The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative is the only federal funding source dedicated exclusively to afterschool programs.
Funds are also allotted to outlying areas and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.The No Child Left Behind Act narrowed the focus of 21st CCLC from a community learning center model, where all members of the community benefited from access to school resources such as teachers, computer labs, gymnasiums and classrooms, to an afterschool program model that provides services only to students attending high-poverty, low-performing schools.
The services they provide include Academic enrichment activities that can help students meet state and local achievement standards.
To provide educational services for the families of participating students The following sections explain more about how 21st Century achieves these goals.
As neighborhoods became more dangerous and more mothers entered the workforce, parents searched for safe places for their children to go after school.
[4] In 1994, The U.S. Congress created 21st Century Community Learning Centers through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Rather than give money directly to schools, the program began distributing funds to states.
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) describes the purposes and procedures of the 21st Century program.
These entities could be any local organization that meets the ESEA eligibility requirements, including school districts.
[13] Entities that receive these grants are estimated to serve a total of 1.7 million students across the country each year.
However, this number includes all programs that provide grants to local educational agencies, not just 21st Century.