Waukegan Community Unit School District # 60, in collaboration with its partner agencies, was recently selected as a recipient of the 2022 Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant, which will help provide additional afterschool programming to 400 Waukegan students.

District 60 will partner with Serenity Life Fitness, Three Brothers Theatre, the UMMA Center, the Chocolate Chips Association and YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, as part of the $3 million grant. The program will provide after school educational opportunities and enrichment activities to students who are in need of academic support for 28 weeks each school year for the next five years. Students will receive enrichment in STEM, dance, theater, and social-emotional learning. 

Approximately 400 students at Jack Benny Middle School, Carman-Buckner Elementary School, Clearview Elementary School, and Lyon Magnet Elementary will participate in the program, which begins March 1. 

A primary purpose of the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant is to help students meet state and local student standards in core academic subjects, such as reading and math, while offering enrichment activities that can complement their regular academic programs; and offering literacy and other educational services to the families of participating students.

Students will be selected to participate based upon recommendations from building educators and school leadership. If additional seats remain, they will be open to the general student populations at the school on a first-come, first-served basis.