meetings.
• “You for Youth” was a website developed by the US DOE to provide professional development for 21^st CCLC program directors, partners and staff. It is currently archived. Content will be incorporated into the new 21st CCLC National Technical Assistance Center website.
• RIDE maintains a Google Group for RI 21st CCLC grantees, as well as a Google Drive with a variety of documents to help support administration of the grant. Access to both is limited to grantees and their primary partners. 

Accountability

• At the national level, accountability for the 21st Century Community Learning Center nationally is based on the federal Grant Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Measures. These were revised and the new measures went into effect for the 2021-22 fiscal year. (Also see the Teacher Survey tool, used for collecting GPRA Measure #5). 
• All grantees are monitored by RIDE to ensure compliance with federal and state requirements, to ensure that programs are of high quality, and to identify technical assistance needs. 
• All grantees receive periodic on-site monitoring visits.
• All grantees use data collection systems to track such things as attendance, grades, homework completion, classroom behavior, state assessment scores, etc. and submit data on an annual basis to the federal 21APR reporting system.
• All grantees are required to participate in a state-directed monitoring process that assesses grantee and program compliance with state performance expectations and federal requirements.
• All grantees are required to submit an annual plan and a budget in the spring for the upcoming school year, as well as an annual progress report in the summer on the previous school year. 
• Program performance measures are available upon request.

Quality Improvement

• All programs align their programs to meet the Rhode Island After-School Quality Standards and Indicators. (Also see the Rhode Island Guide to After-School Quality Standards).
• All programs participate in the Rhode Island Program Quality Assessment (RIPQA) process, a continuous quality improvement process. RIPQA includes nationally validated assessment tools, observations, action planning, and technical assistance. Please see the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality website for Form A (see School-Age PQA and Youth PQA). Rhode Island uses its own organizational self-assessment tool, Form B (also available in Spanish). 

Rhode Island Intermediaries & ESSA "External Organizations"

RI’s 21^st CCLC initiative collaborates and partners with our state’s two out-of-school-time intermediary organizations:

• Rhode Island Afterschool Network (RIAN)
• Providence After School Alliance (PASA)

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires state education agencies to pre-screen and publish a list of external organizations to partner with the state’s 21st CCLCs. An External Organization is defined as “a nonprofit organization with a record of success in running or working with before or after school (or summer recess) programs and activities.” Both the ALC and PASA are on RIDE's list of External Organizations that have experience providing technical assistance and quality improvement services to 21st CCLCs. Please note that there is no funding attached to becoming an External Organization on RIDE’s pre-screened list, nor are 21st CCLCs required to partner specifically with External Organizations that are on this list.

Evaluation

A commitment to evaluation at both the state and local levels is central to the 21^st Century Community Learning Center grant. RIDE recently commissioned a rigorous, independent statewide evaluation of the grant. The key impact analysis finding was:

"Overall, our results supported the proposition that high-quality 21st CCLC programs can have a positive impact on mathematics and ELA assessment scores, as well as school-day absences. Our analyses for these three types of outcomes yielded multiple statistically significant and positive results (in terms of both all-group analysis and analysis by grade level). There also was evidence that 21st CCLC programs in our sample were having a positive impact on disciplinary incidents and suspensions (i.e., reductions), though those results were not quite as strong as the other results noted (i.e., we saw fewer statistically significant results when analyzed by grade level)." [p. viii, emphasis added] 

For elementary school students, the findings included that:

• Total hours of participation in 21st CCLC was positively related to growth on the peer relationships scale.
• Hours participating in physical fitness/sports activities was positively related to increased engagement in learning.

 For middle school students, findings included that:

• Positive youth experiences in programming (e.g., positive affect, challenge, relevance, engagement) were found to be correlated with an increase in interest in arts and in sports as well as youth-reported improvements in self-esteem. 
• Likewise, higher scores on the Youth Program Quality Assessment, one measure of program quality, were associated to those same outcomes for middle school youth, although statistically significant correlations with other outcomes were not found. 
• "Certain scales from the youth experience survey taken by middle school participants were positively associated with youth development outcomes. Positive perceptions of activity leaders were associated with an increase in interest in STEM and greater improvement on the interpersonal skills scale of the YMEB, whereas higher scores on the skill-building scale were associated with greater improvement in self-esteem and improvement on both the positive mindsets and interpersonal skills scales." [p. vii]

Please see the full evaluation report for details and information about other findings or see the summary slides or just the key findings.

The results supported and shed further light on findings from the previous full evaluation report (and summary brief) which showed reductions in unexcused absences and reductions in disciplinary suspensions for students who participate in RI 21st CCLCs for at least 30 days per year.

Federal Statutes and Guidance

The 21^st Century Community Learning Center initiative was established by Title IV, Part B of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (see sections 4201-4206).

The US Department of Education has published Non-Regulatory Guidance (September 2024) on the program.

Additional federal guidance is available on various topics including:

• Fiscal and administrative issues for 21st CCLC are covered under the US Department of Education Department Uniform Grant Guidance.
• Frequently Asked Questions on Use of Federal Funds for Conferences and Meetings (includes information on provision of food at meetings)
• Guidance on High School Credit for Afterschool Activities

RIDE Resources

The following documents are intended to provide additional clarification on administrative issues for 21st CCLC programs:

• Budget Guide 
• Equipment Guide 
• Data Guide 
• Time and Effort Guide 
• Background Check Guide
• Private School Equitable Services Guide 
• Renewability Policy
• Expanded Learning Program Policy
• After School Snacks Program Comparison (also visit the CNP website)