21st Century Community Learning Center Grants

Posted by on January 11, 2010

Availability of 21st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) 2010-2013 Request for Applications (RFA) Guidance document and the 2010-2013, 21st CCLC e-grants online application.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education is pleased to announce the availability of the 21st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) 2010-2013 Request for Applications (RFA) Guidance document, and the 2010-2013 21st CCLC e-grants online application for Cohort 5.

The 21st Century Community Learning Center program (CCLC) program is authorized under Title IV, Part B of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (P.L. 107-110), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.  The 21st CCLC program provides federal funding for the establishment of community learning centers that provide academic, artistic and cultural enrichment opportunities for children, particularly students who attend high-poverty and low- performing schools, to meet state and local standards in core academic subjects;  offers students a broad array of activities that can complement their regular academic programs and to offer literacy and other educational services to the families of participating children.  Grantees and all sites must provide academic enrichment activities to students attending high-poverty schools to help them meet state and local standards in core content areas, such as reading, math and science.

The 2010-2013 21st CCLC application is available on the Pennsylvania Department of Education e-grants system at http://egrants.ed.state.pa.us.  The 2010-2013 e-grants application requires applicants to complete the online application process for each section of the program listed, for a total of 12 sections. All sections must be marked complete to submit the application, even if they are blank.

Application budget forms will not be completed using the e-grants system, but a link will be provided so the forms can be accessed, completed and printed.   Budget documents plus three copies must be printed, completed and mailed to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. e-grants applications completed after the February 8, 2010 4:00 p.m. deadline or received without the required budget forms will be disqualified without exception.  Faxed and emailed copies will not be accepted.

Application budget and signature forms and three copies must be received at PDE’s Bureau of Community and Student Services at the address listed below by 4:00 p.m., Monday, February 8, 2010.  Applicants who enter all required information in the e-grants system, but fail to submit the required budget and signature forms will be disqualified without exception.  Application package mailing address:

Arletha Harris, Administrative Assistant
Bureau of Community and Student Services
Pennsylvania Department of Education
333 Market Street, 5th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333

In keeping with the 21st CCLC non-regulatory guidance that larger grants often precipitate more effective programs, applicants may request funds ranging from a minimum of $50,000 to a maximum of $500,000, but cannot exceed $500,000 based upon the funding formula explained in Section III. of the Guidance.  Your request is dependent upon the range and extent of services described in the e-grants online application system, the number of participants to be served and the special needs demonstrated by the targeted student population. Requests should be based upon a maximum per pupil cost of $1200, which includes administrative and transportation costs.  Programs that propose to provide both school year and summer programming are more powerful for results and data, therefore, no funds will be available for summer only applicants in this grant round.

The number of awards and the award amounts will be based on the final US Department of Education (USDOE) award notification and the number of quality proposals received. It is estimated that the PDE will award approximately 15-18 million dollars in grants for this 21st CCLC, Cohort 5, competitive grant round. Eligible applicants selected to receive 21st CCLC grant funds will be funded for a maximum of  39 months, consecutively.

Eligible Applicants: Federal law mandates per Section 4203 (a) (3) that any public or private organization may apply for CCLC funding if it proposes to serve:
1.       Students who primarily attend:
a.       schools eligible for schoolwide programs under [Title I] Section 1114, or
b.       schools that serve a high percentage of students [at least 40 percent] from low-income families and
2.       the families of students described in Item 1 above.

Eligible Participants: Eligible participants are public and private/nonpublic school students, both boys and girls, pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.  Programs should target the ages/grades deemed to be at greatest risk and those students who are academically below proficiency.

Examples of agencies that are eligible to apply for these funds include, but are not limited to: local educational agencies (LEAs), non-profit community-based organizations (CBOs), Family Centers, city or county government agencies, faith-based organizations, higher education institutions, for-profit corporations and consortia of two or more of such agencies, organizations or entities.  It is mandated that eligible entities collaborate with LEAs when applying for funds.

Grant Award Selection and Notification: The Department has developed a competitive application and peer review process that ensures that awards are made through an open and fair grant award process.  Notice of funding availability will be disseminated through publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, the official legal publication of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; the Pennsylvania Department of Education website; direct notification of all local educational agencies through PENN*LINK and email to interested parties who have contacted PDE in the past two years.

Pre-proposal Conferences: The Department will conduct one pre-proposal workshop in the Harrisburg area and simultaneously live stream the workshop via Elluminate (r). Attendees will be provided information about the goals and priorities of the 21st Century program, application procedures, evaluation criteria and technical assistance and resource information about high quality programming. Registration instructions and the date for the Elluminate (r) pre-proposal workshop will be posted on the PDE 21st CCLC website at http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/21st_century_community_learning_centers/7414 and the Center for Schools and Communities website at http://www.21stcclc.org.   Applicants are strongly encouraged to have one fiscal and one program person attend either the in-person or the online session.

Application Information: Detailed information outlining grant terms and conditions, pertinent regulations and the application process is contained in the 2010-2013, 21st CCLC Guidance document, which may be secured by these methods:
*        Online at PDE’s website: http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/21st_century_community_learning_centers/7414
*        E-Grants at http://egrants.ed.state.pa.us.
*        Email Request: RA-21stCCLC@state.pa.us.
*        Telephone questions will be accepted at (717) 783-6468 or TTY : (717) 783-8445.