The following 21st Century Community Learning Centers programs, supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Education, are examples of how local communities across the country are meeting the need for safe and smart after-school activities that serve young people of all ages. These examples are by no means exhaustive; they are intended to illustrate the kinds of after-school programs that are working in schools and communities.
Community Learning Centers provide these expanded learning opportunities for participating children in safe, drug-free and supervised environments. Enabling schools to stay open longer, they are places where children have access to:

• Homework centers;
• Intensive mentoring in basic skills;
• Drug and violence prevention counseling;
• Help for preparing to take college prep courses in high school;
• Academic, artistic and cultural enrichment activities;
• Technology education programs; and
• Services relating to disabilities.

A key feature of each after-school program on the following pages is the partnerships they have with other organizations. Several of the examples are in schools that use after-school and in-school programs together to provide quality learning opportunities and to improve student achievement.