Weekly Media Roundup: August 30, 2023

Oldest Home in Spartanburg Gets $200K for Transformation in an After-School Program, WSPA (South Carolina)

Built in the late 1700s, the Seay House in Spartanburg, South Carolina, is undergoing a major renovation this fall and will reopen as the Brown Girls Read afterschool program early next year. The program provides reading, English and math support to local girls and was looking for the ideal location to house its program. “[We were] wanting to be in a neighborhood where there was access to those people that have issues with transportation and parents that may work long hours,” Brown Girls Read founder Nicke Haney told WSPA. “To be able to provide an education in a historical building that had been run in its later years, by two sisters, by two females, I think is very impactful.”

Lahaina After-School Program Offers a Path to Healing Through Surfing, NBC Nightly News (Hawaii)

Tamara Conniff founded Mana Mentors, a nonprofit afterschool program in Lahaina, Maui, to support students’ wellbeing through surfing, skating and mentorship. After wildfires devastated Maui this summer, she knew the program had an important role to play in helping students and their families heal.  Recently, Mana Mentors organized a family surf day to bring West Maui families together for the first time since the fires. “They don’t know where they’re going to live. They don’t know when their kids’ school is going to be ready. There’s so many unknowns right now. We want to give some certainty in a time when there is no certainty,” Conniff told NBC Nightly News.

Fairfield Receives Grant to Continue After-School Program, Southeast Iowa Union (Iowa)

Thanks to a 21^st Century Community Learning Centers grant, the Fairfield, Iowa school district is expanding its before- and afterschool programs to include an additional elementary school. The programs offer hands-on educational activities, group activities and field trips. “It’s not just free play. The kids think they’re just playing, but they’re also learning,” Katie Boatright, Fairfield’s director of after-school programming, told the Southeast Iowa Union. “It’s kind of like sneaking vegetables into their meals.” The programs also provide local high school students with paid job opportunities and/or community service hours.

Afterschool Expo Allows Parents to Examine Program Benefits, Lufkin Daily News (Texas)

At the Lufkin, Texas Independent School District’s Afterschool Expo last week, parents learned about the 21st Century Texas Afterschool Centers on Education (ACE) programs at ten schools. Children and their families explored offerings including strings, age-appropriate books, crafts, tutoring and more, as well as a volunteer-led Parent Café where parents will meet to share concerns. “We want to ensure parents have somewhere safe where they can just talk about their experiences without being judged,” parent volunteer Samantha Lawson told the Lufkin Daily News.