The purpose of this basic quantitative study was to examine the impact of the of the regular Afterschool Academic Program (ASAP) had on 341 students in grades first through fifth in four elementary schools before and after program participation for 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 academic school years in a rural public school district located in southeastern United States. Further, the study noted that afterschool programs make a difference for and benefit children, families, and communities. The 8.4 million young children who benefit from these programs are evidence of their value. Yet, millions of others have no afterschool programs available to them. Reading achievement (i.e., reading comprehension and reading fluency) was measured using the Iowa Assessments pre-test and post-test archival data for the two-year period. The independent variable was participation in the regular ASAP. The dependent variables were the Iowa Assessments pre-test and post-test reading achievement scores. The results concluded that participants' scores increased as a result of participation and students made significant gains in reading achievement. Reading achievement gains were measured by post-test assessments that were greater pre-test assessments. First grade students had the lowest means, and fifth grade students had the highest means among all students. More African American students participated than other ethnic groups, and more females participated than males in the study. The social change is children should continue their participation in regular afterschool programs to improve reading comprehension and reading fluency skills. Future considerations are about how school counselors, teachers, and administrators impact afterschool programs. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]