ActionALERT 041410

Last month, The Obama administration released its plans for revising, reforming, and reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind. The Obama Administration has proposed several changes to the ESEA, including significant changes to the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Grants and how they are disbursed.

The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) Grants are federal funds dedicated to community learning centers that provide academic enrichment opportunities for children and youth. These grants target students who attend high poverty and low achieving schools to focus on enrichment opportunities in the afterschool or during the summer.

Study after ¹study shows that participants in afterschool learning opportunities have better school attendance, better grades, more positive attitudes towards school, and higher aspirations for postsecondary education.

Currently, 21st Century CCLC grants are disbursed from the U.S. Department of Education to the states on a formula basis. The Obama administration is proposing to change the funding method from a formula basis to a nationwide competition between the states.

This proposed change may have an adverse impact on states and afterschool learning opportunities for young people all across Minnesota and the United States. General funding for afterschool and summer opportunities as well as the sustainability of these learning opportunities may be in jeopardy. The Minnesota Department of Education recently release a ²report revealing that 21st CCLC grants account for roughly a third of all funding for afterschool and summer learning opportunities in Minnesota.

Potentially losing 34% of all afterschool funding in Minnesota would severely impact the most vulnerable youth. Click here for more information on Minnesota’s 21st CCLC grant program.

If you would like to voice your concerns about these proposed changes you can contact your Congressional representatives. They will hear from the Department of Education Secretary Duncan in the near future. To find your congressional representatives, click here.

¹The Study of Promising Programs, Deborah Vandell, 2004

²Minnesota Out-Of-School Time Primary Funding Streams, Fiscal Year 2009. Minnesota Department of Education, April 2010