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Weekly Media Roundup: February 6, 2019

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Weekly Media Roundup: February 6, 2019

Viroqua, La Farge After-School Programs Join Forces for New Journaling Activity, Lacrosse Tribune (Wisconsin)

A new initiative in Wisconsin called the After-School Journal Buddy Program aims to improve students’ literacy abilities and social skills at the same time. The program will pair afterschool program students from two adjacent towns and assign them the same eight picture books to read. The students will send journals back and forth about the books they are reading and then meet at a picnic featuring a local children’s book author. “It fills both of our goals of getting the kids to read, but not in a school-like way," Coordinator Mary Mulvaney-Kemp told the Lacrosse Tribune.

Hey Kid! You've Got the Power!, Lowell Sun (Massachusetts)

Each year, students in the Teen BLOCK (Building Leadership Opportunities, Community and Knowledge) afterschool program in Massachusetts develop their leadership skills through service-learning projects centered around a social issue they select. To create space for broader discussions, the program recently hosted its first RevoYOUTHtion youth conference. Students in grades seven through 12 gathered to discuss issues ranging from mental health to racism, and March For Our Lives Boston organizer Vikiana Petit-Homme served as the keynote speaker. “It was an engaging and enlightening experience that connected me to my peers at a revolutionary level,” student Sydney Cheboryot told the Lowell Sun. “I delved into my own mind to cement and change opinions through others’ information.”

Club Helps Students Develop Green Thumbs, Laughlin Nevada Times (Nevada)

In 4-H afterschool programs in Laughlin, Nevada, students cut and transplant ivy plants, learn about the benefits of various soil options and make new friends in the process. In addition to building students’ interest in science, the programs aim to teach teamwork and communication as students collaborate on hands-on projects. “We are not duplicating what the kids are doing in the classroom; we are supplementing it,” instructor Will Douglas told the Laughlin Nevada Times. “So, when the kids are in science and are learning about botany, they can come here and apply it.”

Minneapolis Teacher Uses Brain Games to Hone Students' Focus, Star Tribune (Minnesota)

Wearing Velcro-strap sensors that can detect brain waves, children in the “Focus for Success” afterschool program in Minneapolis attempt to focus for as long as possible to control the movements of fish in a computer game. The program uses NASA-inspired neurofeedback video games as well as coloring, journaling and mindfulness activities to teach students to concentrate on tasks for longer periods of time. Second-grade teacher Brianna Jensen created the program to help students improve their academics and behavior in a fun, unique environment. “The idea is that by participating in those activities, then the kids are slowly making changes to how their brain acts and how their body responds so that during the school day it will transfer to academics and into the school setting,” Jensen told the Star Tribune.

Weekly Media Roundup: March 20, 2024

Matthew McConaughey and ASU Are Helping an Arizona School District. Here's How, Arizona Republic (Arizona) Matthew McConaughey and Arizona State University (ASU) have teamed up to help a Phoenix-area school district apply for federal afterschool funding included in the Bipartisan Safer...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      03/20/24

Weekly Media Roundup: March 13, 2024

English Learners Stopped Coming to Class During the Pandemic. One Group is Tackling the Problem By Helping Their Parents, Hechinger Report In North Carolina, nearly one third of English language learning students were chronically absent last year, a rate significantly higher than the...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      03/13/24

Weekly Media Roundup: March 6, 2024

Charlotte Afterschool Program Aims to Break Cycle of Youth Crime and Violence, WBTV (North Carolina) In response to the 33 percent rise in juvenile gun violence in Charlotte, North Carolina, county leaders presented The Way Forward plan to city council members this week. The plan includes...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      03/06/24

Weekly Media Roundup: February 28, 2024

Program Designed to Boost Reading Rates in NW Tallahassee is Reaching More Students, WTXL (Florida) At Springwood Elementary School’s afterschool program in Tallahassee, Florida, students are paired with volunteers from United Way’s ReadingPals program, working together to improve...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      02/28/24

Weekly Media Roundup: February 21, 2024

Missoula After-School Program for BIPOC Youth Creating Next Generation of Leaders, KTVQ-TV (Montana) At the Association for BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) Youth afterschool program in Missoula, Montana, students of color build community, take part in mindfulness activities, and develop...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      02/21/24

Weekly Media Roundup: February 14, 2024

Viewpoint: Invest in Out-of-School Programs to Help Solve State’s Educational Challenges, South Bend Tribune (Indiana) Indiana lawmakers are considering continuing the state’s pandemic-era investments in out-of-school time learning, including afterschool and summer learning programs....

BY: Magen Eissenstat      02/14/24

Weekly Media Roundup: February 7, 2024

Rangers Star Welcomes Kids to the Ice in After School Program, NBC4 (New York) With help from a donation from the Garden of Dreams Foundation, 50 students in the WHEDco (Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation) afterschool program in the South Bronx are lacing up skates and...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      02/07/24

Weekly Media Roundup: January 31, 2024

Advocates of Afterschool Opportunities Rally in Albany for $119M Funding Boost, Spectrum News 1 (New York) On Tuesday, afterschool leaders, students, and lawmakers gathered in Albany, New York to press for an additional $119 million in state funding to ensure universal access to afterschool. At...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/31/24

Weekly Media Roundup: January 24, 2024

'Articulate Their Pain': Preventing Teen Suicide Through the Power of Music, Spectrum News 1 (North Carolina) DDAAT-App, a mental health nonprofit with an afterschool program in Charlotte, North Carolina, is partnering with The Bridge, a music studio, to give students access to recording...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/24/24

Weekly Media Roundup: January 17, 2024

Bessie Coleman After School Aviation Program to be Tested in Oklahoma, General Aviation News (Oklahoma) Sixth and 7th graders in Tulsa, Oklahoma are exploring careers in aerospace and aeronautics by building planes, flying drones, and participating in other hands-on projects thanks to a...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/17/24