5.1 Project Abstract St. Lucie Public Schools (SLPS) will continue to implement a 21st Century Community Learning Center project that provides students with unique project based learning opportunities. The after-school programs will operate at four public school sites, C.A. Moore Elementary, Lawnwood Elementary, Floresta Elementary and Weatherbee Elementary, Priority preference for the target group are students in grades K-5 that have been identified in need of additional support through recommendations from schools’ problem solving teams, academic deficiencies, grade retention, and parent recommendations. Other students will be enrolled in the after-school program after students identified for priority preference have been enrolled. The sites for this project will serve 300 students / total at the four sites during the regular school year /2.5 hours per day /5 days per week/157 days/ 36 weeks. 5.2 Continuing Improvement After reviewing the data from formative and summative evaluations no substantive changes to the program were recommended. The data collected for year 2014-2015 was base line data due to when the program begins. Data for 2015- 2016 will be monitor to refine, improve and strengthen the program. 5.3 Program Evaluation 5.3.a Evaluation Plan The evaluation is intended to provide data that will enable the Project Manager and 21st CCLC Advisory board to analyze progress towards achieving the proposed goals and objectives of this project. Project evaluation will be conducted by the district’s previous Title 1 evaluator, Debi Carlstorm, Ph.D., an experienced and published evaluator who has conducted numerous evaluations for federal or state-level grants. Dr. Carlstorm has worked as a research assistant at the Education Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. and as the Research Evaluation and Test St. Lucie Public Schools: S.T.E.A.M.-ing Ahead Education the Whole Child 2 Development Specialist for St. Lucie County Public Schools. She currently works as a consultant, conducting program evaluations for public schools in South Florida. Add use to refine improve and strengthen the program. Evaluation questions for this proposal are designed to gather the required data needed for several purposes: (1) to support the Annual Performance Report (APR), (2) to gather implementation data for program improvement, and (3) to investigate the impact of PBL on students attending the afterschool program. A brief sample of evaluation questions are as follows: (1) What percent of participants have improved their English, math, science, and social studies grades from fall to spring?, (2). What percent of participants meet or exceed the proficiency level of performance on state assessments?, (3) Have 80% of regularly attending students produced an artifact that demonstrates their understanding of the reading and writing process that meets the appropriate criteria established in the teacher created rubric? These questions are aligned with the program description. Data results will allow the PD and Advisory board to evaluate progress toward meeting program goals or objectives. These questions intend to support character education programs by potentially flagging participating students whose behavior or achievement is not meeting standards each quarter. As such, managers can quickly remediate suspected problems and bring students back onto a positive track for achievement toward pupil progression. Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected to answer the evaluation questions quarterly that supports a three period reporting system. Objective quantitative data for academic achievement, attendance, OSS, ISS, tardies, course grades, will be collected quarterly to continuously assess progress towards meeting each of the proposed goals and objectives. Qualitative data will be included in the form of survey results, teacher feedback on instrument development, observations, and content analysis in each of the reporting periods. St. Lucie Public Schools: S.T.E.A.M.-ing Ahead Education the Whole Child 3 The evaluation is integral to the project’s planning, design, and implementation. Current data will be presented to the project managers at monthly meetings for up to date information that can impact changes in program strategies and activities based on evaluation findings. The relationship between decision making and change is linked to deciding whether to continue, to terminate, to modify, or to refocus an activity. A formative evaluation will be presented to managers in a mid-year report that informs and drives decision-making regarding program implementation (baseline and mid-year assessments) to adequately demonstrate mid-year progress. The annual summative report will examine the impact of the program on various stakeholders (teachers, students, and parents). The impact will be measured through objective quantitative data as well as qualitative data in the form of perceptions using at least three time points (baseline, mid-year, and end-of-year). The following will be the process for collecting data. Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 represent the baseline and mid-year reporting periods. Quarters 3 and 4 define the End-of-Year reporting period. Data determined to be available will be gathered each quarter for presentation in the formative report. Those data determined to be In Progress, are surveys or data collection tools that are available, but must be reviewed to meet the goals of the grant. Other tools require input from school personnel and that will occur at the beginning of the school year, early enough to begin data gathering. Finally, some tools will be developed specifically for this grant and will be in development the first year. Quantitative behavioral data (i.e., Attendance, ISS, OSS, Tardy) intend to support the goals for character education program goals. Behavioral data will flag students early and then subsequently throughout the school year allowing the PD to remediate appropriate programs or tutoring to help students get back on a positive track. Content analysis using the lesson plans and descriptions in the PBL Plan will drive the focus lessons that must align with curricular standards which impacts student achievement. Observations of PBL lessons will document the St. Lucie Public Schools: S.T.E.A.M.-ing Ahead Education the Whole Child 4 incorporation of 21st CCLC Skills components as well as the Small Group Inquiry Model. Feedback from the teacher participation rubric/checklist will address the communication link between the day school teachers and afterschool teachers. The information from the checklists will flag students who have become disengaged from school activities. Monthly, the PD will collect all surveys complete tests results, and rubrics or checklists from site coordinators who collect data from the program teachers. The evaluator also uses SPSS to match program students to electronic files that house achievement data. As such the integrity and accuracy of the data is ensured. Analytic Methods: This evaluation is based on the mixed model methodology. According to Creswell (2003), a Mixed Method approach allows the researcher to integrate data at several stages of inquiry and employ the practices of both qualitative and quantitative research. Data are collected during three periods of the year. Types of data include qualitative and quantitative data because ‘the examination of a given social phenomenon is often best accomplished through the use of several different methods (Babbie, 1997, p.27). Essentially, the scope of the project is designed to monitor students’ behavior and academic achievement monitoring students’ progression toward meeting benchmarks in the district’s pupil progression which tracks aligned to meeting criteria for high school graduation. As such, achievement and behavioral data will be collected and presented in tables to provide descriptive information that will show the number of students progressing at grade level. These data are aligned with the APR requirements and project goals and objectives. Qualitative data, such as surveys, checklists and observations, will enable the project managers to focus on the implementation of the project. Patton (1987) suggests that qualitative methods are particularly appropriate to use with Case Studies, and Implementation Evaluations. The checklists, rubrics, surveys, and observation tool will all be under construction during the first year. However, data from these tools will be reported, as all other data by month and more St. Lucie Public Schools: S.T.E.A.M.-ing Ahead Education the Whole Child 5 formally through the formative report. The responsibility of the evaluator is to ensure ‘throughout program development, that the program’s description is kept up-to-date, reflecting how the program is actually being conducted (King, Morris, & Fitz-Gibbon, 1987, p. 18). While the implementation of the program is the main function of the outside evaluator, a proposal will be made to teachers to investigate their participation in PBL. Dana and YendolSilva (2003) define teacher inquiry as a focus on the concerns of teachers and engages teachers in the design, data collection, and interpretation of data around their question. While all teachers reflect on their practice, teacher inquiry invites intentional, planned reflection, heightening the focus on the centered problem. It is a goal of this evaluation to invite teachers to conduct the teacher inquiry model, also known as Action Research, in the PBL. Training and monitoring will be provided by the evaluator. Evaluation findings will be disseminated to school participants, parents, and community members by posting the summative report on the school and district 21st CCLC website. Findings will be shared with the 21st CCLC Advisory board and school based principal. Finally, proposals for presenting research will be submitted to Florida Educational Research Association at the end of the first year. 5.3.b Measurable Objectives and Assessments Uploaded to web-based system 5.4 Partnerships, Collaboration and Sustainability 5.4.a Community Notice As part of the Advisory board, the PD will share Information with community members and stakeholders on a monthly basis. The PD will post notification of award on the district’s website within one month of award notification. The website will be utilized to inform the community and stakeholders of the program’s activities and events. The sight will serve to promote the positive outcomes and highlight experiences of students in the after school St. Lucie Public Schools: S.T.E.A.M.-ing Ahead Education the Whole Child 6 program. A hyperlink will connect to programs at each school site allow stakeholders to be informed of all program events and activities. Site coordinators are responsible for maintaining their webpage making monthly updates to inform stakeholders of upcoming events and progress toward program objectives. Additional communication will include distributing information to the targeted population through the use of but not limited to the public address announcements at each site; articles in parent newsletters; posters; and flyers. 5.4.b 21st CCLC Advisory Board The district’s 21st CCLC PD met monthly with each schools’ SAC to inform the committee of the program and solicit input. Each of the four public school sites, C.A. Moore Elementary, Lawnwood Elementary, Floresta Elementary and Weatherbee Elementary has an advisory board. The information shared is about the 21st CCLC and the specific school site. Committee members from each site are encouraged to participate at all 21st CCLC sites. The PD then met with grant project teams at each school to develop program project plans and activities included in this application. Members consist of parents, students, and community partners. These members have continued their roles on SACs as the 21st CCLC Advisory board. 5.4.c Collaboration with Private Schools SLPS has an established annual consultation process for non-public schools and community members to participate in Federal Programs. Invitations were sent by certified mail to non-public schools, a public notice was placed in the newspaper and notification of our intent to submit was published on the district website. The annual meeting was held on March 13, 2015. During the meeting representatives from private schools are given information about how their students and teachers can participate in the 21st CCLC program. St. Lucie Public Schools: S.T.E.A.M.-ing Ahead Education the Whole Child 7 5.4.d Partnerships SLPS has established a list of community partners that are excited to support this project as it is mutually beneficial to students and the community at large. Girl Scouts of America has supported our previous projects and has committed to back our character education and dropout prevention strategies through the delivery of parent workshops in the areas of leadership, math & science and bullying prevention. Fort Pierce Police Department will provide in-kind support through access to youth crime prevention workshops. Riverside Children’s Theatre will provide in-kind support for enrichment activities to include instruction in drama and involvement in the production process. The University of Florida/ IFAS will provide in-kind support for workshops on the environment. St. Lucie School Board Employee Wellness Program will provide in-kind support for students through nutrition based programs to include Fuel Up to Play 60 and the 5-2-1-0 program. 2.) The district will record the value of the in-kind services through documentation provided by its partners. Following federal tax guidelines, partners will describe the services provided, including dates of service. Value of the service will be assessed using real market value. The Project Director (PD) will have the responsibility of maintaining and documenting services provided. 3.) As a school district, several prominent leaders in our organization are directly involved with and support other community agencies by serving on community boards, and community planning teams. It is through these relationships, that our organization will work to identify common needs, and resources to further expand upon and not duplicate services to similar target groups. The Grant Development Team is charged with actively seeking grant funding to support district initiatives with community partners and nonprofit agencies to identify collaborative projects and grant opportunities of mutual benefit. Through this process, we will collaborate with existing partners to maintain and find alternate means to continue their support for activities included in this project. St. Lucie Public Schools: S.T.E.A.M.-ing Ahead Education the Whole Child 8 5.4.e Collaboration with the Regular School Day School Site coordinators will use a 21st CCLC progress monitoring checklist to facilitate communication between regular day teachers and teachers in the after-school program. The checklist will include data elements aligned to grant objectives, including behavior and participation. Program teachers will disseminate progress checklists to regular day teachers and parents bi-weekly. 2.) The PD serves on the school SAC which meets monthly. The PD’s role is to support collaboration with teachers in the after-school program, day school teachers, parents and community. Site coordinators teach during the regular day and can verify and ensure program activities support students in and out of school. PD will collaborate with the Site coordinators and regular day teachers by doing classroom walk through and reviewing progress checklist. PD will do continuous communications with each school to ensure content presented in program aligns with school day curriculum. All PBL activities are tied to a curricular component connected to the district’s scope and sequence and focus calendars which are aligned to the Florida Standards. Such activities will be rich in technology, imagination, innovation and creativity that are designed to make learning easier and more engaging. Content vocabulary, extended reading and comprehension activities will be implemented within the theme of each project. Site coordinators have access to school records and will assist the PD in obtaining data for program evaluation. 3.) All four schools receive Title I funding and will utilize those funds when activities are supplemental to the 21st CCLC program. Most notably, efforts to reach parents through community parent nights will be conducted in conjunction with 21st CCLC family nights to maximize parents’ time and off-set associated costs. If the SAC determined a need to expand after-school services to additional students beyond those included in the grant, it is possible that Title I could coordinate funds to support additional teachers to work in the after-school p 3.) Each school site’s volunteer program and will recruit volunteers for activities when appropriate. St. Lucie Public Schools: S.T.E.A.M.-ing Ahead Education the Whole Child 9 5.4.f Sustainability SLPS will explore engaging in a partnership with community organizations and local foundations such as the YMCA, and Boys and Girls Club to sustain the after-school program for future years at the end of the project. Each school site is eligible for Title I funding. As funds decrease in year three of project, the program proposes to off-set cost of personnel by supplementing with Title I funding, if funds are available. In addition, SLPS will collaborate with the St. Lucie Education Foundation identify additional fund sources and launch a financial campaign to support the after-school initiative. In addition, the St. Lucie Education foundation will submit grant proposals to the following foundations to support continuation of after-school programs: The Kresge Foundation, Hearst Foundation and Helios Foundation 5.5 Program Plan 5.5.a Recruitment and Retention The 21st CCLC program utilizes several tools to recruit students to participate in the after-school program. The PD and site coordinators will develop a multi-media plan to reach students and parents. The PD will broadcast a 21st CCLC segment featured on the St. Lucie County Education channel, WLX-TV in August prior to the start of the school year and again in April before the summer program begins. Site coordinators will share 21st CCLC program information at back-to-school nights held in August and at school required monthly parent involvement meetings. Additionally, each site coordinator is responsible for maintaining a 21st CCLC website. The website will inform stakeholders of program activities, progress and used a multi-media tool for communication. Additional communication will include distributing information to the targeted population through the use of but not limited to the public address announcements at each site; articles in parent newsletters; posters; and flyers. The 21st CCLC plan for retention is by creating engaging and interactive learning environment is of critical importance for this after-school experience. In order to capture student St. Lucie Public Schools: S.T.E.A.M.-ing Ahead Education the Whole Child 10 interest, teachers of the after-school program will collaboratively plan student centered themed activities that are integrated across the English, Language Arts, Reading, Math, Science and Social Studies. Students will have integrated academic experiences and enrichment activities that are developed around a common theme or topic of interest. Teachers at each site will work with the site coordinator to identify themes and resources for each quarter. 5.5b Student Program Activities Project Based Learning Activities: The projects described below were developed by project teams from each school site: C.A. Moore Elementary, Floresta Elementary, Lawnwood Elementary and Weatherbee Elementary. PBL Project #1 is Titled Full STEAM Ahead, Researching Our World Through Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics. According to a student survey conducted at each school in May 2015, students expressed an interest in learning about their environment. Students expressed a need to see “first-hand” how the world has interconnectedness to the land, sea, sky, all living things and non-living things. Teachers will begin the project with students brainstorming ideas to the driving questions: How is everything around me interconnected? How can I make the world a better place? This nine week project will allow students to understand their community first hand as they conduct research by traveling to different community treasures or listening to presenters from such organizations as: Oxbow Center, Manatee Center, Indian River State College Planetarium, and NASA outreach center. One hour each day for a nine week period students will engage in 21st century skills as they collaborate on projects, communicate ideas, think critically about what they are learning and problem solve ways in which the world is connected. When students understand how their education is relevant to their lives and their future careers, they tend to be more engaged and ultimately, more successful. Project # 2 Wellness: Mind, Body, and Soul St. Lucie Public Schools: S.T.E.A.M.-ing Ahead Education the Whole Child 11 The enrichment activities will include physical movement, spiritual wellness, and educational guidance for overall personal success. The goal of Mind, Body and Spirit will be to ensure that students are healthy in life and are ready to learn. Staff will promote healthy behaviors (such as, maintaining a healthy weight and choosing to be physically active), selecting healthy nutrition and reduce risk-taking behaviors. Wellness: Mind, Body and Spirit will support SLPS elementary schools students, parents and community. This will include educating students about healthy food choices, and adding physical activity into their daily lives. Programs implemented will provide students with opportunities to learn about healthy foods, discover what it means to have a healthy mind and healthy spirit. Students will also engage in physical activities as they learn how to keep their mind, body and spirit healthy. Students’ typical day in the afterschool program is 2. 5 hours each day Monday-Friday. Students eat their snack or meal, then participate in PBL activities daily for a minimum of one hour. During the remaining hours in the program, students will participate in activities that support PBL projects as teachers weave high interest themes in the arts, music, and recreational activities to expand the depth of students learning outside PBL activities when possible. Additional activities will include tutoring and Mentoring, Physical Education, Dropout Prevention and Character Education, Arts and Music Education. These activities take place all over the campus. Students will be divided into subgroups by grade level. Each sub group will participate in distinct hands-on, project-based units. Activities will occur 5 days per week during the program. Students participating in extracurricular activities will receive their academic component through the 21st CCLC program allowing them to participate in the activity through their personal enrichment period of the program 30 minutes daily. St. Lucie Public Schools: S.T.E.A.M.-ing Ahead Education the Whole Child 12 5.5.c Adult Family Member Program Activities Involving parents to be a part of the school community assists in parents taking ownership of the school which is important for a successful after-school program. Parental involvement and family literacy will be provided based on the needs of the parents, students and school communities. Each school has its own specific needs; however, common elements from school improvement plans, Title I needs assessments, school based leadership teams and input from SACs was used to develop the topics described. 21st CCLC and Title I will work collaboratively to promote parent and family involvement activities to increase regular attendance. Dissemination and collection of parent surveys will provide an additional resource for identifying family concerns and needs used to adjust workshop topics. Below is a proposed calendar of monthly topics: Science Fair projects, Surviving FCAT, Understanding College and Career Readiness, Assessments and Impact, Career Exploration, Literacy in the Home, and college nights. In order to meet these needs 21st CCLC programs will offer a minimum of six quality workshops for a minimum of one hour at various times in the evenings or on a weekend, at the child’s school site or at an alternative site that may be better suited to increase parent attendance. The parents will be activity involved in an activity with their child or learn about various topics that were marked on parent surveys. The PD and site coordinator will coordinate with school district resources such as the Parent Academy and Title I Parent Resource Center to maximize resources to increase parent engagement. 5.5.d Staffing and Professional Development The 21st CCLC program will employ teachers at a ratio of 12:1 for academic projects and 20:1 for personal enrichment activities The PD supports the project by working directly with 21st CCLC site coordinators, program teachers, and school leadership at each center site. A portion of this position will be supported with grant funds. The PD will be the principal contact St. Lucie Public Schools: S.T.E.A.M.-ing Ahead Education the Whole Child 13 for the evaluator to gain access to student and school data needed for conducting the formative and summative evaluation. Additional responsibilities include: budget oversight and progress monitoring. Site Coordinators: Are responsibilities include: daily program operation, personnel scheduling, staff development, and progress monitoring. After-school Teacher: Certified teachers are responsible for preparing, planning, implementing and evaluating program activities. Teachers also ensure 21st CCLC students are afforded a safe learning environment. Parent Liaison: This person will be responsible for bridging the home and school, and afterschool program through regular communication with parents. The Parent Liaison also provide another layer of safety for students in the 21st CCLC as they monitor student pick-up processes. All 21st CCLC personnel will comply with the hiring practices of SLPS which requires instructional and non-instructional employees who are hired or contracted to fill positions requiring direct contact with students in any district school or program must undergo a background screening. Fingerprints are submitted to the Department of Law Enforcement for statewide criminal and juvenile records checks and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for federal criminal records checks. A person who is found ineligible for employment or otherwise found through background screening to have been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude as defined by rule of the State Board of Education, shall not be employed, engaged to provide services, or serve in any position that requires direct contact with students. All personnel employed to work in the 21st CCLC program will have the proper state certification for the subjects taught, which is reviewed and approved by the district’s personnel department. Qualifications of staff providing instruction in the academic core areas will be certified by the standards/criteria set forth by the state of Florida. The PD will ensure the program hires certified teachers. The program hires teachers that are certified and have a passion and interest in the subject matter they are teaching. St. Lucie Public Schools: S.T.E.A.M.-ing Ahead Education the Whole Child 14 To ensure our teachers are successful implementing program strategies, they will receive professional development in planning for collaborative projects, progress monitoring, and behavioral strategies. Initial training will occur prior to the program start date with follow up training at the end of the first quarter. The PD will coordinate professional development with training department along with the project evaluator to provide teachers training to address the learning needs of program’s students. Each sites’ School Advisory Committee, (SAC) will serve as the program’s 21st CCLC Advisory board. The PD will meet monthly with each site’s Advisory Board includes representation from parents, educators, site coordinators, community agencies, community members and students. 5.5.e Program Site (Center) The after-school programs at the four school sites will operate at the following times during the regular school year: C.A. Moore Elementary (3:30 pm-6:00 pm), Floresta Elementary (3:15 pm-5:45 pm), Lawnwood Elementary (3:30 pm-6:00 pm) and Weatherbee Elementary (3:15 pm-5:45 pm) for a total of 12.5 hours per week. The 21st CCLC program will begin operation on Monday, August 31, 2015 at all sites and end Monday, May 23, 2016. Program will operate for 2.5 hrs daily after-school for five days per week (Monday through Friday). The student teacher ratio for content programing is 12:1. The program will run 36 weeks during the school year. The summer program will operate 5 hours per day (8:00-1:00 pm) for 25 hours a week, five days per week beginning June 6 and ending July 1, 2016. The program will use the entire school site. The activity will depend on the facility used. The 21st CCLC summer program is a continuation of, and an extension to, the regular school year after school program and will provide the same scope and services as the regular school year program, but the students from each school site identified in the grant, may be housed at one central school site in the north county, and one central school site in the south St. Lucie Public Schools: S.T.E.A.M.-ing Ahead Education the Whole Child 15 county. Data for each grant site will still be individually collected and reported as if the site were still located at the regular year school site. The summer site will operate as 3 individual programs. These summer sites will be determined by the school district in the spring of 2016, based on the needs and services of the district as a whole." 5.5.f Safety and Student Transportation Safety measures at each public school site include students and teachers adhering to the dismissal processes of the regular school day. Teachers from day school and after-school program monitor school corridors while students walk from their regular school day classrooms the starting location of the 21st CCLC program the cafeteria. Teachers meet their students in the cafeteria, record attendance and then escort them to their classroom which is confined to one wing of the school. When the program ends teachers escort students to the bus loop and supervise that all students leave in a parent/guardian’s vehicle. If a parent/guardian removes the student from the program early, the parent will provide the appropriate documentation and record removal in the sign-in/out log. All school buildings are monitored through multiple onesite cameras which are monitored by district security. School doors are locked from the outside, directing all outside traffic to one entry point, allowing program staff and other school personnel to be aware of all individuals on campus. Students enrolled in another public or private school site interested in enrolling in a 21st CCLC program must make arrangements for travel to the school site. It is the responsibility of the child’s parent/guardian to provide transportation as the program cannot afford the cost of transporting children from site to site. If a child is transported from another school site, the site program coordinator will arrange for the program’s parent/community liaison to wait for the child at the designated drop-off location and escort the child to the cafeteria. While transporting students from the 21st CCLC program to home would be an added convenience for parents, it is not cost prohibitive for the project, and if funded through this grant would deplete any funds to St. Lucie Public Schools: S.T.E.A.M.-ing Ahead Education the Whole Child 16 support the operation of an after-school program. The district has successfully operated numerous after-school programming opportunities without the support of transportation, including six 21st CCLC programs without any enrollment issues. Off campus travel for program activities is contracted through SLPS’s transportation department and requires parent permission. All documentation, safety and security practices, including sign out by parent are aligned with the School District’s policy and are in place at each school site under the supervision of the Site Coordinator. (d) Programs operate in public school buildings used educating public school students during the regular school day and therefore guarantees compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. As such, all the classrooms in use have met all the safety and ADA requirements. 5.5.g. Dissemination Plan As part of the Advisory board, the PD will share Information with community members and stakeholders on a monthly basis. The PD will post notification of award on the district’s website within one month of award notification. The website will be utilized to inform the community and stakeholders of the program’s activities and events. The site will serve to promote the positive outcomes and highlight experiences of students in the after school program. A hyperlink will connect to programs at each school site allow stakeholders to be informed of all program events and activities. Site coordinators are responsible for maintaining their webpage making monthly updates to inform stakeholders of upcoming events and progress toward program objectives. Additional communication will include distributing information to the targeted population through the use of but not limited to the public address announcements at each site; articles in parent newsletters; posters; and flyers. Section 6 Project Budget Adequate funding and resources are essential to the provision of comprehensive and effective services, activities, and programs. Needs assessment data was used to substantiate program St. Lucie Public Schools: S.T.E.A.M.-ing Ahead Education the Whole Child 17 goals, objectives, and activities designed to offer students a research-based, conceptually sound, and unique approach to the improve student achievement. Effective funding strategies were established with input from program staff, and careful analysis of program goals, objectives, needs, and proposed activities. To ensure that budgeted items are adequate and suited to program goals, existing resources were carefully examined to determine program relativity and congruency. New resources to be purchased will undergo the same careful examination. The Budget Narrative (DOE 101) provides a brief explanation of the basis for estimating the cost of each budgeted category. To successfully implement the unique elements, methodology, and structure of the 21st CCLC program, a significant portion of grant funds is used to employ adequate personnel at a low-teacher pupil ratio. Additional dollars are requested to provide supplemental materials for project activities, supplies, equipment, printing, and travel. Each site will be adequately staffed and equipped with varied and numerous materials to support hands-on project based learning activities. The majority of materials are not consumable, and those that may need additional supplements from year to year are at a minimum costs. Therefore, it is reasonable to state the first two years of the program is designed to develop a sustainable program activities are cost effective for the district to maintain after the grant period has ended. Budget Narrative Form (DOE 101S) See Attached