Weekly Media Roundup: August 4, 2021

La Conner School District Summer Program Preparing Kids to Go Back to School, Skagit Valley Herald (Washington)

At La Conner School District’s Summer Adventure program in Washington state, students are building model airplanes, producing movies and learning about bird migration. “It’s really about being social after being closed for so long,” Marlene Brenton, director of the Summer Adventure program, told the Skagit Valley Herald. The first through ninth grade students can also hone their gardening skills during their weekly visits to the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community’s 13 Moons community garden.

Graham Schools Granted $100K to Provide Education, Help With Local Food Access, Springfield News-Sun (Ohio)

Thanks to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm to School Grant, middle school and high school students participating in Ohio’s Graham Local School District afterschool programs will get hands on experience growing food for their school cafeterias and selling school-grown fruits and vegetables at farmers markets. “Children deserve access to nutritious foods in their schools so they can focus on their studies and grow into healthy adults,” U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown told the Springfield News-Sun. “The Farm to School program increases the amount of Ohio grown food in school cafeterias and teaches children about how and where our food is grown.”

Many Boston Students Miss Out on Summer School Opportunities, Leaving the Most Vulnerable Further Behind, Boston Globe (Massachusetts)

This summer, Boston Public Schools used federal funds to boost summer offerings for students, with the goal of connecting every student to a summer program where they could explore their interests and sharpen their academic skills. However, not every family was aware of or could access these programs, and just under a quarter of students enrolled. Research commissioned by the Afterschool Alliance shows that even before the pandemic, nearly one third of Boston students whose parents wanted them in a summer program could not access one. Advocates recommend communicating with families about summer programs starting earlier in the school year and ensuring low-income families know that programs are available and free. “We have this incredible opportunity to really build something special,” Jodi Grant, executive director of the Afterschool Alliance, told the Boston Globe. “In Boston, the foundation’s already there.”

Summer School Programs Race to Help Students Most in Danger of Falling Behind, NBC News

Research indicates that English language learners, students with disabilities and Black and Latino students have faced the greatest challenges due to remote learning during the pandemic. Across the country, school districts and community partners are using federal relief funds to offer summer learning programs designed to help these students recover. For example, in Oregon, English language learners are spending the summer dong fun projects, such as building a car with Legos, meant to boost academic skills while encouraging conversation.  “These kids have fallen behind more than other children,” Patricia Gándara, a professor of education, told NBC News. “They need to be doing things with other children, talking with other children, and not being given worksheets to just remediate.”