Weekly Media Roundup: June 19, 2019

At This Ballet School, They Are Empowering Their Students With Important Life Skills, Miami Herald (Florida)

Each year, hundreds of Miami children learn dance from professional instructors at the Thomas Armour Youth Ballet for little to no cost. The afterschool program includes multiple genres of dance classes as well as math, reading and etiquette instruction.  Students also have access to mental health professionals who support their social and emotional growth. “When [my daughter Sophia] started, I was going through a nasty divorce. We were broke. I had no one to help me out with Sophia, so this was a place she could go to, and go with her peers. I went to work and I had peace of mind,” Claudia Chang Trejos told the Miami Herald.

'Mother of Englewood' Who Provides Free Care to Kids is Rewarded by Mike Rowe, Fox 32 Chicago (Illinois)

LaTanya Johnson started a free afterschool and summer program in the Englewood neighborhood in Chicago six years ago, because she did not feel there were enough safe, constructive environments for children in her community. The program has since provided more than 1,000 students with academic support, meals and activities including crafts and computers. All this has earned Johnson the nickname ‘the mother of Englewood.’ Johnson’s mission recently caught the attention of ‘Dirty Jobs’ star Mike Rowe, who visited the program to deliver supplies, a van and a $15,000 donation. “What I like best about [the program] is how fun Ms. LaTanya is, and how she encourages kids how to do better,” student Janya Smith told Fox 32.

GMS Hosts ‘Healthy Habits’ Summer Camp, Glasgow Daily Times (Kentucky)

Last week, the Glasgow Middle School (GMS) 21st Century Community Learning Center summer program leveraged community partnerships to teach students about healthy eating, physical fitness, substance abuse and more. For example, in a presentation by a local hospital, students attempted to complete puzzles while wearing ‘drunk goggles’ simulating the effects of alcohol. Other activities included a visit from staff of a local gym and a field trip to exercise and attend a drug awareness magic show at a nearby amusement park.  “It really touches my heart,” Site Coordinator Kellye Bishop told the Glasgow Daily Times. “We love having our community partners come in and provide services to us. It’s just important to have those contacts in the community because they provide education to our students.”

Much More Than Summer School, The Philadelphia Tribune (Pennsylvania)

The Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) Freedom Schools program will provide free summer learning programs to more than 12,000 students across the country this year. Freedom Schools seeks to empower students, especially low-income students and students of color, through mentoring relationships with college-aged ‘servant leader’ interns. The program’s Integrated Reading Curriculum is designed to develop students’ literacy skills through carefully chosen books that are culturally diverse and inspire civic action. “Freedom Schools fills a gap created by an unequal and unjust system…. [It] is designed to serve children and youth in communities where quality academic enrichment programming is limited, too expensive or non-existent,” CDF Founder Marian Wright Edelman wrote in the Philadelphia Tribune.