Red Cloud program selected for national research study

posted on August 22, 2012

A letter from the U.S. Department of Education recently informed Red Cloud Elementary School administration that their 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) program was selected for participation in a nationwide research study.

The study will focus on four content-specific topic areas of after-school and summer programming: 1. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), 2. English Learners (EL), 3. Career and Technical Education (CTE), and 4. structures to increase learning time.

The Department’s letter stated, “Your program has been selected as an example of a 21st CCLC program demonstrating strong promise in CTE, and is one of only 15 programs that we will be visiting across the country for this topic area.”

The study will highlight the work of selected 21st CCLC programs in four “Lessons Learned Guides” that will help 21st CCLC programs nationwide improve and refine their practices.

A two-day site visit will be scheduled by the Department during the upcoming school year. This visit will include interviews with key staff, observation of program activities, and collection of relevant program documents.

TJ Lynch, Red Cloud’s Director of 21st Century Programs, was the first to receive the letter, and couldn’t have been more pleased. He said, "We are so proud of our 21st Century coordinators and club moderators for creating an abundance of quality programs for our students. We are equally grateful for the support from Sue Burgard at the SD Department of Education. Finally, we thank the parents and guardians for their role in this partnership, through choosing to send their students to our afterschool and Summer School programs."