The Douglas County School System & Communities In Schools of Douglas County currently operates eight 21st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) Grant Programs that serve 23 schools. These grants were awarded by the Georgia Department of Education through a competitive grant process. The 21st CCLC Program was developed to provide federal funds to local schools and organizations to operate after school programs for the purpose of:
- Providing opportunities for academic enrichment and tutorial services for students
- Offering students a broad array of additional services, programs, and activities to reinforce and complement the regular academic program
- Offering families of 21st CCLC students opportunities for literacy and related educational development
- Targeting students who are in need of additional academic assistance
In July of 2020, DCSS was awarded a grant titled Lithia Cohort which serves Annette Winn, Beulah, and Lithia Springs Elementary Schools. The programs provided through this grant serve students in grades three through five.
The STAR grant, awarded in July of 2019, serves 3rd - 5th graders at Arbor Station and Winston Elementary Schools, and 2nd - 5th graders at Dorsett Shoals Elementary. The Factory Transition grant serves 1st- 5th graders at Factory Shoals Elementary. The SUCCESS grant serves students in grades three through five at Bright Star and North Douglas Elementary Schools. These grants were awarded in July of 2019 and are funded for five years. The district received several new grants in July of 2019 serving students at Eastside serving 3rd - 5th grade & Burnett Elementary Schools targeting students in kdg-5th grade under the SMART grant.
The FOCUS grant serves students at Chapel Hill, Turner, and Chestnut Log. Factory Transition serves students at Factory Shoals Middle School. All six of these sites serve qualifying students in grades six through eight. These schools include a 6th-grade transition component for students during the school year and summer. Stewart Middle was newly awarded in July of 2019 under the SMART grant serving 6th - 8th graders.
The district was awarded two grants in July of 2022. One grant is called CHAMPS which serves students at Douglas County High School, Mason Creek Elementary, and Yeager Middle. The second is the SOAR grant which serves students at Mt. Carmel Elementary, Sweetwater Elementary, and Lithia Springs High School. Factory Manchester Transition was a new award in July of 2019 for New Manchester High School. These new grants focus on STEM and college and career readiness for students in grades 2nd - 5th for at the elementary sites and 9th-12th grade at the high schools.
Each grant site provides students with a wide variety of after-school activities such as academic tutoring, homework assistance, academic enrichment sessions, and cultural/fine arts education, technological and character education. The program also provides students with opportunities to participate in summer camps, field trips, and presentations on topics such as life skills, academic motivation, college and career prospects, drug awareness, conflict resolution, and violence/gang prevention. All students receive a daily snack and are provided with transportation home each day. Strong emphasis is placed on intensive academic tutoring, remediation, acceleration, and enrichment activities. All activities correlate with the Georgia Standards of Excellence to ensure program activities correlate with the school day and meet the individual needs of each participant.
For more information about the 21st Century Community Learning Center Program grant applications, please contact Mitzi Teal, Executive Director of Communities In Schools of Douglas County and the 21st CCLC Project Director, at 770.651.2039 or email her at [email protected]. Please contact individual schools regarding student eligibility requirements. The district plans to re-apply for the following grants that expire at the end of June 2024 - SMART, STAR, SUCCESS, FOCUS, and Factory Transition. Applications with the DOE will be submitted sometime in January 2024.
For questions or concerns in relation to program spending or suspected misappropriation of these federal dollars, please contact the Douglas County School System finance office or call 770-651-2262.
The Georgia Department of Education (DOE) requires all grantees to post the current external evaluation reports on the website. Each participating school will have reports specific to its school. The following reports links were the end-of-year grant evaluation reports submitted to the DOE in June.
Partnership between:
