Weekly Media Roundup: December 16, 2015

Bransford Kids Visit Governor’s Mansion (Tennesseean, Tennessee)

Some 40 students in the Bransford Pride afterschool program toured the Tennessee House, Governor Bill Haslam’s home, as part of the fifth annual Tennessee’s Home for the Holidays celebration. Artists from across the state donated their artwork to decorate the mansion, so the kids were able to see ornamented trees, stairwells and mantels as part of the educational tour. “It’s good for them to get out of their familiar environment and be exposed to new and different things,” Springfield Police Chief David Thompson, who accompanied the kids on their visit, told the Tennesseean.

Casserole Class Brings Back a Classic Dish (Philadelphia Daily News, Pennsylvania)

A group of fifth-grade students recently prepared a hearty, nutritious dinner of broccoli and cheese casserole and corn muffins as part of their afterschool cooking class at William Loesche Elementary School. The kids enthusiastically chopped vegetables, cracked eggs and grated cheese to put together last week’s meal, learning healthy and valuable skills that will last them the rest of their lives. According to Principal Sherin Kurian, the class is a hit – and not just with the students. “There are even parents who want to come,” she told the Philadelphia Daily News. “I’d actually love to come and learn myself.”

After-School Programs Grow, but More Needed (Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, New York)

A new report from the Greater Rochester After-School Alliance shows that despite a growing expansion of opportunities, there is still a great unmet need for afterschool and summer programs in the city. According to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, as many as 69 percent of children age five to 17 – more than 14,000 children total – don’t have access to afterschool programs, due to cost restrictions, transportation issues or lack of availability. The report recommends adding capacity, increasing quality and sharing best practices.

Bridging Prep School and Title I, Pen Pals Meet for First Time (Charleston Post & Courier, South Carolina)

Students from North Charleston Elementary School and Mason Preparatory School are from the same city, but different worlds. Those worlds came together through the WINGS afterschool program’s pen pal project, which was conceived after a white supremacist killed nine black churchgoers in Charleston earlier this year. The students exchanged letters for several months before meeting for the first time last week, where they discussed their common interests and saw that they’re not so different from one another. “We believe the fourth- and fifth-grade age is when kids are kind of color blind for the last time before habits set in and world views inform the world around them,” Mason Preparatory head of school Erik Kreutner told the Charleston Post & Courier. “I think that with so many of the schools, almost all of the schools in Charleston need more exposure to diversity.”