SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announced today that 17 local education agencies serving 21 high schools in California were awarded $3.55 million in grants from the 21st Century High School After School Safety and Enrichment for Teens (ASSETs) Program.

"The ASSETs program provides disadvantaged children a safe environment after school hours and academic enrichment that complements what they are learning in school," said O'Connell. "This program works hand-in-hand with my education initiatives to help students meet the more rigorous challenges we are trying to build into the high school curriculum."

This is the third time the California Department of Education has offered these competitive grants. Each of the 17 grantees will receive their awards in installments ranging in totals between $100,000 and $250,000 annually over a five-year period. A list of the winners is listed below. Originally, 51 community partnerships requested a total of $10.19 million to support 73 high schools.

Funding for the ASSETs Program is part of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program within the federal No Child Left Behind Act designed to expand after-school programs in California . The federal law transferred administration of the program to state departments of education. Organizations eligible to apply for these grants include local education agencies, city and county governments, state universities, community-based organizations, and other public or private entities including faith-based organizations or a consortium of two or more such entities. The ASSETs grants are restricted to applicants proposing to work with schools eligible for Title I Schoolwide Program designation. Title I is designed to help disadvantaged students meet state academic content and performance standards. Competitive priority is given to application proposals to support Title I Program Improvement high schools with Academic Performance Index rankings in the lower three deciles. For more information about these programs and the previous awardees, please visit 21st Century Community Learning Centers - Before & After School.

Here is the list of the awardees: