I've been talking to more people this week about the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program and the appropriations bill in Congress that would allow the initiative to fund extended-learning-time efforts as well as the after-school, before-school, and summer school programs it now supports.
What I'm hearing backs up what I learned last week—that some in after-school are very worried about the program's expansion, but others in the expanded-learning community support the change, so long as funds continue to flow to nonprofits providing hands-on enrichment.
But the story could only be so long, and I wasn't able to get everything into it that I'd hoped. Among other things, that includes the text of various groups' statements on CCLC and the appropriations plan. So, for your reading pleasure, I'm putting links below to various statements and background information on the community-centers issue.
Letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee signed by the Partnership for Children and Youth, the After-School Corp., and nearly 40 other groups.
Afterschool Alliance statement opposing the expanded version of the CCLC program.
Press release from the Senate Appropriations Committee. Click on the Summary: FY 11 Labor-HHS Appropriations: Subcommittee Mark attachment, and go to Page 6 for a description of extended-learning time.
Statement by the Center for American Progress Action Fund and the National Center on Time & Learning.
"Expand Learning Time Through School-Community Partnerships," a column by Lucy Friedman, president of the After-School Corp.
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