Virtual Learning: Learning Is A Community Affair

              21st Century Community Learning Centers

Purpose

Authorized under Title IV, Part B, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of200l, the law's specific purposes are to:

1. Provide opportunities for academic enrichment, including providing tutorial services to help students, particularly students who attend high-poverty and low-performing schools, to meet State and local student performance standards in core academic subjects, such as reading and mathematics;

2. Offer students a broad array of additional services, programs, and activities, such as youth development activities, drug and violence programs, technology education programs, and character education programs, that are designed to reinforce and complement the regular academic program of participating students; and  ­

3. Offer families of students served by community learning centers opportunities for literacy and related educational development.

Description of a Community Learning Center

A community learning center offers academic, artistic, and cultural enrichment opportunities to students and their families when school is not in session (before school, after school, during holidays, and/or during summer recess.) According to Section 4201 (b) (1) of the 21 st CCLC statute, a community learning center assists students in meeting State and local academic achievement standards in core academic subjects, such as reading, language arts, and mathematics, by providing the students with opportunities for academic enrichment.