by Kacie Gelino

After school programming for Clay Center elementary students may look different this year.

In past years, students at Lincoln and Garfield Elementary Schools attended after school programs at their respective buildings. The program is known as Project Lead, which is a grant-based program for all local kindergarten through fifth grade students. The program is $30 a month per student and provides after-school care and activities.

This coming school year, however, all students in Clay Center will attend at the Lincoln location. Wakefield School also hosts Project Lead for their local elementary students.

Rayleen Dreher, site director for Lincoln Elementary, has been a part of Project Lead for 11 years.

“It’s a great program for working parents, especially, and it’s a safe place for them to go,” she said.

Students meet directly after school and can stay until 5:35 pm. Parents can retrieve their children earlier if needed. They receive snacks, enrichment activities, social time, academics, and more. They also work on team-building and participate in a variety of activities.

The director of Garfield Elementary’s site, Stephanie Brownell, said they have done community service with older students in past years. Field trips, movies, fishing, and park trips are some of the extra entertainment previously offered, she said.

The Wakefield School site director is Jadyn Wynn.

Students can enroll at any time during the year at the school’s website. Fee schedules and waivers are also available. Scholarship opportunities are obtainable to students who qualify for free or reduced lunches.

Project Lead is offered daily during the school year, including early release days, and for one week during summer break. During inclement weather, if there is no school, Project Lead will also be canceled for the day. The site directors will send an email explaining the program and start dates closer to the beginning of the school year to parents of elementary students.