21st Century Community Learning Centers: A Descriptive Evaluation for 2012-2013
Author: White, Larry J.
Date: 2014-03-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Online Surveys,Program Administration,Administrator Surveys,Teacher Surveys,Annual Reports,Student Participation,Student Behavior,Homework,Academic Achievement,Service Learning,Partnerships in Education,Referral,Behavior Change,Behavior Modification,Volunteers,Information Management,Access to Information,Faculty Development,Educational Quality,Technical Assistance,Parent Participation,Community Involvement,Community Education,Performance Factors,Barriers,Substance Abuse,Program Improvement,Accountability,Success,Change Strategies,Program Effectiveness,Program Evaluation

This evaluation study provides descriptive information about the implementation and outcomes of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) program in West Virginia, from September 2012 through May 2013. The report draws on information from online surveys of directors of 30 CCLC programs and from school teachers for 4,102 participating students. Most participating students were in the elementary grades. The mean number of days students attended ranged from about 2 to 93 days, depending on the program. Teachers perceived the greatest improvements in participating students' behaviors related to promptness and quality of homework turned in, overall academic performance, and participation in class. Regarding CCLC program volunteers, the largest sources were K-12 service learning programs, parents and faculty members, local businesses, and postsecondary service learning programs. The groups with which program directors reported the greatest level of success were &quot;other&quot; (100%) and service learning K-12 (99.7%). Regarding work with partners, the two most frequent types of support received from partners were programming and resources. Partnerships engaged in funding, programming, resources, and training were reported to be the most effective. Regarding professional development, the topics best attended by program directors were programming, STEM/STEAM, and program evaluation. As for parent and community involvement, more than half of program directors indicated they either had no family components in their programs or that they were, at best, well below target goals. Of those who reported success in this area, three main themes emerged as reasons for their successes: (a) the right types of activities; (b) ongoing, even daily contact with parents; and (c) a shared commitment to the program, which involved engaging parents in meaningful work toward program goals. Program directors reported offering more than 600 substance abuse prevention activities, involving more than 7,000 students and nearly 1,600 adults. Nearly three quarters of program directors found the continuous improvement process for after school moderately or very helpful. Likewise, the great majority found the West Virginia Department of Education monitoring visits moderately or very helpful. The following are appended: (1) Teacher Questionnaire; (2) Program Director Questionnaire; and (3) Program Directors' Comments. [For the summary of this report, see &quot;21st Century Community Learning Centers 2013: A Quasi-Experimental Investigation of Program Impacts on Student Achievement in Mathematics and Reading/Language Arts&quot; (ED569698). For the 2011-2012 report, see ED606730.]