Literacy is a prevailing challenge of student achievement within urban schools. Capitol City Intermediate School's Extended Day Program, also known as the Real World Learning Program, is an academic after-school program that focuses on literacy. The incoming 4th grade students who have underperformed on the NJSLA 3 assessment are the target population for the Real World Learning Program. Students receive an invitation permission slip for their participation in the 12 week program with a focus on the reading standards and skills in which students underperformed. One of the challenges of the program is the students are not showing up for the extended day program designed for their support. The purpose of this study was intended to understand how student participation was impacted within the academic after-school program for low performing fourth grade students in Capitol City School. It further examined the implementation barriers and structures of the academic after-school program in Capitol City School. The mixed method research study reviewed the records of the district and school database systems to evaluate the impact of the program students' academic gains. Surveys and interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data on the barriers to the extended day program and how planning decisions were made to implement the extended day program. Results of the data analysis were quantitatively inconclusive and the following five themes emerged: 1. Extended day programs build growth capital. 2. Avoidance. 3. Lack of Communication leads to miscommunication. 4. Innovation/creativity triggers motivation. 5. Creating necessary time for more learning. The findings from this mixed method study revealed academic gains that were measurably inconsistent but could beneficially be more than official scores and percentages. The data demonstrated an inconsistent influence on the academic gains in each cohort class of participating students, signaling student participation was not a significant influence on the outcome of the quarterly data examined. It also provided new insight on student participation and program challenges. These findings lead to the improving communication with parents about data and student academic progress to provide parents with a real voice in the academic decisions for their child. It further found that staffing challenges led to program challenges. [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://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]