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Weekly Media Roundup: February 28, 2024

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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 their reading skills. “A lot of times our students don’t have resources outside of that school hour,” LeeAnn Hewett, a reading coach at Springwood Elementary School, told WTXL. “We’re always trying to find those special moments to make kids be inspired through literacy.” Last year, 84 percent of students participating in the ReadingPals program increased their reading literacy level. United Way hopes to expand the program to additional Tallahassee-Leon County afterschool programs.

New Beckley Salvation Army Community Center to Soon Open Its Doors, Metro News (West Virginia)

This spring, the Salvation Army will partner with the Boys & Girls Club of America to open an afterschool program at its new state-of-the-art community center in Beckley, West Virginia. The program will provide students with healthy meals, academic support and a chance to play basketball, pickleball, and much more in a safe environment. “We want to provide basically that afterschool program that feeds them, it gives them homework help, we call it Power Hour,” Salvation Army Captain Liz Blusiewicz told Metro News. “We also want to give them emotional support. A lot of at-risk youth have a hard time expressing emotions.” The new facility will also include an emergency food pantry, case management services, older adult programs, and fitness classes.

The Opportunity Project In Tulsa Highlights Importance Of Access To Afterschool Programs, 92.9 The River (Oklahoma)

The Opportunity Project in Tulsa, Oklahoma works directly with afterschool providers to increase program quality, collect data and share findings, advocate for funding and more. The organization’s research found that last school year, students enrolled in afterschool programs were 43 percent less likely to be chronically absent. The organization is working to sound the alarm that when COVID relief funding expires, the number of free afterschool programs available to Tulsa students will fall from 350 to 75. "A few months ago I was observing an afterschool program and I had a chance to chat with a student…. She said to me, 'If I wasn't here, I'd probably be home alone.' The work of The Opportunity Project connects youth like her to experiences that are dynamic and enriching, and also safe and supervised," Executive Director Lauren Sivak told 92.9 The River.

Afterschool Programs Can Help Clean Energy Sector Meet Workforce Needs, CommonWealth Beacon (Massachusetts)

In a recent guest column for the CommonWealth Beacon, Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership Director of Outreach and Engagement Chloe Anne McElligott argues afterschool programs play an important role in building the talent pipeline needed to transition to clean energy and address climate change. “In afterschool programs, kids don’t have the pressure to pass a test and get good grades — they get to work together and learn through trial and error, creating strong networks of support to increase their persistence on their trajectories to higher education and careers in STEM [science, technology, engineering and math],” McElligott writes. She calls on the Massachusetts state legislature to create an out-of-school time opportunity fund to provide long-term funding so programs can help students explore careers in STEM.

Weekly Media Roundup: January 29, 2025

Afterschool Program Introduces West Columbia Students to Technology, The Facts (Texas) Students at West Columbia Elementary in Texas are taking part in hands-on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activities in the new Robocatters afterschool program, which already has a long...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/29/25

Weekly Media Roundup: January 22, 2025

Another Year, Another Long Waitlist for BUSD After-School Program, Berkeleyside (California) Due to ongoing staffing shortages, more than 200 students are currently waitlisted for afterschool programs at Berkeley Unified School District. Parents in the district’s PTA Collaborative on...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/22/25

Weekly Media Roundup: January 15, 2025

New 4-H Program Will Bring STEAM to Area Students, KNEB (Nebraska) Students in rural Expanding Learning Opportunity programs in Nebraska are exploring aerospace, electronics, engineering, robotics and more thanks to a partnership with 4-H. The Think Make Create Lab is a six-by-12 mobile trailer...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/15/25

Weekly Media Roundup: January 8, 2025

Parks and Recreation Secures Grant to Bring Physical Activity Education to Youth in Afterschool Program, WBIW (Indiana) More than 50 students in the Banneker Afterschool program in Bloomington, Indiana are taking part in fun physical activities this year led by Indiana University School of...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/08/25

Weekly Media Roundup: December 18, 2024

Mason City YMCA Teaching Social and Emotional Skills to Kids, News-Press Now (Iowa) Students in the Mason City YMCA afterschool program in Iowa practice communication, emotional regulation, empathy and more in twice-weekly social and emotional learning sessions, learning, for instance, to take...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      12/18/24

Weekly Media Roundup: December 11, 2024

Usher Helps Cut Ribbon On New Content Studio at Metro Boys and Girls, WSB-TV (Georgia) This week, superstar Usher visited the Whitehead Boys & Girls Club in Atlanta, Georgia, to unveil a new content studio he donated featuring soundboards, mics, computers and other audio equipment. The...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      12/11/24

Weekly Media Roundup: December 4, 2024

New Program Helps Connect Older Kids to Valuable Activities, Pigeon 605 (South Dakota) Through Sioux Falls Thrive’s new Youth Connect website, parents can explore afterschool programs available in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  “Our goal is to make it super-easy for families, kids...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      12/04/24

Weekly Media Roundup: November 27, 2024

Detroit After-School Program Mentoring Children Through Art, Music Looking to Expand, WDIV (Michigan) At the New City Kids afterschool program in Detroit, teen mentors inspire younger students to pursue music, dance, and the arts while also providing homework assistance. The teen mentors...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      11/27/24

Weekly Media Roundup: November 20, 2024

After-School Program Opens in Lewis County for the First Time in Years, WDTV 5 (West Virginia) Thanks to a partnership between the City of Weston and AmeriCorps, students at Robert L. Bland Middle School in West Virginia will take part in a comprehensive afterschool program this year....

BY: Magen Eissenstat      11/20/24

Weekly Media Roundup: November 13, 2024

Flower City Arts Center Empowers Students to Share Stories Through Photography, Spectrum News 1 (New York) Through photography, sculpture, and painting, the afterschool program at the Flower City Arts Center in Rochester, New York is empowering middle and high schoolers to express themselves...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      11/13/24