Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers FY2024 (Year 3) Grant Renewal Application

Purpose

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) administers the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) grant program to assist local education agencies (LEAs), non-profit agencies, city or county government agencies, community and faith-based organizations, institutions of higher education, and for-profit corporations in the State to provide activities outside of school hours that:

  • Provide opportunities for academic enrichment which includes providing instructional services to help students, particularly students who attend low-performing schools, to meet State and local student academic achievement standards in core academic subjects, such as language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies;

  • Offer students a broad array of additional services, programs, and activities, such as youth development and engagement activities, substance abuse and alcohol prevention, service-learning, violence prevention, counseling, art, music, recreation, technology education, and character education programs that are designed to reinforce and complement the regular academic program of participating students; and

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

Out-of-school time programs are defined in the State of Maryland as programs that occur before school, after school, during the summer, and on Saturdays. Out-of-school time programs keep students safe, help working families, and improve academic achievement. 

The 21st CCLC grant recipients are requested to complete the Grant Renewal Application to provide programmatic and fiscal outcome data for the 2022-2023 grant award period and a 2023-2024 grants management plan for review in consideration for year three funding. The applicant is requested to submit the data electronically through accessing the 21st CCLC Performance Report and Grant Renewal Application Form: School Year or Summer Programs or 21st CCLC Performance Report and Grant Renewal Application Form: School Year and Summer Programs. The details of the e-application are included in Attachment One. Additional information found in this document outlines grant requirements that are included in the original Request for Proposals. Upon submission, MSDE will review the provided Grant Renewal Application and the year one performance data which includes but is not limited to: (1) Start-up report, (2) Critical elements monitoring stage, I, II, and III, (3) Timely reimbursement invoice submissions, and (4) Total number of amendments. Upon review, applicants approved for year three funding will receive a risk assessment level of 1-5 that will be reflected on the Year II Notification of Grant Award (NOGA). 




When will the application be open?

Tuesday, August 22, 2023


Application Submission Date

The deadline for application submission is Friday, September 29, 2023, by 5:00 p.m.
However, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis starting August 25, 2023.


Customer Service Support Sessions

The MSDE OST Team will hold two customer service support sessions for subgrantees. During this session, the MSDE OST Team will provide support and answer questions regarding completing the application. The sessions will be held on:


Customer Service Support Session 1

Thursday, August 24, 2023
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Join video call or dial: (US) +1 469-213-3760 PIN: 555 525 640#


Customer Service Support Session 2

Wednesday, August 30, 2023, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Join video call or dial: (US) +1 469-213-3760 PIN: 677 728 19#

This funding opportunity, including all attachments and updates, can be downloaded from the
MSDE Office of Grants Administration and Compliance website.


Questions

If you have questions about the application or the process, please contact

Reginald Burke
Director, Youth Development Branch
Division of Student Support, Academic Enrichment and Educational Policy