Group of children posing outside a brick building, some wearing uniforms with light blue shirts. A banner is visible in the background.
Logo of New Jersey 21st Century Community Learning Centers featuring a red human figure reaching for a yellow star with the text 'Soaring Beyond Expectations.'

The Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC)

The Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative is the only federal funding source dedicated exclusively to supporting local after-school, before-school, and summer learning programs. The program serves nearly 2 million youth, through grants awarded by state education agencies.

Programs support:

  • Academic enrichment activities that can help students meet state and local achievement standards.

  • A broad array of additional enrichment services designed to reinforce and complement the regular academic program, such as: drug and violence prevention programs, career and technical programs, counseling programs, art, music programs, STEM programs, and physical activity and nutrition education programs.

  • Literacy and related educational development services to the families of children who are served in the program.

Group of children and adults swimming in an outdoor pool, smiling and making gestures, with a beach and buildings in the background.
A man in a red shirt, gray shorts, white apron, and red cap grilling on a park barbecue grill near a picnic table, with a forest in the background.
A group of people in an arcade playing basketball and other games, wearing matching orange shirts under neon lights.
Three people smiling by a beach: a woman in a black swimsuit, a shirtless boy gesturing with his hand, and a woman in a light blue shirt and sun hat.