Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant Program Competition Information

Program Description

The Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant Programs (21st CCLC) supports high-quality academic support, recreation, and youth development programs during after-school hours and summers.

Grant awards are made for five consecutive years and are contingent upon satisfactory progress toward goals. Grantees are required to evaluate their program performance and report to DPI on their progress. A description of the evaluation requirements and access to the annually published DPI Executive Reports can be found on the 21st CCLC Evaluation webpage

Learn more about the grant program by viewing the Introduction to the 21^st Century Community Learning Centers video

Any public or private entity proposing to serve a qualifying school.

A qualifying school is:

• eligible for Title I schoolwide programming AND
• in program improvement status per Title I designation, OR
• has been determined by a local education agency (LEA) as in need of intervention and support to improve academic achievement and other outcomes, AND
• enrolls students who may be at risk for academic failure, dropping out of school, involvement in criminal or delinquent activities, or who lack strong positive role models.

Grant Competition Information

The application period is currently closed.

Supplemental Materials
 

• 2023-24 Nita M. Lowey 21st CCLC Grant Application Guidelines
• 2023-24 Nita M. Lowey 21st CCLC Grant Application Content
• 2023-24 Nita M. Lowey 21st CCLC Grant Application Reviewer Rubrics
• Connecting Root Cause and Demonstration of Need Worksheet
• Appeals Process
• Consortium Verification
• Principal Letter of Support Template
• Private School Affirmation

Grant Writing Workshops for Potential Applicants
 

The DPI hosted a virtual workshop to walk through the application process, address common questions, and share helpful resources.

View the CCLC Grant Writers Workshop presentation recording. 

To receive information on future grant competitions, as well as other information related to after-school programs, email Alison Wineberg to join the DPI email distribution list.

DPI, in collaboration with the Consortium for Applied Research at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, has developed an on-demand webinar intended to help prospective grant applicants carry out the required needs assessment process.

• View the recorded version of the Evaluating and Demonstrating Your School’s Need for a 21st CCLC Grant Program presentation video.
• Slides for the webinar can be accessed here: Evaluating and Demonstrating Your School’s Need for a 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) Program Presentation Slides. 
• The handout referenced during the webinar can be accessed here: Needs Assessment Worksheets.

Title IV, Part B (21st Century Community Learning Centers) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) requires that timely and meaningful consultation occur between the local education agency (LEA) or educational service agency, or consortium of these agencies and appropriate private school officials regarding how to provide equitable and effective programs for eligible private school students. 20 U.S.C. § 7881(c).

Who is required to engage in consultation with a private school?

All recipients of a 21st CCLC grant award. This may include public school districts, individual schools, charter schools, private schools, community-based organizations, or public or private entities.

What private schools need to be included in the consultation?

Any private elementary schools or private secondary schools with eligible children enrolled in areas served by the local education agency, educational service agency, or consortium awarded the 21st CCLC grant. If no such private schools exist in the areas served by the entity, the Private School Affirmation does not need to be submitted to DPI.

Please note that DPI does not define the “service area” of the granted agency. The grant-funded agency is responsible for determining how the school service area is defined for this purpose.

What should be included in the consultation process?

• How the children’s needs will be identified;
• What services will be offered;
• How, where, and by whom the services will be provided;
• How the services will be assessed, and how the results of the assessment will be used to improve those services;
• The size and scope of the equitable services to be provided to the eligible private school children, the amount of funds available for those services, and how that amount is determined;
• How and when the agency, consortium, or entity will make decisions about the delivery of services.

Recipients of the 21st CCLC grant are advised to document everything. This may include attempts for consultation, meeting minutes, agreements made, how decisions were made if there were disagreements, etc.

Although all recipients of the 21st CCLC grant are required to have meaningful consultation with private schools, only public local education agencies (i.e. public school districts) are required to submit the Private School Affirmation to DPI at this time.

Download the Private School Affirmation here.