What is the 21^st CCLC NTAC?

The 21^st Century Community Learning Centers (21^st CCLC) National Technical Assistance Center (NTAC) is the premier place for out-of-school time professionals to learn, collect resources, and engage with peers and experts. We are funded by the U.S. Department of Education, and the center’s primary goal is to support the professionals who operate Nita M. Lowey 21^st CCLC programs across the nation. Our goal is to help build capacity and empower out-of-school time (OST) professionals in their educational journey toward learning and continuous growth. Specifically, the 21^st CCLC NTAC is here to support State educational agencies (SEAs) and their subgrantees who operate 21^st CCLC programs.

What are the 21^st CCLC NTAC’s priorities?

The absolute priority for the 21^st CCLC NTAC is to build the capacity of 21^st CCLC grantees and subgrantees to provide effective OST opportunities that have the biggest possible positive impact in students’ lives.

The center’s additional priorities include:

• Addressing the impact of COVID–19 on students, educators, and faculty
• Promoting equity in student access to educational resources and opportunities
• Meeting student social, emotional, and academic needs
• Providing resources and activities that focus on:
  • Students’ academic and mental health needs and alignment with the traditional school day (e.g., literacy, math, overall well-being)
  • Academic recovery
  • Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) activities
  • Providing 21^st CCLC programming in rural areas
  • Improving attendance and student engagement of middle and high school students
  • Reengagement of disengaged youth
  • Implementation and evaluation of 21^st CCLC programs
  • Supporting multilingual learners
  • Financial literacy
  • Career pathways for students
  • Other priority areas identified by the center and the Department
• Providing support for 21^st CCLC statutory and programmatic requirements
• Providing support for fiscal compliance of all SEAs and subgrantees

Who is the team who operates the 21^st CCLC NTAC?

Synergy Enterprises, Inc. (www.seiservices.com) was awarded the 21^st CCLC NTAC grant and, along with our partners at Abt Global and Foundations, Inc., we work closely with the U.S. Department of Education in a cooperative agreement to operate the activities of the 21^st CCLC NTAC.

Am I eligible for free resources or technical assistance (TA) services if I’m not a 21^st CCLC subgrantee?

All of the resources and courses available on the 21^st CCLC NTAC website will be free, including any universal TA events such as webinars, and will be available for everyone to access.

However, the TA services are for 21^st CCLC grantees only. This includes targeted TA events (virtual trainings, on-site trainings, coaching) and intensive TA. These TA services may be requested by the 21^st CCLC SEA Coordinator.

What are 21^st CCLC programs, and how can I become a 21^st CCLC grantee?

Nita M. Lowey 21^st CCLC programs provide academic enrichment opportunities for students attending high-poverty, low-performing schools during nonschool hours. Each State, the Bureau of Indian Education, and outlying areas receive (formula) funding from the U.S. Department of Education annually, and each administers the grant funds through a competitive award process. The funding amount and competitive award process varies. Visit the 21^st CCLC website for more information on funding allocations, and visit your SEA’s website for more information on the award process.

When will I be able to access resources and other universal events on your website? When will the website be ready?

The first phase of the website will launch in March. It will include some resources such as 21^stCCLC NTAC courses and tools as well as a library of curated external resources. Phase two of the website will include a learning management system (LMS).

The full release of the website and the LMS will take place during the 2024 21^st CCLC Summer Symposium in San Francisco in July/August, and it will include many additional resources.

Will I get to take courses for certificates, like on the You for Youth (Y4Y) site?

Yes. The 21^st CCLC NTAC site will have courses where you can earn a certificate upon completion of the course. Note: Meanwhile, the Y4Y courses and other content are available at y4yarchives.org.

How is the 21^st CCLC NTAC different from Y4Y?

The 21^st CCLC NTAC is structured as a national TA center, which has several advantages over the Y4Y TA delivery structure: (1) It allows for greater customization and individualization of capacity-building TA to SEA Coordinators and program leaders as part of a tiered approach; (2) Communities of practice and other features of the TA and the website will provide more opportunities for programs to learn with and from each other; (3) The professional development tools and resources on the website will provide options for learning in smaller increments and will allow individual SEA Coordinators, program leaders, and frontline staff to customize and navigate a personalized learning roadmap based on their professional needs and goals; and (4) The structure of the TA center will be more aligned with the structure of other Department TA centers, which will support greater collaboration and coordination at the national level, thereby providing more robust and cohesive learning experiences for 21^st CCLC professionals.

Do you have an advisory committee or working group? If so, how can I become a member?

Yes, the 21^st CCLC NTAC has a Technical Assistance Advisory Committee (TAAC) made up of SEA Coordinators, 21^st CCLC subgrantees, and subject matter experts in the OST field. Members serve for up to two years, and there are four TAAC meetings per year.

If you would like to be considered to become a member of the 21^st CCLC NTAC TAAC, please email us at info@21stcclcntac.org.

How do I learn more about the 21^st CCLC NTAC and updates? 

Scan the QR codes below to sign up for the newsletter or to follow us on social media.

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Third, we will have a section on the home page of our website that provides updates and progress leading up to the 21^st CCLC Summer Symposium!