Caney Valley Elementary's After School Program Sees Drop In Attendance Due To Finances

SLAM is Caney Valley Elementary's after school program where service learning and academics matter. The program has 13 kids this year, which is a major deduction from last year’s 65.

The reason for the drop in average attendance is due to finances.

"The difference is our parents can't afford to pay for an after-school program," said SLAM program director Kacy Medlin.

And for five years they haven't had to. In 2010, the school got a community learning centers grant, but it ran out in June.

Without the grant money, the break-even cost for the program is $80 a month per child. The result is a huge drop in enrollment.

The kids who aren't in the program who would otherwise be enrolled are usually home alone.

"My goal is to try to raise money so parents can continue to send their children to the after-school program," said Courtney Fuller, a parent who created a GoFundMe page to do just that.