State Department of Education Announces $3.5 Million in Afterschool Program Grants

[Howard Hartman]

For Immediate Release	July 17, 2012

Maryland State Department of Education Announces
$3.5 Million in Afterschool Program Grants

Federal money to fund additional learning centers across Maryland

BALTIMORE, MD (July 17, 2012) – Thirteen programs in six Maryland jurisdictions have been awarded $3.5 million in grants by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) through the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) Grant Program.

The 21st CCLC grants provide services to children who attend high poverty schools or schools identified for improvement. The grant requires that each proposal offer opportunities for literacy and related educational development to families of participating students. There also is an emphasis on closing the achievement gap between those receiving free and reduced meals (FARMS) and students not receiving such assistance.

The purpose of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program is to create centers that provide academic enrichment opportunities that support what is learned in the classroom. The programs are unique because they also provide an array of enrichment activities. Together, the centers show students the real world connection to what they learn in the classroom and how they can improve their communities.

The grant process was open to public and private organizations including non-profit agencies, city and county government agencies, faith-based groups, institutions of higher education, and for-profit corporations. Fifty-six organizations applied for grants. The groups awarded grants in this round were comprised of six local school systems, six non-profit community-based organizations, and one state university.

Grants were awarded on a competitive basis to the following programs:

• BRIDGE Over Wilde Lake, Howard County Public Schools, Howard County
• Camp Achieve Mathematics Acceleration Program, Part 1, Achievement Services, Inc., Baltimore City
• Dream Team 21st Century After School Program 21st Century CCLC, St. Mary’s Public Schools, St. Mary’s County
• Eagles Nest Youth Development Program (ENYDP), William C. March Middle School, Baltimore City
• Fun Academics in the Summer Time (FAST), Frederick County Public Schools, Frederick County
• Hernwood Elementary's 21st Century Learning Center, Hernwood Elementary School, Baltimore County
• Higher Achievement East Baltimore Center, Higher Achievement, Baltimore City
• KidsGrow K-8 STEM Program, Parks & People, Baltimore City
• MI Segunda Casa Afterschool Program, Education Based Latino Outreach, Inc., Baltimore City
• M.O.M.I.E.'s Carmody Hills ACE Educational Program, M.O.M.I.E.'s (Mentors of Minorities in Education) Inc., Prince George’s County
• The Historic Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Scholars Program (THSCT-SP), University of Maryland, Baltimore City
• The Power Project, St. Francis Neighborhood Center, Baltimore City
• Transforming The Academies at Frederick Douglass to a 21st Century Community Learning Center, Frederick Douglass High School, Baltimore City

These groups will begin preparations to launch programs this fall. This round of awardees joins 31 projects already operating under the 21st CCLC program. Programs are operating in Allegany, Baltimore, Caroline, Frederick, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Queen Anne’s, Wicomico, Worcester Counties, and Baltimore City.

In addition to improving the academic achievement and self-confidence of students, these programs keep students safe and help working families. Participants are less likely to be involved in crime and more likely to have better grades and behavior than peers left with nothing to do after school.

For more information, or if interested in receiving requests for proposals for the thirteenth round of grants, contact Kelly M. Coates, Coordinator, After School Programs, at 410-767-0561 or kcoates@msde.state.md.us.

To learn more about the program

Go to this site