SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today announced that the California Department of Education (CDE) is awarding $2.5 million to nine grantees establishing after school programs at 16 high schools across the state. Each of these schools will receive up to $250,000 annually over a five-year period.

"I am pleased to make these funds available to these worthy after school programs whose goals are to improve academic achievement and provide enrichment opportunities for our teen-age students," O'Connell said. "This is the first year we have been able to offer funding for the high school level."

The nine winning applications were selected from 58 proposals that requested a total of $15 million in funding. The funding for these high school after school pilot projects represents California's interest and investment in learning effective ways to serve our older student population during critical out-of-school hours. Programs will be structured using components included in legislation passed in 2002 (AB 1984, Steinberg, 21st Century High School After School Safety and Enrichment for Teens (ASSETs) Program ).

The following were selected as grant award recipients: City of Richmond, Fresno County Office of Education, Long Beach Unified School District, San Bernardino City Unified School District, San Diego City Unified School District, San Diego State University Foundation, San Francisco Unified School District, Pajaro Valley Joint Unified School District, and Sweetwater Union High School District.

Funding is being provided through the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) Program and is part of a larger allocation to expand after school programs in California. In 2002-2003, the 21st CCLC program brought an additional $37.5 million to California for after school programs in grades K-8.

Previously, the 21st CCLC was administered by the U.S. Department of Education under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The program currently is administered by the CDE. The program offers five-year grant funding to local community partnerships to provide activities in the after school hours focusing on improved academic achievement, enrichment services that reinforce and complement the academic program, and family literacy services.

Entities eligible to apply for funding include local educational agencies, cities, counties, community-based organizations, and other public or private entities that may include faith-based organizations, or a consortium of two or more such agencies, organizations, or entities.

Consistent with federal statute, awards were restricted to only those applicants that proposed to serve primarily students who attend schools eligible for Title I school wide programs. Competitive priority was given to Title 1 schools that included a partnership between a local education agency and a community-based organization or other public or private entity.