Weekly Media Roundup: June 2, 2016

After-School Program for Newport Kids Experiencing Homelessness Ends the Year with Artistic Flourish (WCPO, Kentucky)

Over the last few months, an afterschool program has showed students experiencing homelessness that they have the power to make a difference in their communities. Club Diversity Wildcats students learned about cultures from around the world and eventually created a set of colorful, diversity-themed murals to adorn the outside of Newport Middle School. “Art is a powerful tool for changing lives,” lead artist Linda Schneider-Houghton told WCPO. “My goal is for these kids to come back here with their own children one day and for it to give them self-esteem for the rest of their lives.”

After-School Program Teaches Peace Education (WJLA, District of Columbia)

Students in One Common Unity’s afterschool program are learning conflict resolution skills through poetry, music, meditation and art. The program, based out of Wilson High School in Washington D.C., uses arts-based programming to teach young people how to solve their problems peacefully, how to handle stress and build their confidence. “It’s a good program that kind of reminds you to think before you say,” 11th-grader Isaiah King told WJLA. A second afterschool program through One Common Unity, Fly by Light, tries to connect inner-city youth to the great outdoors, even offering a week-long retreat in the summer.

Connecting Children to Nature Initiative Builds Off Current City Programs (Wisconsin State Journal, Wisconsin)

Each week during the school year, Sherman Middle School students trekked through Warner Park with their University of Wisconsin student “co-explorers” as part of an afterschool program designed to support park preservation. The program is part of a larger trend in environmental programming in Madison, fueled by a $25,000 grant from the National League of Cities and the Children & Nature Network for the Cities Connecting Children to Nature Initiative aimed at getting more low-income and minority youth outside. “Nature is not always a top priority for cities, but it can be,” Children & Nature Network director of strategic initiatives Margaret Lamar told the Wisconsin State Journal.

Make Some Noise (Westchester County Journal News, New York)

A new recording studio at the Nyack Center will give low-income students the opportunity to create and record their own music under the supervision of experienced professionals. In the new recording studio and afterschool program, young people will learn about voice overs, audio engineering and video and music production from more than 15 local professionals, including broadcasters, sound engineers and producers. “I hope to spend my time helping teens learn new skills they can take and use going forward,” sound engineer Ed Willock told the Journal News. “It’s going to give the kids a place to bring their creative outlets and to learn the technical skills to produce themselves.”