Applying for Iowa’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant

What you need to know to write a quality 21st

Century Community Learning Centers proposal.

Sponsored by the Iowa Department of Education

21CCLC Application Workshop Agenda

• About the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant Program

• Iowagrants.gov Walk-through• Components of the Online Application

– Budget and Budget Narrative– System Capacity– Education, Enrichment, and Family Activities– Collaboration and Partnerships– Program Administration– Sustainability– Monitoring and Evaluation

Enhancing Iowa’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers

• Iowa Department of Education wants to:– Be a partner– Expand access to 21CCLC across the state– Promote program quality and continuous improvement– Support the Iowa 21CCLC network

• Iowa Afterschool Alliance will:– Conduct application workshops across the state– Provide TA to applicants– Organize grant scoring and provide award recommendations to DE– Support new and continuing grantees throughout 2011

The Basics – About the 21CCLC Grant Program

• Formula funding to states – allocation similar to Title 1• States administer the program and are allowed to establish

own grant guidelines • Supplement, not supplant, existing programming to expand

access to afterschool programming• Under NCLB, program focuses on “high poverty, low

achievement” districts and students in most need of raising achievement

• Educational remediation + enrichment + family literacy and/or other educational services

Resource: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/21stcclc/index.html

21CCLC in Iowa

• 2011 funds available: $4 million• Cohort V (2009-2014): $1 M, 4 awards• Cohort IV (2008-2013): $2.6 M, 11 awards• Cohort III (2007-2012): $1.7 M, 5 awards

Resource: www.iowa.gov/educate

21CCLC in Iowa, cont.

Category Total 2008

21CCLC Grantees 20

Sites (Centers) 51

Schools 130

Students Served 6203

Adults Served 2305

Paid Staff 779

Volunteers 573

New Vision for Iowa Program in 2011

Department as a partner, not regulator Integration of service-learning into grantsFocus on sustainability and enhancing qualityCollaboration in program developmentDevelopment of an Iowa 21CCLC network

Eligibility

• Absolute Priority: Programs serving students designated Title 1 school wide eligible

• Competitive Priority:1. Programs serving students from schools designated

SINA2. Proposals jointly submitted by LEA and other partner

• Education agencies, CBOs, FBOs, other public and private entities – pretty much anyone!

Grant Award Information

• Five year grants• Minimum award = $50,000 per site per year• Maximum award =

$100,000 per site$400,000 per application

• Grant funds gradually decreaseover the five years

• Yr 4: grantee must demonstratesustainability and maintenanceof attendance and quality for 5th yr funding

Yrs 1-3100%Yr 475%Yr 550%

Common Elements of Quality Before & Afterschool Programs

• Program is a combination of academic, enrichment, cultural, and recreational activities that guide learning and engage children and youth in wholesome activities

• Goal setting and strong management• Planning for long-term sustainability• Quality afterschool staffing• Attention to safety, health, and nutrition issues• Effective partnerships• Strong involvement of families• Extended learning opportunities• Linkages between school-day and afterschool personnel• Evaluation of program progress and effectiveness

Find out more information on afterschool quality at www.iowaafterschoolalliance.org.

Allowable Activities

• Remedial education activities and academic enrichment learning programs, including providing additional assistance to students to allow the students to improve their academic achievement [Req];

• Mathematics and science education activities; • Arts and music education activities; • Entrepreneurial education programs; • Tutoring services (including those provided by senior citizen

volunteers) and mentoring programs; • Programs that provide after-school activities for limited English

proficient students that emphasize language skills and academic achievement;

There are more!

More Allowable Activities

• Recreational activities; • Telecommunications and technology education programs; • Expanded library service hours; • Programs that promote parental involvement and family

literacy [Req]; • Programs that offer a service-learning component [Req];• Programs that provide assistance to students who have

been truant, suspended, or expelled, to allow the students to improve their academic achievement; and

• Drug and violence prevention programs, counseling programs, and character education programs.

Required in 2011: Service-Learning

Service-Learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.

Community Service vs. Service-LearningIf school students collect trash out of an urban streambed, they are

providing a valued service to the community as volunteers. If school students collect trash from an urban streambed, analyze their findings to determine the possible sources of pollution, and share the results with residents of the neighborhood, they are engaging in service-learning.

Resource: www.servicelearning.org

Iowagrants.gov Walk-through

www.iowagrants.gov

THE ONLINE APPLICATIONPlease use the printed iowagrants.gov application and scoring rubric to follow along.

Elements of the Application

• General, Cross-Cutting Elements – 20 points• Budget Narrative – 20 points• Abstract – Not scored• System Capacity Summary – 20 points • Narrative:

– Education, Enrichment, and Family Activities - 50 points– Collaboration and Partnerships – 30 points – Program Administration – 25 points – Sustainability – 40 points – Monitoring and Evaluation – 20 points

• Competitive Priority – 10 points

Maximum Possible Points = 230

Elements Ranked by Maximum Possible Score

• Narrative:– Education, Enrichment, and Family Activities - 50 points– Sustainability – 40 points – Collaboration and Partnerships – 30 points – Program Administration – 25 points – Monitoring and Evaluation – 20 points

• General, Cross-Cutting Elements – 20 points• Budget Narrative – 20 points• System Capacity Summary – 20 points

• Competitive Priority – 10 points Can be deciding score• Abstract – Not scored

Scope of Operation Requirements

• After school programs:– Must operate at least 3 hours per day, beginning when school dismisses– Must operate 5 days per week during the school year– Must include a service-learning experience every year of the grant– Must offer daily, nutritious snack that meets reqs of USDA National School

Lunch Program for meal supplements– Must provide at least 60 minutes of meaningful physical activity weekly

• Before school programs:– Must operate the before school program at least an hour per day ending just

before school begins• Summer and/or Saturday programs:

– Must operate at least 3 hours per day– Must offer a daily nutritious breakfast and/or snack that meets USDA reqs

Resource: www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/afterschool/

The Budget and Budget Narrative

• Follow grant guidelines– Min and max for sites and applications– Gradual funding decreases– Required set-asides:

• Eval no less than 4%• Prof. Development no less than 5%• Access up to 8%• Admin up to 8%

• Budget must justify necessary and reasonable costs• Must link to activities proposed in narrative – make linkages

clear to the reader!• NO MATCH REQUIRED – but evidence of partner

commitment will score you points

The Budget and Budget Narrative, cont.

• Follow per student, per day guidelines: $7.50 per day x no. of students x days in operation – designed to ensure cost-effective programming

• Restrictions– Indirect costs must be included in administrative costs. – Unexpended grant funding cannot be carried forward in any fiscal

year without prior approval by the Iowa Dept. of Education.– Applicants are discouraged from charging fees. Programming must

be accessible to all students regardless of ability to pay.– Funds must not supplant existing programs. 21CCLC funds are

intended to supplement existing programs.

Resource: http://www.financeproject.org/publications/BeyondtheCheckbook.pdf

Sample Site Budget

Site: SCHOOL/SITE NAMEStudent Prog. Family Literacy Annual Site

Item Total Total Total

Personnel $0.00Staff Travel $0.00Materials $0.00Professional Develop. (min 4%) $0.00Access, Trans. (max 8%) $0.00Evaluation (min 4%) $0.00Admin/Indirect Costs $0.00

Site Totals $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Sample Grant Budget

Item Yr. 1 Yr. 2 Yr. 3 Yr. 4 Yr. 5 5-yr TotalsPersonnel -Student $0.00Personnel - Family Lit. $0.00Staff Travel - Student $0.00Staff Travel - Family Lit. $0.00Materials - Student $0.00Materials - Family Lit. $0.00Professional Develop. (min 4%) - Student $0.00Professional Develop. (min 4%) - Family Lit. $0.00Access, Trans. (max 8%) - Student $0.00Access, Trans. (max 8%) - Family Lit. $0.00Evaluation (min 4%) - Student $0.00Evaluation (min 4%) - Family Lit. $0.00Admin/Indirect Costs - Student $0.00Admin/Indirect Costs - Family Lit. $0.00

Annual Totals - All Sites $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

System Capacity

• Provide evidence of history of grant management – Ability to carry out proposed services– Ability to meet required and proposed deadlines

• Provide evidence that organization has successfully provided educational and enrichment services in the past

Answer this question: Is your organization able to carry out an effective 21CCLC? How do you know?

Education, Enrichment, and Family ActivitiesGeneral Information

• Proposed activities should align and support the district’s Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP)

• Show engagement of School Improvement Advisory Committee (SIAC)

• Community Needs Assessment – how do proposed activities meet identified community needs?

• Goals, objectives, and eval measures should align with 4 Results and be measurable

• Alignment with school curriculum – evidence that school and program will communicate with schools

• The activities should be based in evidence-based practice, varied and inclusive

Principles of Effectiveness

Academic Assistance

• Remedial education activities, including providing additional assistance to students to allow them to improve their levels of academic achievement;

• Reading and language arts activities;• Mathematics and science education activities;• Tutoring services (including those provided by senior citizen volunteers) and

mentoring programs;• Programs that emphasize language skills and academic achievement for limited

English proficient students; • Telecommunications and technology education programs;• Expanded library service hours;• Entrepreneurial education programs;• Assistance to students who have been truant, suspended, or expelled, to allow

the students to improve their academic achievement.

Educational Enrichment

• Positive youth development activities; • Service-learning;• Arts and music education activities;• Recreational activities;• Technology education;• Drug and violence prevention programs; • Character education and counseling programs;• Other learning support opportunities such as mentoring and coordinated

school health;• Programs that directly address the needs of students with disabilities

(learning, developmental, physical, brain injury, etc.).\

Resource: http://www.sedl.org/afterschool/resources/curriculum.html

Family Programming and Services

More than family nights!– Reading and literacy classes that support and strengthen

reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills;– Adult education classes;– GED completion classes;– English language literacy classes;– Employment and interview support classes;– Expanded library service hours.

• Bring in partners to serve familiesResource: www.hfrp.org/family-involvement/

Collaboration and Partnerships

• Provide evidence of partnerships and the history of those relationships – MOUs encouraged, not required

• Explain how you intend to maintain partnerships• Show effective use of public funds, i.e. leveraging additional

funds and utilizing other public programs to enhance 21CCLC

• In development of application, you should show:– Engagement of families and youth– Engagement of School Improvement Advisory Council

• Use of an advisory committee of diverse stakeholders

Resource: www.afterschool.gov

Program Administration

• Provide or show evidence of:– Program and fiscal management plan– Project work plan– Key personnel, credentials and expertise– Ongoing oversight to ensure program is complying with proposed

timeline– Safe and accessible facility – if not in school, must explain facility and

plans for safe transportation

• Plan for disseminating program information – should be accessible, timely, understandable, and designed to improve program interest

• Staff recruitment and training planResource: www.icyd.iowa.gov/iaa/resourcedirectory.html

Sustainability

• Realistic and thorough sustainability plan• Process for identifying elements to sustain, not what to

sustain• Partners and resources to sustain those elements• Community support, resources, and contingency plan• Evidence of ability to conduct comprehensive and rigorous

evaluation• Plan for monitoring program effectiveness that aligns with 4

Results for Youth• Plan for internal and external use of evaluation data

Resource: www.financeproject.org

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Commitment to participate in PPICS tracking• Evidence of capacity to track and monitor program outcomes• Plan for evaluation, including timeline and make results

public• Measures should align with 4 Results for Youth • How evaluation results will be used:

– Internally for program improvement– Externally to build community support

Resources: http://ppics.learningpt.orghttp://www.hfrp.org/evaluation

The 4 Results for Youth

• All Youth have Safe and Supportive Families, Schools, and Communities

• All Youth are Healthy and Socially Competent• All Youth are Successful in School• All Youth are Prepared for a Productive Adulthood

The Abstract

• Should provide a clear, concise description of proposal

• Include all elements of proposal, most importantly the programmatic elements

Resource: www.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.html

Resources

For additional resources and information on quality afterschool programming, visit our website:

www.iowaafterschoolalliance.org

Award Timeline

Letters of Intent DueThursday,

February 10, 2011

Applications Due

Friday, March 4, 2011

Applications ScoredWeek of

March 14, 2011

Awards Announced

Week of March 21,

2011

21CCLC Program

OrientationApril 2011

Contacts Iowa Department of Education – 21CCLC

Chris Fensterchris.fenster@iowa.gov515-326-5350

Iowa Department of Education –iowagrants.gov

Tena Malonetena.malone@iowa.gov

Iowa Afterschool Alliance Michelle Richmrich@sppg.com515-243-2000

Contact the Iowa Department of Education for all questions related to iowagrants.gov and application clarification.

All other questions about the 21CCLC grant program and award timeline should be sent to the Iowa Afterschool Alliance.