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Weekly Media Roundup: July 25, 2018

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Weekly Media Roundup: July 25, 2018

New Alachua County Youth Program Aims to Make Reading More Relatable, (WUFT, Florida)

In Gainesville, Florida, a pastor has created a reading program aimed at closing the achievement gap between white and black students in the community. The Rev. Gerard Duncan designed I-Read, based on the idea that African-American children read more when presented with culturally relevant texts. Through the program, community volunteers read texts featuring African-American characters and history with about 200 children in the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs (PRCA) Department’s summer camps. PRCA also hopes to include I-Read in its afterschool programs in the coming year. “Our children belong to all of us, and so it’s going to take all of us to really work through [the achievement gap],” Kevin Berry, a curriculum specialist for Alachua County Public Schools, told WUFT.

A summer program uses the arts to combat the achievement gap (The Hechinger Report, Maryland)

In Baltimore’s Summer Arts and Learning Academy, more than 2,200 students are working with local artists to maintain their math and literacy skills. Designed to minimize summer learning loss among low-income students, the cost-free program is a collaboration between Baltimore City Public Schools and the local arts-based education nonprofit, Young Audiences. Student assessments indicate the academy is effective at increasing academic achievement, but instead of traditional school activities, students get hands-on experience with art forms like spoken word, dance and illustration. “They don’t even realize we’re doing math and literacy instruction because we’re having so much fun,” Lara Ohanian, director of differentiated learning at the district, told The Hechinger Report.

In Nauticus camps, kids are driving force behind sailboats (Virginian-Pilot, Virginia)

In Norfolk, Virginia, Sail Nauticus students are spending their summer tying square knots, docking boats, and hoisting sails. Sail Nauticus was founded to change the demographics associated with sailing by increasing access to sailing programs for low-income students. Nauticus’ tuition-free afterschool and summer learning programs use sailing to teach STEM concepts and inspire leadership skills. “We’re not trying to build kids into sailors,” Sail Nauticus programs coordinator Catherine Townes told the Virginian-Pilot. “We’re trying to build them into exceptional young adults.”

Beyond Housing collaborates with public schools on Missouri Foundation for Health grant (St. Louis American, Missouri)

In St. Louis, Beyond Housing’s Healthy Internship Program (HIP) aims to boost students’ nutrition and foster peer-to-peer mentorship. Through the program, high school student interns lead classes on culinary arts and healthy eating for younger students in Beyond Housing’s afterschool and summer learning programs. HIP is a response to calls for access to healthier food in the area, which was once designated a food desert. The younger students “get to see people who look like them, cooking healthier meals and teaching them how to make healthier decisions,” Ted Simpson, Beyond Housing’s community health manager, told the St. Louis American.

Weekly Media Roundup: February 26, 2025

Discover How the Leaps After School Program is Transforming Lives at Harrison Elementary, News Channel 9 (Tennessee) At Harrison Elementary’s Leaps After School Program in Chattanooga, Tennessee, students are publishing a newspaper focusing on Black historical figures to be displayed...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      02/26/25

Weekly Media Roundup: February 19, 2025

Durham Teens Fight for After-School Program Funding Amid Youth Gun Violence: 'My Safe Space,' ABC 11 (North Carolina) In Durham, North Carolina, teenagers rallied together to urge Durham City Council members to increase funding for afterschool programs, sharing how critical these...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      02/19/25

Weekly Media Roundup: February 12, 2025

'He Invests His Own Money': After School Program Started by Pasco School Employee Still Going Strong, WFTS-TV (Florida) In the 1980s, Eugene Scott founded an afterschool program called This Is How We Do It to provide food, music, dance, mentorship and more to students in his Pasco County...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      02/12/25

Weekly Media Roundup: February 5, 2025

Claysburg-Kimmel Touts New Programs for Students, Altoona Mirror (Pennsylvania) Students at the Bulldog After-School Club in Claysburg, Pennsylvania are participating in new educational activities with a Beam mobile projector that transforms the center into an interactive visual playground. The...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      02/05/25

Weekly Media Roundup: January 29, 2025

Afterschool Program Introduces West Columbia Students to Technology, The Facts (Texas) Students at West Columbia Elementary in Texas are taking part in hands-on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activities in the new Robocatters afterschool program, which already has a long...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/29/25

Weekly Media Roundup: January 22, 2025

Another Year, Another Long Waitlist for BUSD After-School Program, Berkeleyside (California) Due to ongoing staffing shortages, more than 200 students are currently waitlisted for afterschool programs at Berkeley Unified School District. Parents in the district’s PTA Collaborative on...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/22/25

Weekly Media Roundup: January 15, 2025

New 4-H Program Will Bring STEAM to Area Students, KNEB (Nebraska) Students in rural Expanding Learning Opportunity programs in Nebraska are exploring aerospace, electronics, engineering, robotics and more thanks to a partnership with 4-H. The Think Make Create Lab is a six-by-12 mobile trailer...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/15/25

Weekly Media Roundup: January 8, 2025

Parks and Recreation Secures Grant to Bring Physical Activity Education to Youth in Afterschool Program, WBIW (Indiana) More than 50 students in the Banneker Afterschool program in Bloomington, Indiana are taking part in fun physical activities this year led by Indiana University School of...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/08/25

Weekly Media Roundup: December 18, 2024

Mason City YMCA Teaching Social and Emotional Skills to Kids, News-Press Now (Iowa) Students in the Mason City YMCA afterschool program in Iowa practice communication, emotional regulation, empathy and more in twice-weekly social and emotional learning sessions, learning, for instance, to take...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      12/18/24

Weekly Media Roundup: December 11, 2024

Usher Helps Cut Ribbon On New Content Studio at Metro Boys and Girls, WSB-TV (Georgia) This week, superstar Usher visited the Whitehead Boys & Girls Club in Atlanta, Georgia, to unveil a new content studio he donated featuring soundboards, mics, computers and other audio equipment. The...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      12/11/24