Weekly Media Roundup: February 25, 2026

Kalamazoo After-School Program Helps Students Find Their Voice, WOOD-TV (Michigan)

Teens in the New Connections of Kalamazoo afterschool program in Michigan gain exposure to a wide variety of trade careers, including drone technology, cosmetology and electrical work. The church-based program also helps young people express their emotions through writing and music, inspired by education consultant Dr. Kandace Lavender’s experience with hip-hop. “It’s like the music allowed me to express things that I was carrying. It was a channel that I could express pain, and it came out in beauty,” Dr. Lavender told WOOD-TV. “Voice is whatever the language that youth are holding in, that they don’t feel they can express.” 

The Detroit School District Achieved Its Highest Graduation Rate Since 2008 Last Year, Chalkbeat

The Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) credits its multi-tiered approach to raising the city’s four-year graduation rate in 2025 to an all-time high of more than 83%, an increase of nearly five percent from the previous year. The district offers tutoring, credit recovery opportunities and afterschool programs to reduce absenteeism and close the opportunity gap. “This moment is more than a milestone; it is a bold promise of what DPSCD can achieve when we remain aligned, accountable, and courageous in our vision for students,” DPSCD board President LaTrice McClendon told Chalkbeat.

Kids Making It Awarded $900,000 From the Endowment to Expand Youth Programs, WWAY (North Carolina)

Kids Making It, a nonprofit organization in Wilmington, North Carolina, reports that 100% of students in its afterschool program graduate high school and 98% avoid involvement with the juvenile justice system. Thanks to a $900,000 grant from the New Hanover Community Endowment, the organization will expand its programs and plans to hire a licensed therapist at its afterschool program and a skilled trade specialist at its “Woodshop on Wheels” program. “This investment from The Endowment comes at a pivotal moment for Kids Making It,” Executive Director Kevin Blackburn told WWAY, as the organization looks for new funding streams to support its efforts to uplift underserved communities.

Newark Nonprofit Nets $1M To Promote STEM For Youth; Congresswoman Presents Check, Patch (New Jersey)

Last week, U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver presented the United Community Corporation a $1 million check for a federal grant, which will expand afterschool STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) opportunities for Newark students. The new programming will include hands-on opportunities to explore coding and robotics, as well as architectural science and engineering education for students participating in construction training after school. “The $1 million that I fought to bring back to the United Community Corporation will give kids right here at home more opportunities. No matter the zip code they were born in, every scientific innovator was once a curious student who just needed access and support. This project will help support our students to reach their full potential,” Rep. McIver told Patch.