The Virginia Department of Education recently announced the award of $200,000 to enhance existing 21st Century Community Learning Centers programs at McHarg and Belle Heth Elementary Schools and Dalton Intermediate School.
21st Century Community Learning Centers are sites of education for enrolled children and their families.
The program helps students meet state and local standards in core academic subjects, such as reading and mathematics, it offers students enrichment activities that complement regular academic programs,” according to the 21st Century Schools grant application page.
A whole-family approach to literacy and economic development, the program offers literacy and other educational services to the families of participating children.
The program was created under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and continues under the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 supporting “the creation of community learning centers that provide academic enrichment opportunities during non-school hours for children, particularly students who attend high-poverty and low-performing schools.”
The award competition is highly competitive,” Eric Bucey, Director of Beans and Rice, Inc. the nonprofit managing the afterschool programs wrote in the announcement of the grant.
“Each year the Virginia Department of Education receives more than 100 applications state-wide and typically funds around thirty projects. This award is the third competitive 21st CCLC grant secured by the program,” Bucey wrote.
Beans and Rice, Inc. and Radford City schools have operated after-school and summer academic enrichment programs at McHarg Elementary since 2007 and Belle Heth since 2009.
The federal 21st CCLC funds were first awarded to RCPS in 2012. The grant award is renewable annually for a three-year period at $200,000 each year.
The funds have allowed the program to increase the number of students it serves from 70 students to 140, to expand its scope by increasing weekly service hours from 10 to 13.75, and to bolster its quality by adding certified teaching staff and scientific-based curriculum.
The project was last awarded this grant in 2015. When it re-competed, the program services expanded to include Dalton Intermediate School.
Local core funders of the grant include United Way of the New River Valley, the City of Radford, and the Community Foundation of the New River Valley.
Additional federal support is provided through the Corporation for National and Community Service: AmeriCorps State.
Bucey lists other costs, 21st CCLC funds cover including staff, certified teachers, free transportation for all participating students, iPads, and afterschool curriculum materials like MicroSociety: Micro Afterschool, a trade-marked, “research-based, experiential learning model that transforms an after school program into a bustling marketplace,” Bucey wrote. “It is a student created miniature society. Belle Heth and Dalton Intermediate students apply mathematic skills in a project-based learning environment by creating budgets, calculating sales tax, making change, and pricing products.”
In addition to afterschool enrichment activities, the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program offers summer enrichment, before-school homework assistance and enrichment learning games, summer Friday field trips to local museums and recreational venues, and a variety of parental engagement activities.
Adult family members of enrolled students participate in monthly family night events such as Homework 101, Family Math Night, Internet Safety Night, and student showcases such as a career fair and live MicroSociety simulation.
Adults may also attend weekly Adult Education labs and quarterly workforce development workshops in order to earn a GED, conduct job searches, build resumes, learn how to enroll and finance post-secondary education, and gain computer skills.
Beans and Rice, Inc. is a community economic development organization that works to improve the economic well-being of low-to-moderate income families through hunger relief; afterschool programs, which raise academic achievement and develop pro-social skills as well as micro-business development programs that create jobs; and savings programs that help families purchase their first home and help children save funds for school.
Contact Pam Whitesell, at (540) 980-4111, for information about enrolling in the after school programs or stop by school offices for enrolment forms