Weekly Media Roundup: January 9, 2019

Ten Significant Accomplishments of the African Community Learning Program in 2018, The  Philadelphia Sunday Sun (Pennsylvania)

University of Pennsylvania senior Aminata Sy founded the African Community Learning Program in October 2017 to inspire academic achievement among 1^st to 8^th grade students with African backgrounds in Philadelphia. Since then, the afterschool program’s students have toured the Philadelphia NBC 10 station, improved their English-language skills with culturally relevant curriculum, and received visits from Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell. “Many students went from not speaking English to communicating, reading, writing, and comprehending the language and our texts as well as presenting to our class,” Sy wrote in the Philadelphia Sunday Sun.

Program Connects Local Students to Inspire Future Leaders, WCVB 5 (Massachusetts)

Since its creation eight years ago, Coaching for Change has reached more than 2,000 Boston students with academic support, fitness programming, and mentorship. The program uses a three-tiered approach in which college student mentors work with high school students to facilitate afterschool programs in middle schools. Highlights include field trips to the college mentors’ campuses to spark students’ interest in higher education. Founder Marquis Taylor told WCVB 5 that among participating students, “our school attendance is improving by 86 percent. Our students are reducing their behavioral infractions by 88 percent. Kids are completing their homework at higher rates.”

After-school Programs are Safety Nets for Kids, News & Citizen (Vermont)

Last month, the Everyone Equals Morristown Community Center (E=MC2) opened its doors to provide daily afterschool programming and meals to middle and high school students. The program aims to cultivate a safe community and mentoring relationships with adults to encourage teens to make healthy choices. Future offerings may include cooking and coding classes, depending on community interests. “After-school programs also allow for skill development and mastery. We know that youth do better when they are invested in doing something that they enjoy,” Jessica Bickford, coordinator of Healthy Lamoille Valley, told the News & Citizen. “This joy in activity counters the risks leading to substance misuse.”

Mosaic Youth Theatre Gets $1M Gift from 'Hamilton' Producer, The Detroit News (Michigan)

Two hundred students will gain access to afterschool and summer programs focused on performing each year for the next five years thanks to a $1 million grant from Jeffrey Seller, lead producer of the musical “Hamilton,” to the Mosaic Youth Theatre. Mosaic operates afterschool programs in nine Detroit schools that engage students with theatre and music education. Since 1992, 95 percent of Mosaic students have gone on to attend college, and some have received Tony and Grammy nominations. “[Rick Sperling, Mosaic’s founding artistic director] daily demonstrates that theatre changes lives,” Seller told The Detroit News. “His work with Mosaic has lifted and enriched the lives of thousands of young people and we are honored to help support a strong future for this extraordinary institution.”