The impact of Texas area regional training programs on 21st century community learning centers implementation as perceived by district coordinators in selected public school districts in Texas

The major purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of 21 st Century Community Learning Center district coordinators concerning the Texas Area regional training and the skills and knowledge they gained from that training. A secondary purpose was to examine achievement data for participants of 21st Century Community Learning Centers in reading and math on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills test for grades 3--10.;In Texas, there were 66 21st Century Community Learning Centers, 49 of which were collapsed to 47 sites, from which 33 responded (70.2%).;Data were also gleaned to meet the continuing needs of current and future 21st Century Community Learning Center district coordinators and the students they serve. Respondents reported favorable perceptions of the focus area skills provided in the Texas Area training.;The focus area skills were: management, communication, community building, collaboration, integration of K--12 programs and after-school programs, and program evaluation, which includes implementation and sustainability issues. The respondents reported networking opportunities as highly valued and that overall the training had positive impacts upon the implementation of their individual 21st Century Community Learning sites. The data gathered from this study further revealed that male 21st CCLC district coordinators operating in rural or combination sites perceived a greater impact in the area of collaboration than did their counterparts.;Although the data revealed no significant gain in reading achievement, there was significant gain in math reported in sites that were elementary or all grade levels. Secondary sites had no significant gains in reading or math.;21st Century Community Learning Center training can be enhanced by this information as planners: (1) set up topics so that networking opportunities abound, (2) accelerate reading and math achievement in secondary sites, and (3) encourage successful rural collaboration projects for male coordinators.