The 21st Century Community Learning Center Program is a key component in the No Child Left Behind Act. It presents an opportunity for students and their families to continue to learn new skills after the regular school day has ended. The focus of the program is to provide expanded academic enrichment opportunities for children attending low performing schools. Tutorial services and academic activities are designed to help students meet local and state academic standards in subjects such as reading and math. In addition, programs provide youth development activities, drug and violence prevention programs, technology education programs, art, music, and recreational programs. The purpose of this study was to analyze the components of a rural 21st Century Community Learning Center program located in Tazewell, Tennessee, and to determine the impact of the center on the education and welfare of the students and their families who live in this rural town and attend the three Claiborne County schools involved in the grant program. The study focused on the extent to which Claiborne County’s 21st Century Community Learning Center Program was successful in implementing the criteria set forth by the U.S. Department of Education concerning the eight components necessary to be an effective after-school program. The findings from the study indicated that these eight components were being implemented; however, there were also areas of need that should be monitored closely to ensure that the program continues to progress towards becoming an exemplary after-school program.

The purpose of this study was to determine what, if any, associations exist between students' academic success on achievement tests and the predictor variables of students' socioeconomic status, participation in an after-school program, and gender. Middlesboro Intermediate School contains a high number of students who participate in the federal free- or reduced-price school meals program, as well as attend the after-school program. This study factored in the student's academic success on the Kentucky Core Content Test and the socioeconomic status of students based on their qualification for the federal free- or reduced-cost school meals program, their participation in the after-school program, and their gender. This study was based on test results for students in the fourth grade in the areas of math, science, reading, writing on demand, and writing portfolio, as well as the test results for the fifth-grade students in the areas of arts and humanities, practical living-vocational studies, social studies, math, and reading. The entire school population was included except for students never attending the after-school program and students receiving testing modifications on the Kentucky Core Content Test. Based on the analysis of the data and findings of this study, the implementation of an after-school program appears to have benefits for all students regardless of socioeconomic status; however, student success differs by content areas and the number of days of attendance in the after-school program.