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Weekly Media Roundup

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Weekly Media Roundup

Student Champ: How Chess Changed My Life (Washington Post’s The Answer Sheet blog, District of Columbia)
Pobo Efekoro, one of the stars of the award-winning documentary Brooklyn Castle, wrote a blog post for The Answer Sheet on his experiences in afterschool. He credits chess and the other afterschool programs he was a part of in Brooklyn with shaping him into the person he is today and credits them with helping him meet Jon Stewart! He writes, “I gained the ability to be patient through sitting down at the chessboard and just being able to sit there for hours analyzing the different positions I was presented with. Also, I gained the ability to plan. I can plan ahead and plan how I will execute certain objectives and get to where I need to go in life. The chess program has also given me a resounding work ethic. I’m always working all the time doing things that are constructive for me and for other people and that’s very important. The chess program was also a great place for me to socialize with my friends after a hard day’s work in the classroom. All of these key skills I learned from the game of chess, and the chess program at I.S.318 helped me become who I am today.”
 
In a column for the Las Vegas Sun, Clark County School District Superintendent Dwight Jones writes about how the fiscal cliff could impact Las Vegas. “Our community cannot afford further cutbacks in school funding. The School District would be forced to reduce positions and programs that serve our neediest students, such as after-school programs, homeless student services, reading and math intervention programs, preschool programs and services for English Language Learners… I ask that Nevada’s members of Congress work to find an agreement to avoid these devastating budget cuts.”
 
NBA super star Chris Paul surprised afterschool students at La Salle Elementary School in Los Angeles last week with Christmas gifts and a pizza party. After Paul was traded from the New Orleans Hornets, he wanted to continue to give back to the community. “The son of two hard-working parents, Paul and his older brother are products of before- and after-school programs and he understands first-hand their importance and impact,” the Los Angeles Daily News reports. “For us, it's sort of where we were molded,” Paul said. “It’s where we learned values and did homework and arts and crafts.”
 
At the Women in Technology Workshop at Mildred E. Strang Middle School, (MESMS) IBM women facilitators showed afterschool students how to make lip gloss, body wash, perfume, pocketbooks, shoes and more and then guided students through presentations to introduce their products, including what they used to make the products, marketing plans, etc. “This workshop is a great opportunity for girls to work closely with the women from IBM and to learn more about what is available to them in the field of technology,” Megan Kalogris, a science teacher at MESMS, told the Yorktown Daily Voice.

Weekly Media Roundup: February 26, 2025

Discover How the Leaps After School Program is Transforming Lives at Harrison Elementary, News Channel 9 (Tennessee) At Harrison Elementary’s Leaps After School Program in Chattanooga, Tennessee, students are publishing a newspaper focusing on Black historical figures to be displayed...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      02/26/25

Weekly Media Roundup: February 19, 2025

Durham Teens Fight for After-School Program Funding Amid Youth Gun Violence: 'My Safe Space,' ABC 11 (North Carolina) In Durham, North Carolina, teenagers rallied together to urge Durham City Council members to increase funding for afterschool programs, sharing how critical these...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      02/19/25

Weekly Media Roundup: February 12, 2025

'He Invests His Own Money': After School Program Started by Pasco School Employee Still Going Strong, WFTS-TV (Florida) In the 1980s, Eugene Scott founded an afterschool program called This Is How We Do It to provide food, music, dance, mentorship and more to students in his Pasco County...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      02/12/25

Weekly Media Roundup: February 5, 2025

Claysburg-Kimmel Touts New Programs for Students, Altoona Mirror (Pennsylvania) Students at the Bulldog After-School Club in Claysburg, Pennsylvania are participating in new educational activities with a Beam mobile projector that transforms the center into an interactive visual playground. The...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      02/05/25

Weekly Media Roundup: January 29, 2025

Afterschool Program Introduces West Columbia Students to Technology, The Facts (Texas) Students at West Columbia Elementary in Texas are taking part in hands-on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activities in the new Robocatters afterschool program, which already has a long...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/29/25

Weekly Media Roundup: January 22, 2025

Another Year, Another Long Waitlist for BUSD After-School Program, Berkeleyside (California) Due to ongoing staffing shortages, more than 200 students are currently waitlisted for afterschool programs at Berkeley Unified School District. Parents in the district’s PTA Collaborative on...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/22/25

Weekly Media Roundup: January 15, 2025

New 4-H Program Will Bring STEAM to Area Students, KNEB (Nebraska) Students in rural Expanding Learning Opportunity programs in Nebraska are exploring aerospace, electronics, engineering, robotics and more thanks to a partnership with 4-H. The Think Make Create Lab is a six-by-12 mobile trailer...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/15/25

Weekly Media Roundup: January 8, 2025

Parks and Recreation Secures Grant to Bring Physical Activity Education to Youth in Afterschool Program, WBIW (Indiana) More than 50 students in the Banneker Afterschool program in Bloomington, Indiana are taking part in fun physical activities this year led by Indiana University School of...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/08/25

Weekly Media Roundup: December 18, 2024

Mason City YMCA Teaching Social and Emotional Skills to Kids, News-Press Now (Iowa) Students in the Mason City YMCA afterschool program in Iowa practice communication, emotional regulation, empathy and more in twice-weekly social and emotional learning sessions, learning, for instance, to take...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      12/18/24

Weekly Media Roundup: December 11, 2024

Usher Helps Cut Ribbon On New Content Studio at Metro Boys and Girls, WSB-TV (Georgia) This week, superstar Usher visited the Whitehead Boys & Girls Club in Atlanta, Georgia, to unveil a new content studio he donated featuring soundboards, mics, computers and other audio equipment. The...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      12/11/24