Archives:

Select:

Weekly Media Roundup - May 23, 2014

READ FULL STORY

Weekly Media Roundup - May 23, 2014

The Food Detectives (Citrus County Chronicle, Florida)

Once a week, ten afterschool students at Lecanto Primary School create a cooking show about nutrition, healthy living and active lifestyle.  The “Nutrition Detective” segment airs during the schools morning show and showcases creative, nutritious recipes and healthy living tips. “Each segment begins with a computerized girl who introduces the segment, then follows with a video created by students who are either cooking, reading labels or giving educational nutritional information,” the Citrus County Chronicle reports.   Physical education teacher and program organizer Dianna Bandhauer said she hopes to apply for future grants to offer students a salad bar or a grab-and-go healthy snack option.

Wendover Students Get Train Ride (Elko Daily Free Press, Nevada)

When students from West Wendover Elementary School’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers afterschool program boarded the Northern Nevada Railway train for an educational day on the rails they were transported back to the Old West.  The Ghost Riders of the Old Ely at Keystone Gulch gave the students quite a show as they reenacted an old fashioned train robbery, with robbers riding up on horses to invade the train cars.  West Wendover Elementary Principal Brenda Carter told Elko Daily Free Press that the kids really enjoyed the performance.   One first-grader told Carter, “I liked it when the train robbers came on. I was really scared, but it was a lot of fun!”  While the students, many of whom had never been on a train before, learned about the diesel train they were actually riding in, they also learned about how early steam powered locomotives worked. 

Mighty Writers Helps Kids Learn the Power of Their Words (Daily News, Pennsylvania)

After a career in journalism, Tim Whitaker decided to put his pen to a different use and started the Mighty Writers afterschool program in Philadelphia.  Whitaker envisioned a place where students could participate in an afterschool program or writing workshops and older youth could take SAT prep courses.  After launching the program in 2009 with a Lenfest Foundation grant, now Mighty Writers is growing and expanding.  The Daily News writes that the program has become a “treasured community resource,” and one student, Serenity Baruzzini, remarked, “I come because it gives me a sense of community.  A lot of good vibes come out of this place.”

Ballroom Dancing Is Introduced to Students in New Orleans and Jefferson Parishes Schools (Times-Picayune, Louisiana)

Ballroom dancing has become all the rage in New Orleans public schools and as a result some schools are integrating the new Mindsteppers program into physical education curriculum and other schools are starting afterschool clubs.  Mindsteppers teaches students to tango, waltz, swing, salsa and merengue.   Nathalie Gomes, world-renowned dancer and founder of Mindsteppers, told the Times-Picayune that not only does ballroom dancing improve students’ physical health, but “it also increases children’s self-esteem – especially for those who might not excel at traditional physical education activities – and places renewed emphasis on face-to-face interaction, rather than technology-focused “social networking.”

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