GOFFSTOWN — The Allard YMCA will offer an after-school program at Mountain View Middle School this fall for kids in Grades 5 through 8.

Michelle Shepherd, the Goffstown YMCA's director, said School's Out was formed after they were contacted by Crispin's House, which was forced to end its after-school program at Mountain View in 2011.

“Would we be willing to either take on the site at Mountain View Middle School, or would we be willing to offer those families an opportunity to come here?” Shepherd said.

Crispin's House, a Goffstown-based non-profit, ended the program after seven years due to state and county budget cuts.

“We believe in the value of after-school programming, especially at the middle school level,” said Kristie Curtis, a board member at Crispin's House.

Curtis said they plan to provide scholarships for School's Out, above and beyond what the Y already provides for low-income people in town.

Al Baines, president of Crispin's House, said cuts over the last few years made the program unsustainable. “It's unfortunate that the drug and addiction prevention programs, which is basically what this is ... it's a shame (elected officials) don't recognize the needs to provide services to the kids in the state to keep them out of trouble.”

“After-school programs are proven to reduce the rate of juveniles getting in trouble,” Baines said. “It reduces that dramatically.”

After their program's closure, Crispin's House officials approached the school district to discuss the need. The YMCA stepped up to the plate.

Working with school officials and staff at Crispin's House, the YMCA is pursuing a state license to open on Sept. 5.

Shepherd said most parents prefer picking kids up at the school rather than at the Y, which currently offers a series of after-school activities.

The age group targeted with School's Out consists of the statistically most at-risk children, Shepherd said, and no other after-school programs for middle school kids are available in town.

“We hope that the children are engaged in other activities or they're going home to a supervised environment,” she said. This age group “is where children don't have some type of good role modeling, some type of good organized activity. They tend to track into (destructive) behaviors.”

Shepherd said the program is not a baby-sitting service. It will include homework help, leadership development, cooking, sports and a weekly field trip to the Y where kids can swim and play tennis, among other activities.

Internal field trips are also on the agenda, where guest speakers will conduct workshops and presentations.

Shepherd said the concept of “choice time centers” is central to School's Out. “Because they're at an age where they really want to test their independence, and they're also trying to figure out where they fit, we usually work with the kids to do an inventory of their interest levels, and then we try to work with having different options and choices for the group to have its activities.”

Though School's Out will end with the school year, the Y offers programs such as Teen Scene for kids Grades 6 through 8 through the summer.

The cost for the School's Out program is $50 a week, or $15 on a daily basis, in addition to a $30 registration fee.

Financial assistance is available for eligible families, who are encouraged to contact the Y's childcare director Michelle Goodnow at mgoodnow@yogm.org.

People can also call the Goffstown YMCA at 497-4663.

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