Evaluation Report: 2014-2015 School Year 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Colorado)

Year Published: 2016

A statewide evaluation of Colorado’s 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) programs during the 2014-15 school year found positive gains related to student participants’ academic performance, engagement in school, and school-day behavior. Teachers reported that among students regularly attending the program and who were in need of improvement, a strong majority improved their academic performance (76.4 percent), class participation (71.8 percent), classroom attentiveness (68.9 percent), homework completion (68 percent),  motivation to learn (66.5 percent), relationships with their peers (62 percent), and behavior in class (63.7 percent). The evaluation also included results from the 2013-14 school year and showed that students in both academic school years showed similar gains. 

Program Name: Colorado 21st Century Community Learning Centers

Program Description:

Colorado’s 21st Century Community Learning Center program—which receives federal support through the 21st CCLC initiative—serves high-needs communities across the state, providing local afterschool and summer programming through 62 grantees and 117 centers serving 20,925 students during the 2014-15 school year.  

Program Demographics:

All schools served by Colorado’s 21st CCLC programs are Title I eligible, meaning more than 40 percent of students qualify for Free and Reduced Price Lunch. Of students participating in Colorado’s 21st CCLC program, a majority of students identified as white or Hispanic, with many identifying as both. Due to missing data on limited English proficiency, economic status, and special needs (e.g., 85 percent of attendees had a free and reduced price lunch status listed as “unknown”), these indicators are being left out of this summary.  

Program Website: https://www.cde.state.co.us/21stcclc/