Grant Details

The 21st CCLC program is authorized under Title IV, Part B, of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), provides academic enrichment, including providing tutorial services to help students meet challenging state academic standards and a broad array of additional services, programs, and activities during non-school hours or periods when school is not in session, such as before and after school, weekends, or during school breaks. The 21st CCLC program is designed to establish or expand community learning centers that:

1. Provide opportunities for academic enrichment, including tutorial services to help students, particularly students who attend low-performing schools, to meet the challenging state academic standards.
2. Offer students and families a broad array of additional services, programs, and activities, such as youth development activities, service learning, nutrition, and health education, drug and violence prevention programs, counseling programs, arts, music, physical fitness, and wellness programs, technology education programs, financial literacy programs, environmental literacy programs, mathematics, science, career and technical programs, internship or apprenticeship programs, and other ties to an in-demand industry sector or occupation for high school students that are designed to reinforce and complement the regular academic program of participating students; and
3. Offer families of students served by community learning centers opportunities for active and meaningful engagement in their student's education, including opportunities for literacy, and related educational development. 

Authorized activities under Section 4205(A) for before/after regular school hours, including school breaks and summer periods should include, but not be limited to, the following:

• Academic Enrichment Learning Programs
• Academic Improvement/Remediation Programs
• Activities for Limited English Proficient Students
• Activities Targeting Adult Familly Members
• Career/Job Training
• STEM
• Community Service/Service Learning Programs
• Drug and Violence Prevention, Counseling, and Character Education Programs
• Homework Help
• Tutoring
• Programs That Promote Parental Involvement and Family Literacy
• Recreational Activities
• The Arts
• Youth Leadership Activities

FY 2023 Competitive Priorities - Priority points will be awarded to the qualifying score of an applicant that provides services as designated below. There are 5 competitive priority point areas. Each of the competitive priorities is worth 1-3 points for a total of 15 possible points. The application must reflect the applicants requests for priority points. Priority points will only be added after the application has met the required minimum qualifying score that warrants the award of grant funding. Applications not meeting the minimum qualifying score requirement of 191 points will not be eligible to receive funding, even if the priority points cause the application to reach the minimum qualifying score.

1. Priority 1: Join/Co-Applicant - A Joint /Co-Applicant is defined as an entity that provides a significant level of support during the pre-grant design, planning, and application phase, followed by significant involvement during the post-award program delivery of grant-related services. Although the support may come in monetary form, to be considered a co-applicant, the organization must play a continuous role throughout the grant period, without which the applicant would not pursue a joint collaborative award of a 21st CCLC grant.
   1. A proposal must be submitted through combined efforts of an LEA receiving Title I funding and a public or private community organization (Corporation, CBO, FBO)
   2. This collaboration is not merely a partnership through contracted provided services.
      1. The LEA and other organization(s) must work extensively in the planning and design of the program.
   3. Each must have substantial roles in the delivery of services
   4. Each must share grant resources to implement the proposed project effectively
   5. Each must be involved in the management and oversight of the proposed program
   6. A signed agreement should be uploaded in eGAP 2.0 under the section for Form 5. This agreement is between both entities stating the collaboration of efforts, resources, data sharing, and funding must be submitted with the grant application. This document must clearly define and detail the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved with explicit expectations outlined. If the agreement is signed by the Superintendent, a letter of support from the LEA building principal should be uploaded into eGAP 2.0 Additional Documents to support the signed agreement.
2. Priority 2: Summer Program - Applicants proposing to operate a Summer Program and qualify for priority points must meet the criteria of offering programming for 75 hours during the summer. The proposal must align with the academic years goals and be specified in all budgetary allocations.
3. Priority 3: Middle and High School - Applicants proposing to operate a program focusing on middle and high school students must serve middle and high school students in Grades 6 -12 only. For unit schools (k-12), the application must only serve students in Grades 6 -12 to qualify for the competitive priority points.
4. Priority 4: Counties Without Current 21st CCLC Programs - Applicants proposing to qualify for priority points must serve students in one of the following counties:
   1. Autauga, Blount, Bullock, Chambers, Chilton, Clay, Cleburne, Coffee, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Cullman, Dale, Geneva, Greene, Henry, Houston, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Lowndes, Marengo, Pickens, Pike, Shelby, St.Clair, Sumter, Washington, or Wilcox County.
5. Priority 5: Schools in Improvement - To qualify for priority points in this area, schools must be identified by the ALSDE as Comprehensive Support and Improvement, Targeted Support and Improvement, or Additional Targeted Support and Improvement.
   1. Comprehensive Support and Improvement School (CSI)
      1. Identification in the bottom 5% (no less than the bottom 5% as required by ESSA guidelines) of Title I school.
      2. High School with a graduation rate below 67%.
      3. School that presently identify as TSI that have not made improvements.
   2. Targeted Support and Improvement School (TSI) – Any school, regardless of Title I status, with one or more consistently underperforming subgroup(s) will be identified annually for targeted support and improvement.
   3. Additional Targeted Support and Improvement School (ATSI) – Title I and non-Title I schools, are identified based on one or more subgroups of students performing at or below the performance of all students in the lowest-performing schools (Comprehensive Support and Improvement School)