Weekly Media Roundup: July 9, 2025

Nebraska After-School, Summer Programs Wait for More Than $6 Million in Federal Funds, Nebraska Public Media  

In 2022-23, Nebraska had approximately 65 afterschool clubs in urban areas and 77 in rural areas, reports the University of Nebraska Medical Center Munroe-Meyer Institute. But if federal afterschool funds do not reach the state soon, many of those programs, particularly the ones in rural communities, could close. That would be a great loss, Joel Bramhall, director of Cardinal Community Learning Centers at Crete Public Schools and an Afterschool Ambassador for the Afterschool Alliance, tells Nebraska Public Media. Kids “could be getting into mischief or watching television, but rather, they're in an afterschool program where they’re being engaged in a well-managed, caring and fun learning environment.” Businesses would suffer too, he adds, because employees would no longer be able to work extended hours knowing their child is supervised and safe.

Learning Loss After Helene. A Look at Two Rural Western NC School Districts, Carolina Public Press (North Carolina)

After the devastation from Hurricane Helene last September, many western North Carolina school districts lost as much as 40 in-person instruction days. To help students recover both academically and emotionally from such a traumatic event, districts are offering robust summer learning programs through the state’s School Extension Recovery Program. Lance Fusarelli, a North Carolina State University professor, notes that these programs need to be offered not just this summer but the next two summers as well. “I think the effects will be felt for several years, and it’ll take some serious efforts and some serious interventions to help those kids get caught up,” Fusarelli told the Carolina Public Press.

Urban League’s Summer University Gives Seattle Teens a Path to Entrepreneurship and Career Success, Seattle Medium (Washington)

High school students attending the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle’s Summer University are participating in a variety of career and college courses, including virtual reality and coding programs, law courses, culinary classes, health and beauty workshops, and much more. “A lot of people do not have the opportunity to explore their career before they jump into it… So being able to have that exposure and connect with professionals that are already doing it, I believe, is really beneficial,” Ashley Byrd, the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle’s Director of Education, told Seattle Medium. Students graduating from the free summer program receive a $600 stipend.

Beyond the Bell Seeks Volunteers, Funding to Launch Afterschool Program, Duncan Banner (Oklahoma)

A new afterschool program for middle school students, Beyond the Bell, will launch in August to provide a safe, enriching space with tutoring, mentoring, coding, job skills, team sports, creative art, positive relationship building, and more. “The high school does a great job with a lot of afterschool programs,” Steven Dixon, Duncan’s community development director, tells the Duncan Banner. “Once they are at the high school age, they are kind of doing their own thing” but middle school is when “they really need that extra nurturing.”