Weekly Media Roundup: April 20, 2022

SCDE Plans to Expand Summer and After-School Programs with $14.5 million, WISTV (South Carolina)

Thanks to $12 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding, the South Carolina Afterschool Alliance (SCAA) and South Carolina Department of Education will be able to expand summer and afterschool programs to students in disadvantaged communities throughout the state. “There is no doubt the pandemic has impacted student learning and their families, but assisting students who have been affected the most requires extensive support from local and state partnerships,” SCAA President Zelda Waymer told WISTV. The partnership plans to assist 45 organizations and 4,000 students within the first year.

Meet Your Neighbor: Anstead to lead NASA Program at Camp Fire, Port Clinton News Herald (Ohio)

This spring, fifth through eighth grade students in the Camp Fire afterschool program in Fremont, Ohio will learn the science behind cryogenic propellants as part of a NASA design challenge. Using a simulated cryogenic propellant tank, students will design and test various systems and insulators, and will meet with NASA scientists and engineers via Zoom. High school senior Rachel Anstead will lead the program. “They’ll create a video at each of the programs, and NASA will put those on their YouTube channel,” Camp Fire Executive Director Tory Thompson told the Port Clinton News Herald. “How cool for the kids that they get to be highlighted by NASA.” The challenge will also be offered as part of Camp Fire’s summer learning program, alongside art- and animal-themed activities.

Ohio’s PBS Stations Get $5M to Address Learning Loss this Summer, Springfield News-Sun (Ohio)

PBS’s Public Media Connect programs in Cincinnati and Dayton were awarded $5 million in COVID-19 relief funding to help support afterschool and summer programs in Ohio through hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) activities, virtual science museum tours and local PBS community events. “Ohio’s PBS stations have been wonderful partners in prioritizing additional education opportunities to support Ohio’s students since the beginning of the pandemic,” Ohio Department of Education Interim Superintendent of Public Instruction Stephanie Siddens told the Springfield News-Sun. “The Ohio Learns 360 initiative will give families an additional pathway to support student learning beyond the school day.”

Tupelo Bilingual After-School Program El Centro Celebrates Growth, Daily Journal (Mississippi)

At the El Centro afterschool program in Tupelo, Mississippi, students get homework help, work with tutors on reading and math, and participate in a chess club, ACT prep classes, and college and career exploration activities.  Last week, AT&T presented the program with 15 Dell computers, a $50,000 grant, and three years of internet access. “It opens up a lot more possibilities for us, and for us to be able to tell the community: Whatever you have a need for, we can provide it,” El Centro Director Allen Bradford told the Daily Journal