More than 1.6 million children and youth in the United States attend 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLCs), which are federally funded after-school programs available in each state, particularly for students who attend high poverty and low-performing schools (US Department of Education, 2020). These 10,125 centers are intended to do…

To become robust scientific thinkers, children need meaningful opportunities to engage in science learning across a variety of contexts. Unfortunately, many children, especially those in urban settings and from low-income families, do not get the experiences needed to deepen their understanding of a broad range of scientific ideas, nor do they…

Background/Context: Under supplemental educational services ("supplemental services"), a parental choice provision of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), schools that have not made adequate yearly progress in increasing student achievement are required to offer low-income families free, afterschool tutoring. Existing research shows low…

This study is about a community computing lab established by a U.S. Department of Commerce grant to bridge the Digital Divide in a rural Arizona American Indian community, a project called "Native Connection" (a pseudonym). This paper describes the process of integrating new literacies associated with a high-tech computer lab into the…

The 2001 renewal of the United States' Title I program instituted the Supplemental Educational Services (SES) program, in which schools in their third year of failing to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) are required to offer out-of-school-time tutoring in core subjects to low-income students. This study synthesized provider effects reported in…

In 2004, the U.S. Department of Education's Policy and Program Studies Service contracted with SRI International and its partner, Policy Studies Associates, to undertake an evaluation of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers. The following evaluation questions informed this study: (1) What is the nature of activities in centers that are…

This paper examines the long-term effect of enrollment in center- or school-based care programs on the academic performance of language minority students in the USA. The study applies a longitudinal multilevel analysis to a nationally representative database, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K). Of particular interest are the…

Two schools in Maryland received ARRA SIG (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act School Improvement Grants) funds to enable them to implement their turnaround efforts. This paper describes the outcomes of these two ARRA SIG recipient schools: (1) G. James Gholson Middle School; and (2) Commodore John Rodgers Elementary School. The experiences of…

Sustainability is a critical issue for out-of-school programs. Time-limited grants, narrow categorical funding streams, and difficult economic conditions leave program leaders in a continual struggle to find a stable base of resources to continue their program over time. In the face of these challenges, many out-of-school initiatives have…

The document seeks to identify the issues, programs, and resources most relevant to Youth Development Programs (YDPs) engaged in education programs. YDPs, under the direction of the Office of Economic Opportunity, are designed to help disadvantaged youth while involving them in establishing and operating youth councils and various program…

This tool is part of a series of technical assistance resources on financing and sustaining out-of-school time and community school initiative. These tools and resources are intended to assist policymakers, program developers and community leaders in developing financing and sustainability strategies to support effective initiatives. For nearly a…