Trump budget threatens after-school programs for more than 10,000 N.H. students

Fourth-grader Ally Moore was wrapping up her reading homework a little before 4 p.m.

Ally, a student at Abbot-Downing School in Concord, said she probably gets the most help when it comes to writing. But the best part of her after-school program? That’s what comes after homework.

“I like the clubs the best. They’re usually pretty fun – like arts and crafts, or inventing things,” she said.

Next, Ally would go to the cafeteria, where students split into groups of five or six and worked on a Lego challenge. Down the hall in the gym, first- through fifth-graders were inventing sports games and teaching their peers how to play them.

Ally’s after-school program is one of thousands on the chopping block in President Donald Trump’s proposed budget, which zeros out funding for the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant program starting next year.

Read more: http://www.concordmonitor.com/Afterschool-programs-on-the-chopping-block-in-Trump-budget-8931935