Weekly Media Roundup: August 23, 2017

Jamal Collins Gives Youths Lessons in Graphic Design, Life (Plain Dealer, Ohio)

An afterschool program at King Kennedy Boys & Girls Club is giving young people their first taste of graphic design, thanks to program leader Jamal Collins. Collins teaches the students about the intersection of art and coding while instilling in them life skills like self-promotion, storytelling and how to think creatively. “I can see the impact I have with these kids, so I know I’m doing it right,” Collins told the Plain Dealer. “I’m trying to get them to understand there’s no limitations on what they want to do.”

Norton’s After-School Program Takes Art into Community (Palm Beach Post, Florida)

The Norton Museum of Art’s Afterschool Arts Outreach program not only introduces some 600 students to art, music and literature – a recently completed evaluation shows that it also helps boost their self-confidence, the Palm Beach Post reports. The program teaches students to think critically, handle challenges and formulate solutions. “Children and teens believed that the program helped them to accept making mistakes, feel better about themselves, talk to adults and teachers, work cooperatively with peers, and be proud of their artwork, all indicators of self-efficacy,” Dr. Martha A. Brown wrote in her evaluation. “The evaluation also produced strong evidence that the program has a very positive impact on students’ learning about art. When asked, most students said that the classes make them feel creative and give them opportunities to express themselves.”

With Hammers and Glue, Girls in Lowell Program Explore Potential (Lowell Sun, Massachusetts)

A dozen girls are learning the ins and outs of the real estate business through the Xchange Experience summer program. The program is the result of a partnership between Lupoli Companies and Girls Inc. of Greater Lowell, and introduces the young women to the various career paths available in the industry, including marketing, property development and architecture. “At the end of this eight week program, I hope that some of these career paths will resonate with the girls and that maybe in 10 years, one or two of them may come back to me and say, ‘Because of the Xchange Experience program, I became an architect,’ or ‘I became an engineer,’ or ‘I became a marketing specialist for commercial real estate,’” Lupoli Companies vice president and director of real estate Karen McShea told the Lowell Sun.

Charlotte Gets $1 Million for After School Programs (WBTV, North Carolina)

Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts announced this week that the city will expand its afterschool programs for students in need, thanks to a $1 million grant from the Gambrell Foundation. The money would allow 600 to 1,000 middle school students from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District to access afterschool programs, making a dent in the 8,000 students currently on waiting lists throughout the city. “It gives children hope and courage to go to college,” Greater Enrichment Program Executive Director Bronica Glover told WBTV. “It exposes them to a variety of experiences they would never get if they weren’t in an after school [program] and it keeps them safe.”