Recent Evaluations of 21st Century Community Learning Centers Illustrate Wide Range of Benefits

From coding to cooking classes and from meals to mentorship, 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) provide essential supports before school, after school, and during the summer months. These programs complement students' school-day lessons, introduce them to new areas of interest, help spark passions that could be the inception point of a future career path, and foster an environment where students feel supported, heard, and valued. During the 2020-2021 school year, 10,652 centers provided academic enrichment to more than 1.1 million K-12th grade students and their families. In addition to the most recent national Department of Education report on the 21st CCLC initiative that found that students participating in the program showed academic gains and improved their engagement in school and behavior in class, there are an overwhelming number of statewide evaluations that further confirm and reinforce the positive benefits of 21st CCLC programs for students and their families. This brief highlights a cross section of recently conducted statewide evaluations on 21st CCLC programs to illustrate the impacts of this initiative, which is helping students thrive both in school and out.