What is SMS Excel 2?

Why Excel 2  21st Century Community Learning Program?    

Our School

SMS is a school committed to excellence, striving everyday to create a rich learning environment that meets the 21st century academic rigor required of young adults while providing the social and emotional support needed by young adolescent students.  

The Excel2  program is in place to take excellence to a higher power.

Academic hour provides tutoring or quiet place to study before school. An additional hour of academic support will take place immediately after the last period of the day.  The program ends with one hour of enrichment.  Students may choose the enrichment class they wish to attend as long as they participate in the academic hour.  A snack will be provided as students will remain on campus until 4:45 pm.  There is an afterschool bus route that is similar to the morning bus route.  

Our Vision

21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) Grants strive to build and sustain out of school time learning opportunities that provide academically enriching youth development, while engaging families to be active partners in their child’s success.  Excel 2- 21st Century Community Learning Center programs are currently in 3 Sahuarita Unified School District, Sahuarita Middle School, Sahuarita High School and Wrightson Ridge K-8.  These programs are free to students enrolled in these schools. 

Our school district is committed to offering high quality extended day learning opportunities  for students and their families.  Each site has been awarded a 21st CCLC grant based on a competitive application process that is monitored by ADE.  The grant is a five year cycle of funding that is used for  academic, enrichment, youth development, professional development and family engagement offerings outside of regular school day hours.

21st CCLC is a collaboration with SUSD Community Education and various community partnerships.

ARIZONA’S TITLE IV, PART B (21ST CCLC) 

The Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative is the only federally funded source dedicated exclusively to out-of-school-time programs. Purpose Arizona’s Nita Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) builds and sustains comprehensive out-of-school-time programs that provide high-quality academic enrichment opportunities for students attending high-poverty, low-performing schools. These programs support adult family members in helping their children succeed academically. All funded programs align with state and school goals and specifically assist targeted students in their school day learning objectives. 21st CCLC programs support student participants in meeting the Arizona’s rigorous academic standards.  Authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Title IV, Part B administered by the Arizona Department of Education; the specific purposes of the law are to:

 (1)Provide opportunities for academic enrichment, including providing tutorial services to help students, particularly students who attend low-performing schools, to meet the challenging State academic standards; 

(2)Offer students a broad array of additional services, programs, and activities, such as youth development activities, service learning, nutrition and health education, drug and violence prevention programs, counseling programs, art, music, physical fitness and wellness programs, technology education programs, financial literacy programs, environmental literacy programs, mathematics, science, career and technical programs, internship or apprenticeship programs, and other ties to an in-demand industry sector or occupation for high school students that are designed to reinforce and complement the regular academic program of participating students; and 

(3)Offer families of students served by community learning centers opportunities for active and meaningful engagement in their children’s education, including opportunities for literacy and related education development.