NCLB 21st CCLC Reauthorization

Thursday, July 6, 2006 from 2:00 – 3:30 pm (Eastern Time) This call focused on NCLB 21st CCLC reauthorization and featured Bob Stonehill, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education; Jen Rinehart, Vice President of Research and Policy, Afterschool Alliance; Erica Argersinger, Policy Director, Afterschool Alliance; Heather Padgette, Senior Program Associate, The Finance Project; and Scott Frein, Legislative Coordinator, CCSSO. The call provided an opportunity for SEAs to share ideas related to 21st CCLC reauthorization. On the call, Bob Stonehill from the U.S. Department of Education provided general comments focused on program sustainability and equitable student participation. Jen Rinehart and Erica Argersinger, from the Afterschool Alliance, discussed their organization’s advocacy efforts and proposed initiatives related to 21st CCLC reauthorization. Heather Padgette, from The Finance Project, shared with participants their recent research findings on 21st CCLC sustainability. Scott Frein, from CCSSO, provided an overview of the Council’s ESEA taskforce and our overarching approach to reauthorization. After brief introductions and opening remarks, speakers addressed questions submitted by participants prior to this call and also had an opportunity to ask additional questions as part of the call discussion period. Please download presentation materials and the transcript of the call: 21st Century Community Learning Centers: A Foundation for Progress High School Afterschool: Essential for Extra Learning Impossible Choices: How States are Addressing the Federal Failure to Fully Fund Afterschool Programs FY07 Budget Proposal and NCLB Kids Served May 06 Sustaining 21st Century Community Learning Centers: What Works and How Policymakers Can Help 21st CCLC Analytic Support for Evaluation and Program Monitoring: An Overview of the 21st CCLC Program: 2003-04 21st CCLC Non-regulatory Guidance Transcript of the Audioconference PRESENTER BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION Robert Stonehill Robert Stonehill is Deputy Director for Academic Improvement and Teacher Quality Programs in the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. He manages a $4.5 billion portfolio of initiatives to support comprehensive school reform, provide after-school enrichment programs, and design and deliver programs and initiatives to ensure all teachers are highly qualified, particularly in mathematics and science. Stonehill also directs the U.S. Department of Education's 21st Century Community Learning Centers, which provides over $1 billion a year to support after-school programs in high-need areas. Stonehill previously managed the Regional Educational Laboratories and the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), where he helped pioneer the use of the Internet as a way to reach educators. Jen Rinehart Jen Rinehart is the Vice President of Public Policy and Research at the Afterschool Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of afterschool programs and advocating for quality, affordable programs for all children. Jen joined the Afterschool Alliance in September 2002 and established the Alliance’s Washington DC office. In her role as Vice President of Public Policy and Research, Jen takes a primary role in the Alliance’s coalition-building, policy and research efforts, and serves as a spokesperson for the organization. Recent projects include America After 3 PM: A Household Survey on Afterschool in America and Kids Deserve Better, a campaign to get voters and candidates thinking and talking about children’s issues, particularly afterschool. Prior to joining the Alliance, Jen served for more than five years on the staff of the U.S. Department of Education; primarily as a Project Officer for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program, the principal federal program supporting afterschool. She currently serves on a number of advisory boards of organizations who share the Alliance’s vision of Afterschool for All by 2010. Erica Argersinger As Policy Director for the Afterschool Alliance, Erika Argersinger works with senior leadership to develop policy goals and implement a policy plan that helps advance afterschool for all. She works to communicate the impact of policy on afterschool program providers, children and families and to make recommendations for future policy decisions. Ms. Argersinger has been an advocate for children and families for over 10 years. She has advocated on behalf of immigrant and homeless populations, Head Start children and families, in addition to her focus on child care, afterschool and other family issues. Prior to joining the Alliance, she worked as the Associate Director of Government Affairs at the National Head Start Association where she worked with policy makers and Hill staff on Head Start reauthorization and appropriations and coordinated advocacy activities with state associations and other coalitions. She has worked on and managed political campaigns at the city and state level. Before coming to Washington DC, Ms. Argersinger held public policy positions in both Utah and Massachusetts. She holds a Masters degree in public policy and child development from Tufts University in Massachusetts, and is an Emerging Leaders Fellow with the Children's Defense Fund. Heather Padgette Heather Padgette is a Senior Program Associate at The Finance Project. Her work focuses primarily on The Finance Project’s out-of school time and education projects funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the American Institutes for Research, and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. In this capacity, Ms. Padgette assists in a variety of research, policy tool development, and technical assistance activities that focus on financing and sustaining out-of-school time and community school initiatives. In addition, Ms. Padgette contributes to the Finance Project’s work related to the financing of k-12 education initiatives, including teacher and administrator professional development and comprehensive school reform. Ms. Padgette holds a master’s degree in Public Policy from the Harris School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago. Prior to joining The Finance Project, Ms. Padgette provided a variety of consulting services to school districts and state policymakers on children’s health services. Ms. Padgette has also worked on education reform issues for the Chicago Public Schools and the Consortium on Chicago School Research. Scott Frein Scott Frein is the Legislative Coordinator for the Council of Chief State School Officers. Scott represents the top state education officials across the country as an advocate for many federal and national education programs. The Council has been a leading advocate for No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). On behalf of the Council’s typical policy and regulatory work, Scott has taken leadership on important issues like E-Rate, the Carl D. Perkins Act, and Hurricane Relief, not to mention the continuous funding debate for programs important to state education agencies. Looking ahead to 2007, Scott is working with the Council’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Reauthorization Task Force to ensure that federal law reinforces sound state education practices and to craft a reauthorization proposal. Prior to joining the Council in January 2005, and making the jump into K-12 education, Scott served as the primary lobbyist for the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (also known as: GEAR UP); a college readiness initiative for low-income youth that was created during the 1998 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Scott is a native of central New York and a graduate of Hobart College.

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document last updated 8/21/2009