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Kansas 21st Century Community Learning Centers: Statewide Program Evaluation Report 2015-2017
Year Published: 2018
A statewide evaluation of Kansas’s 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) programs during the 2016-17 program year found that—based on teacher surveys—an overwhelming majority of program participants improved, stayed the same, or did not need to change with regard to their attendance (98 percent), academics (96 percent), homework completion (95 percent), and behavior (90 percent).
Program Name: Kansas 21st Century Community Learning Centers
Program Description:
Kansas’s 21st Century Community Learning Center program—which received federal support through the 21st CCLC Initiative—helps provide academic enrichment for students in high-poverty, low-performing schools. In the 2016-17 program year, 85 grantees offered 21st CCLC programming across 42 counties. Data from this evaluation is based on 43 of those grantees, operating 34 centers serving 9,693 students.
Scope of the Evaluation: Statewide
Program Type: Summer, Afterschool, Before school
Location: Kansas
Grade level: Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Program Demographics:
All schools served by Kansas’s 21st CCLC programs are Title I eligible, meaning more than 40 percent of students qualify for Federal Free and Reduced Price Lunch. Based on grantees who reported out in the 2016-2017 program year (43 of 85 grantees), 58 percent of students qualified for Free or Reduced Price Lunch. With regard to race and ethnicity, 49 percent of students identified as White, 29 percent identified as Hispanic, 7 percent as Black, 1 percent at Native American, 1 percent as Asian or Pacific Islander, and 3 percent as “other”.
Program Website: https://www.ksde.org/Agency/Division-of-Learning-Services/Special-Education-and-Title-Services/Title-Services/Federal-Pro
Evaluator: Dowsett, C., Cox, O., & Kuhn, N., Center for Public Partnerships & Research at the University of Kansas
Evaluation Methods:
This evaluation collects data from progress reports completed by grantees based on the Kansas State Department of Education’s annual reporting requirements, which include the following four components: program operation information, grant goals and achievements, teacher surveys, and a local program evaluation summary with recommendations. Some sites may additionally include feedback from parent surveys. Program-level information is available for 43 of the 85 grantees in the 2016-2017 program year.
Evaluation Type: Non-experimental
Summary of Outcomes:
This program evaluation—based on teacher surveys—shows that an overwhelming majority of program participants improved, stayed the same, or did not need to change with regard to their attendance (98 percent), academics (96 percent), homework completion (95 percent), and behavior (90 percent). Breaking out the percentages to reflect students who showed improvements—64 percent of 21st CCLC program participants improved in academics, 49 percent in homework completion, 40 percent in behavior, and 32 percent in attendance.
When looking at performance goals and indicators, almost all (91 percent) of programs reported meeting the benchmark that 90 percent of their program participants will not be suspended (in-school or out-of-school) while in the program. All programs reported meeting the target that 80 percent of their program participants will not be found to have engaged in violent acts while at school.
In addition, parent testimonials from one program site indicates that parents see 21st CCLC programs as valuable in supporting their children’s growth and development, citing program qualities such as safe and consistent supervision for children, quality of programming, and variety of activities provided.
