Weekly Media Roundup: April 17, 2019

Project Aims to Help Students Fall in Love with Math, The Brunswick News (Georgia)

In the Roosevelt Lawrence Community Center afterschool program in Brunswick, Georgia, elementary students tackle math concepts through hands-on games and interactive lessons. Teacher candidates from the College of Coastal Georgia lead the activities with help from Assistant Professor of Mathematics Courtney Miller. Miller created the partnership to give the college students more teaching experience and to spark elementary students’ interest in math. “I was one of these students — low income, African American,” Miller told the Brunswick News. “It just so happened that I fell in love with math. And if I can help somebody else fall in love with math, it’s all good.”

Cameron Community Ministries Fighting to Reach At-Risk Youth, Rochester First (New York)

To counter students’ exposure to violent crime in their daily lives, Cameron Community Ministries in Rochester, New York, will soon expand its afterschool programming for elementary school students to reach middle and high schoolers as well. A new teen center, set to open in September, will offer afterschool programming that features tutoring, music, nutrition education, community gardening, mentorship and more. “We show really positive outcomes for our young kids,” Executive Director Jennifer Muniga told Rochester First. “So we know that should continue for the older kids. If we can stay in their lives, there's no reason that they won't succeed in high school and beyond.”

DC Nonprofit Helps Disadvantaged Children Learn Tennis, Life Skills, Voice of America

Every day after school, students ages eight to 18 arrive at the Washington Tennis and Education Foundation to practice their tennis skills. But while learning and playing the game, students also learn life skills, develop relationships with mentors and take part in activities ranging from chess to robotics. A few students have become professional tennis players, and many more have received scholarships for college. Eighteen-year-old student Xxavir Boone told Voice of America the program has taught him perseverance, “because anything can happen during a match. It teaches you to just kind of push through life. You might be down right now, but you can always pick it up sooner or later. Everyone here is doing very well in school, and that just has everything to do with tutors and teachers we have here.”

After-School Program Hosted at Jones Center, KNWA (Arkansas)

In early April, students in the Camp War Eagle afterschool program in Springdale, Arkansas, roleplayed a wide variety of professional scenarios including conducting a news conference and correcting an employee. The students were contending for a college scholarship in a unique competition called The Amazing Shake, which they had practiced for throughout the year. Camp Director Ben Rediske told KNWA that preparing for the competition teaches students “how to give a good a good handshake, or how to interact with an adult whenever you first meet them – just really important things that are lifelong skills that these students are learning in elementary school at our afterschool program.”