Weekly Media Roundup: December 10, 2025

Some Rural, Low-Income Oregon Families Struggle to Access After-School Amid Funding Uncertainty, Oregon Capital Chronicle

In rural southern Oregon, Klamath Falls City Schools’ afterschool program now serves half of the district’s students but still maintains a significant waitlist. Across the state, five out of six students don’t have access to afterschool, according to the latest America After 3PM survey. As federal funding remains uncertain, local advocates say recently approved state funding for summer learning programs is a positive step toward increasing access to out-of-school time programs. Louis Wheatley, strategic communications director at Foundations for a Better Oregon, told the Oregon Capital Chronicle that lawmakers should “no longer think of after-school programs as a ‘nice to have’ when times are good, but a core and integrated element of our public education system. We’ve made a great step forward with the latest investment in summer learning and we can build on that foundation.”

WYN's Festival of Trees Raises $100K to Help Expand After-School, Snow Day Care Programs, Watauga Democrat (North Carolina)

Through afterschool programs, summer camps, community health projects and mentoring initiatives, the Western Youth Network (WYM) aims to address childhood trauma and empower children in North Carolina’s High Country to succeed in school and in life. This year, the nonprofit raised more than $100,000 through its 11^th annual Festival of Trees, which invites volunteers to donate and decorate Christmas trees which are then sold via online auction. “Our community is so special. It is because of the generosity of our local businesses and individuals that WYN is able to help so many children achieve their potential, no matter their circumstances,” Executive Director Jennifer Warren told the Watauga Democrat.

STEM Next Opportunity Fund and Qualcomm Partner on Pilot to Bring AI Learning to Afterschool, Associated Press

Thanks to a new initiative with STEM Next Opportunity Fund and Qualcomm, afterschool providers in Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia will incorporate AI literacy into their programs, allowing students to utilize the technology as they tackle real-world projects and reflect on AI’s ethical implications. “Afterschool and summer programs are powerful hands-on learning environments that center mentorship and teamwork, giving youth guided support to apply technology creatively and responsibly to address real-world challenges,” Ron Ottinger, executive director of STEM Next Opportunity Fund, told the Associated Press. “With Qualcomm’s collaboration, we’re ensuring that afterschool and summer learning is part of the national strategy to equip youth with AI literacy and future-ready skills.”

Don Bennett Hopes Nonprofit Will Give A “Leg Up” To Kids Of Working-Class Families In Columbia Falls, Daily Inter Lake (Montana)

In Columbia Falls, Montana, the Columbia Falls Kids Foundation renovated a former elementary school last year and now houses several community programs in one building, providing space for the Boys & Girls Club of Glacier Country afterschool program, Land to Hand’s prepared meals and fresh produce program, and the Gateway to Early Learning child care and preschool program. By housing multiple programs in one space, the nonprofit is lowering overhead costs. “Like with any business you have certain fixed costs. To heat the building, it doesn’t really matter if there’s 10 kids in it or 100 kids in it, the heat bill is going to be about the same, right? If you can have more kids in there, you can keep your costs down. So that’s kind of the idea,” Columbia Falls Kids Foundation founder Don Bennett told Daily Inter Lake. With the larger space, the Boys & Girls Club now serves nearly three times as many students.