New Application FAQ's
This section is a host for questions and answers from the field related to 21st Century Community Learning Centers New Grant Application process.
For assistance or more information about the 21st CCLC Grant application, please refer to the Application Information page of the 21st CCLC website at https://www.azed.gov/21stcclc/application-information/. For any questions remaining after viewing the Application Information page, send questions via email to [email protected]. Answers will be published here in the FAQs so that all applicants have access to the same information.
FAQs may be submitted to the [email protected] until 5:00 pm on Monday, March 6th, 2023. The 21st CCLC application closes in GME at 11:59 pm on March 6, 2023. The last day Cycle 19 - FY 24 Application FAQs will be posted is Monday, March 6th, 2023.
No. This will not affect your 21st CCLC grant application submission. These items are completed and checked by the ADE if site is awarded the grant.
The official October 1 enrollment number is made final on February 15, 2023, and will be verified by ADE in AzEDS when reviewing the submitted application.
Please refer to page 16 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance for next steps.
Please reach out to Grants Management.
If an applicant needs technical assistance in completing the on-line application, please see the ADE Grants Management website at: http://www.azed.gov/grants-management/
If additional technical assistance is needed with submission of the on-line application, please contact Grants Management Staff at 602-542-3901/866-577-9636 or email [email protected]
Please review pgs. 18 and 20 (Item #7) of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance about the budget. Items should conform to the USFR Chart of Accounts. Check with your business office for capital items; for Charter Schools the code is 0190.
When the application is open, you must click on the dropdown menu to the right of the “District Level” portion of the application to reveal the sections that each applicant completes for its Site-specific proposal(s).
• When a Site is selected, the “Related Documents” link is revealed. This is where the required Forms A – E are uploaded for each Site proposal.
Please refer to pgs. 13 and 30 in the FY24 Grant Application Guidance.
If a site has more than one external partner, signatures should be obtained for each partner. Form A Participants Verification: Those signing Form A agree to the content of the submitted 21st CCLC grant application.
If you have multiple Form A’s for each partner, you can consolidate the forms to one document or upload each Form in GME. Please note, only one partner is needed on Form A, to ensure that the applicant has the one required partnership to support the program.
Yes, there are directions on how to handle the IDC percentage allocation, if it has not yet been loaded in GME. Please refer to pgs. 19-20 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance.
Once school names are created in GME they cannot be removed. Please add a comment in GME under History Note, Create Comment section, that an error was made and include the name of the school entered by mistake. Notify 21st CCLC of the error at: [email protected] and through the GME email notifications.
Please note that if you are submitting one application the budget is listed under the site’s budget. Please refer to pgs. 25 and 17 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance. for further budgetary guidance.
Yes, a complete budget will need to be written and provided with the 21st CCLC grant application. Please refer to pgs. 10, 18-20 and 25 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance for further budgetary guidance.
Please refer to page 15 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance. An application is fully submitted when it reads, “LEA Authorized Representative” approved in GME. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Should you wish to contact 21st CCLC grant program leaders directly, a list of current schools participating in the program is found on the ADE 21st CCLC website: https://www.azed.gov/21stcclc/whatis21stcclc/ .
If you would like the contact information for school sites or districts, visit the ADE website under School & Student Data, Accountability, School Report Cards at: https://azreportcards.azed.gov/
Yes. You are still able to submit your application with this warning message. The “warning” message automatically appears because the system allows for the 'Affirmation of Consultation with Tribal Representatives' form to be uploaded in this location.
No. Please note that the Affirmation of Consultation with Tribal Representatives Form does not need to be uploaded at the time you submit the application in GME. Please refer to page 21 of the Arizona Department of Education /Arizona Tribal Consultation Guide. for guidance on this process.
No, the 21st CCLC award does not reset each year. Please refer to pgs. 9-10 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance under the section “Criteria and Process” for more information.
Please refer to page 29 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance stating: “21st CCLC programs can be an important resource to help achieve objectives in the school’s Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA), Integrated Action Plan (IAP) and to accomplish other school goals.”
Yes, a school that was a 21st CCLC school two years ago but opted out of 5C grant funding may submit an application for 21st CCLC Cycle 19 FY’24 Grant Application. Please refer to the FY24 Grant Application Guidance for further eligibility criteria.
Please refer to page 16 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance for detailed steps on how to sign up for GME under the section entitled “Online Application.”
Please refer to page 13 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance, section Required Forms (A-G) where it states, “Documents should be saved locally to user’s computer,” this will allow you to modify the boxes.
Yes, a school that is labeled Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (aTSI) can apply for the 21st CCLC FY24 New Grant Application. Please refer to page 24 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance under “21st CCLC At-A-Glance Requirements” item 4a.for “Possible Priority Points (8 Priority Points Possible).”
The Oct1 – October 1 Enrollment Report is in the AzEDS Portal accessed through ADE Connect
Please refer to page 15 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance under “Other Requirements” item “2. Student Attendance” You may need to contact your district Administrator for assistance to access reports in AzEDS.
Yes, it is allowable for the Site Coordinator position to be shared. Please communicate with your Human Resources office to determine your district’s policies/guidelines. Please refer to page 19 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance for allowable costs relating to this position.
Per the application instructions: “Each text box field is limited to 8,000 characters including spaces, punctuation, tables, charts, etc.” Please include the chart under Program Design & Implementation section if that is the prompt you are responding to.
Yes, please refer to pgs. 26-27 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance for information about Program Design & Implementation section. In addition, refer to the 21st CCLC Frameworks found at: https://www.azed.gov/21stcclc/ to assist in writing your program model.
Yes, days and transportation routes are at the district’s discretion. However, a transportation plan is required to ensure safety and accessibility for all students attending the program. Awardees are required to provide a safe environment for students. Please refer to pgs. 9 and 19 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance regarding transportation costs.
Yes, please refer to the Standard Partnership Model from the PDF: “Two Pathways for Eligible Entities to Apply for 21st CCLC Funding” to see how a District Coordinator position could be funded.
A transportation plan is required to ensure safety and accessibility for all students attending program. Costs may be allocated for transportation to the grant- up to 4% of the overall grant award in the budget. Awardees are required to provide a safe environment for students. If a site needs to hire a crossing guard during program hours, this is an allowable expense. Please refer to pgs. 9 and 19 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance regarding transportation and crossing guard costs.
Districts may apply for up to 5 sites. Please refer to pgs. 4-5 and pg. 25 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance where you will locate the Eligibility Verification Worksheet section and Application Tips.
One example of verifiable data is the most recent data in AzEDS from the “RBFINC- October 1 Result Based Funding Income Eligibility Report.”
In response to your question of when programming can be offered, please refer to the “Purpose of the Grant” section on our website. Out-of-school time is defined as those days and hours outside of the defined regular school day/hours. If Friday is not part of your defined regular school day/hours, then 21st CCLC programming may be offered.
No, there is no way to push an application through that does not meet enrollment criteria. Please refer to pgs.3-4 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance for minimum requirements which are Absolute Priority and Funding Formula. Additionally, visit slide #2 21st CCLC Cycle 19 Grant Application Overview (PowerPoint PDF version)
In response to your question, you can use other verifiable data. Please refer to the FAQ section question # 4 and the FY24 Grant Application Guidance on pages 2-3 “Absolute Priority” section. One example of verifiable data is the most recent data in AzEDS from the “RBFINC - October 1 Result Based Funding Income Eligibility Report.”
Please refer to page 16 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance . Please contact the GME team/helpdesk for assistance with accessing the 21st CCLC FY24 grant application by submitting a Help Ticket via the ADE Help Desk
Yes, Form A: Participants Verification Form must be signed by a Community Partner which may be a non-profit organization and/or a contracted vendor. Please refer to pgs. 13, 30-31 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance
Yes, please refer to pgs. 6-8 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance for detailed information on how to apply under the Consortium Model. We also suggest you review the Two Pathways for Eligible Entities to Apply for 21st CCLC Funding.
Please refer to pg.17 of the FY 24 Grant Application Guidance where it states that online schools may not apply for 21st CCLC funding.
Given that this funding may not serve students during their instructional day, and given the “supplement, not supplant” rule, the 21st CCLC grant program cannot fund a Center serving students who attend an online school. By nature, online education is available 24/7, so these schools do not have the option of setting a defined instructional day separate from the time that 21st CCLC services would be offered. By law, 21st CCLC programs and activities must be offered before or after the school instructional day.”
Yes, the 21st CCLC Grant Application is Site-specific. You will need to apply for each school separately within the one application in GME. Please refer to pgs 4 & 17 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance to assist you in this process.
The 21st CCLC Grant application is Site-specific.
Please refer to pgs. 4-5 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance where you will find guidance on the Eligibility Verification Worksheet. Note, you will list each “site” not the district. Therefore, you would need the enrollment count for each of your schools.
This training video may also be helpful: “Unpacking the FY24 Cycle 19 Application”
Please refer to pg. 8 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance, "All Needs Assessments and School/Community Level Data must be based on the current and prior years’ statistics. Therefore, the school must have been open for at least one year prior to application submission to be eligible." Also, by combining the two schools to a K-12 school, a new school identification number will have to be issued and the K-12 school will not be available in GME.
Please refer to the FY24 Grant Application Guidance and consider the following:
- Grants funded by the 21st CCLC program may supplement, NOT supplant, existing out-of- school funding or programs. (FY24 Grant Application Guidance pg. 6)
- Sustainability (FY24 Grant Application Guidance pages 22 and 30)
- The applicant clearly describes how 21st CCLC activities will coordinate with other funding streams and public resources
- The applicant clearly articulates plans to continue critical components of 21st CCLC services beyond the scope of the grant
Each district’s model varies and is meant to serve students that need the services most. While the model/structure may vary, it will need to meet all the 21st CCLC grant requirements in order to maintain substantial compliance and be included in the "Program Design" section of the application.
Please refer to pgs. 26-28 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance about “Program Design and Implementation.”
To maintain substantial compliance there is a minimum number of days open to meet, which is 120 days open per program year. This includes a minimum number of days (4) and number of hours (8) per week open.
Per our 21st CCLC Guidance Handbook Fiscal Year 2023 Edition, attendance is a compliance requirement for grantees. If required attendance is not met, the site could be found out of substantial compliance, and could result in reduced funding and/or funding being discontinued.
Per our 21st CCLC Guidance Handbook Fiscal Year 2023 Edition, at a minimum, Arizona’s 21st CCLC programs provide after school snack and summer meals. Sites are also highly encouraged to offer free breakfast and evening meals as part of their program.
- Arizona’s 21st CCLC snacks and meals are funded by USDA child nutrition programs reimbursements through the Arizona Department of Education’s Office of Health and Nutrition. 21st CCLC programs are responsible for applying for reimbursement through this program.
- All 21st CCLC sites are responsible for offering students healthy food during the program that meets the nutrition guidelines of the USDA.
- This is a program requirement; therefore, time for students to eat is considered a part of the program hours
Arizona’s 21st CCLC programs must offer nutritious afterschool snacks and summer meals as part of the essential supports for student learning and health.
Per our 21st CCLC Guidance Handbook Fiscal Year 2023 Edition. In general, food costs are allowable in the 21st CCLC grant for two specific reasons:
- 21st CCLC funds may be used to pay for ingredients which will be used as instructional supplies for an ADE approved 21st CCLC cooking class – costs must be reasonable and identified specifically in the budget narrative
- 21st CCLC funds may be used to pay for light refreshment to facilitate parent attendance (e.g., coffee and doughnuts, cookies and juice, pretzels, and bottles of water) during 21st CCLC family engagement events. Attendance must be taken at the event and the food costs must be identified specifically in the budget narrative
Per our 21st CCLC Guidance Handbook Fiscal Year 2023 Edition, staff incentives or bonuses are unallowable costs.
A percentage of the site's funding can be utilized to assist with transportation costs to and from the summer program. Per our 21st CCLC Guidance Handbook Fiscal Year 2023 Edition, "Field trips are allowable under certain conditions. Contact your assigned Education Program Specialist to determine allowability."
While the number of attendees is determined by the funding formula, per our 21st CCLC Guidance Handbook Fiscal Year 2023 Edition, the Student/Teacher ratio is:
- Academic Year - 10 enrolled students (6 actual students) to 1 teacher
- Summer Program – 15 enrolled students to 1 teacher
Required percentage of attendance is determined by utilizing the funding formula of the 21st CCLC grant. Please refer to pgs. 3-4 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance for more information.
Applying for a new grant award after 5 years is a decision made by your District’s Administration.
Yes, since your regular school days are defined as Monday through Thursday, the 21st CCLC program could run on Fridays when the regular school day is not in session.
No, the total school population must be included to apply. In the example you provide that would include grades K-8. Please see Page 2 in the 21st CCLC FY24 Application Guidance under "Absolute Priority."
Yes, but Grantees must adhere to the fundamental program requirements as outlined in the original awarded grant by serving the number of “regularly attending” students (30 days or more) and offering services for the number of days promised.
Detailed explanation of “Program Design” is provided on pages 13, 22, 26-28 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance
Every student in the program must be afforded the full hours of programming planned. For example, students needing math help should attend on the days when math classes are offered, but also be given the opportunity to attend the other days. Direct student services (Please refer to pg. 27 of the FY24 Grant Application Guidance) are those services where enrolled student participants can participate.
21st CCLC is intended to be a long-term academic intervention targeting the students who need it most, not a “drop-in” program. Also consider that more than 1 cohort should be served daily.
Yes, this can be one of the criteria utilized to identify targeted students.
No, the 21st CCLC Program is meant to serve students who are academically “at-risk” and specifically recruits the students identified in the application as in need of this long-term academic assistance program. Please note that the overall enrollment must be a certain number to meet the 30-day attendee goal as stipulated in the grant application.
Yes, the MINIMUM TOTAL ENROLLMENT of each school site must be 139 students on October 1 to be eligible to apply for the 21st CCLC Grant.
The Indirect Costs can be placed in 6600-2100 as a placeholder if the Grants Management System has not loaded the Indirect Costs rates for your district.
Please refer to Pages 19-20 of the 21st CCLC FY24 Grant Application Guidance stating:
“If Indirect Cost Rates have not been loaded into the Grants Management System, and the applicant plans to charge the grant, then applicant will write a narrative to this effect in the budget narrative description in the support services supply line (as a placeholder). The narrative should clearly indicate that this is a temporary placement of an allocation for anticipated Indirect Costs, and once the Indirect Cost Rate is approved, the applicant will revise the budget to include the final negotiated indirect costs in the Indirect Costs line of the budget.”
Yes, at least one Community Partner Organization is required to be listed and sign Form A: Participants Verification Form, Form A must be uploaded as part of a complete application.
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Geo Data is verified at the School & District Navigator website: https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolmap/
Yes, neighborhood census data would be considered ‘relevant’ to establishing 40%.
Income eligibility falls under “other verifiable data,” by definition. It is available under the “Enrollment” tab here: Accountability & Research Data | Arizona Department of Education (azed.gov)
Data sources that have been used in the past to show risk and can be used to demonstrate that the site is economically disadvantaged and eligible to apply for the 21st CCLC grant can include:
• Cite relevant data for school and community (i.e., truancy data, disciplinary data, socioeconomic data, achievement data, community crime data, etc.).
Enter this data in Question #1 of the Eligibility Verification Worksheet.
Our team nor any other person employed at ADE can respond to questions about the application or application process during an active live competition. All questions must be sent to the [email protected] email address.
Following this process is the only way to keep the competition fair for all applicants, by ensuring that all applicants have access to exactly the same information.
Questions sent to the Inbox and answers to those questions are posted to the FAQs section of our website where all applicants have access to them.
Question #1 of the Eligibility Verification Worksheet is the question where an applicant can provide other verifiable risk factor data, including the data source, to show that the site is eligible to apply for the 21st CCLC grant.
Since your school account was recently added to GME, please refer to page 16 of the 21st CCLC Grant Application Guidance where you will find step-by-step guidance on how to access the application in GME.
All inquiries about the 21st CCLC Grant application are submitted to: [email protected]
Private school students are eligible to attend the program if:
- they live within the applicant’s school attendance boundary
- they fall under the needs’ assessment information and targeted objectives of the submitted grant application
Applicants determine how they will include private school students in the program as discussed and determined during the consultation meeting with the private school.
The applicant will determine the data that will be collected, and this should be discussed at the consultation meeting. Note: Access to student level data protected by FERPA is necessary to complete required state and federal reporting for this federal grant.
No, all grant applicants must use their October 1 enrollment count to determine the number of Regular Attendees for the Funding Formula.
Please refer to the following link with step-by-step instructions on how to digitally sign the Mandatory Forms. All forms must be saved on your desktop; to have them digitally signed. https://www.azed.gov/sites/default/files/2022/12/7.CreatingApply.Digital.Signatures.%28PPT%29.pdf
To be eligible to apply for this grant, applicants must meet two criteria:
- ABSOLUTE PRIORITY - serve students who attend schools where there is not less than 40 percent economically disadvantaged students in the total school population.
- MINIMUM TOTAL ENROLLMENT- total enrollment of each school site must be greater than 138 students on October 1 to be eligible to apply for the 21st CCLC Grant.
Priority Points will be offered for School Labels (TSI/CSI), and schools with a Rural Classification.
The Priority Points verification and links are outlined on pages 24 & 25 of the 21st CCLC FY23 Grant Application Guidance(PDF) located at: https://www.azed.gov/sites/default/files/2022/12/FY24.AppGuide.pdf /.
Yes, https://www.azed.gov/hns/frp/ , the free/reduced price lunch numbers from this year will be used AND/OR other verifiable risk factor data, including the data source, that shows that this Site serves students where at least 40% of the students qualify for free/reduced price lunches.
Yes, the free/reduced price lunch numbers from this year will be used.
Yes, it is always a good idea to ask parents to submit free/reduced price lunch applications because it opens up other federal funding opportunities.
The eligibility requirements for last year’s funding application are outlined on the 21st CCLC FY24 Grant Application Guidance (PDF) located at: https://www.azed.gov/sites/default/files/2022/12/FY24.AppGuide.pdf . Page 2 has the information on what flexibility was allowed in the previous funding application.
Please check the application website to review the FY24 absolute priority requirements and contact the 21st CCLC Inbox if you have further questions.