A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Contact: David Thomas (202) 401-1576

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES PUBLIC NOTICE OF EXPANDED AFTER-SCHOOL GRANT PROGRAM

MIDDLETOWN, Conn., Dec. 2 -- U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley announced that the U.S. Department of Education today publicly notified communities of $40 million in grant money to help set up hundreds of new 21st Century Community Learning Centers, community-based after-school programs in rural and inner-city public schools. A notice appears in today's Federal Register and grant applications will be available December 16.

Joining Vice President Gore at Woodrow Wilson Middle School, Riley said the recently enacted Labor-HHS-Education bill dramatically expands support for this grant program and will help support more after-school centers to provide academic enrichment and learning opportunities while giving students a safe haven during the often dangerous after-school hours.

"These grants will help expand existing programs like Woodrow Wilson, where kids can go after school and feel safe and get proper instruction and supervision for their homework and other needs," Riley said. "The activities in these types of centers focus on the needs parents want: improving student achievement and preventing violence and substance abuse, as well as providing enriching opportunities to focus on computers and the arts."

Woodrow Wilson's after school program has operated since 1994 with a state grant that started at $55,000 but has dwindled to $38,000 for the 1997-98 school year. The after-school program runs from Monday to Thursday every week until 5:15 p.m., with transportation for all participants. Weekend and summer programs are also available to students.

According to recent research, after school programs are wanted, needed and beneficial to the entire community. Family Involvement in Education: A Snapshot of Out-of-School Time, a survey co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, the Partnership for Family involvement and the GTE Foundation, shows that:

• Parents express a strong demand for after-school programs. More than 70 percent of parents want their child to attend an after-school program -- while 79 percent indicated they would like a free program, almost as many, 74 percent, would pay for a program. Parent differences vary little across the school-level of their children, urbanicity, race/ethnicity, or household income on their demand for after-school programs;

• Parents want more than babysitting: computer classes, art and music courses, tutoring and community service rank high as activities for after-school programs. Of the parents who enroll or would like to enroll their child in an after-school program, 95 percent feel that their child would benefit from an after-school program that included computer technology classes and 91 percent feel that their child would benefit from arts, music and cultural after-school activities; and,
• There's a big gap between demand and supply for after-school programs. At a rate of about 2-1, parents of elementary school and middle school students say they would be willing to pay for a program (74 percent), yet only about 31 percent of primary school parents and 39 percent of middle school parents reported that their children actually attended an after-school program at school. These percentages were typical across urbanicity, race/ethnicity, household income, and education categories.

In addition, the department publication Keeping Schools Open as Community Learning Centers: Extending Learning in a Safe, Drug-free Environment Before and After School cites recent research that shows that programs like Woodrow Wilson's can improve thinking and language performance of children and youth; and indicates that these type programs reduce crime, delinquency, and victimization of children and youth.

The 21st Century Learning Community Learning Centers Program will award grants to schools or consortia of schools, to enable them to plan, implement, or expand projects that benefit the educational, cultural and recreational needs of the community. In awarding grants, the secretary will only fund applications that include activities that offer significant expanded learning opportunities for children and youth in the community and that contribute to reduced drug use and violence. Additional points will be awarded to those projects that best propose to serve early adolescents and middle-school students; and to projects that assist students to meet or exceed state and local standards in core academic subjects. Partnerships with community based organizations and consortia of schools are encouraged to apply.

The department expects to award 200-300 grants for up to three years, averaging $100,000 per center. The grants will range from $35,000-$200,000. The application deadline is March 9, 1998.

For further information, contact Carol J. Mitchell or Amanda Clyburn, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20208-5644. Requests may be e-mailed to Amanda Clyburn (amanda_clyburn@ed.gov) or faxed to (202) 219-2198.