Weekly Media Roundup: June 5, 2019

How Tennis Can Improve a Kid’s Math and Reading Scores, Fox 13 (Utah)

The Tennis and Tutoring afterschool program in Salt Lake City, Utah empowers 75 students to reach their goals on and off the tennis court. Each session, students spend an hour learning tennis, then receive life skills education and academic support from professional tutors. The principal of a participating school reported that students in the program typically raise their grades by one level.  “Before I joined Tennis and Tutoring, after school I would go back home and use electronics. But now since I joined Tennis and Tutoring, I’m physically more active,” an elementary student told Fox 13.

Breakthrough Miami Helps Young Students Achieve Amazing Heights, CBS Miami (Florida)

When Gerbenn Seraphin joined Breakthrough Miami the summer after he graduated fifth grade, he didn’t realize the impact the program would have on his life. Breakthrough Miami’s afterschool and summer programs follow students through middle and high school to help prepare them for college. Like each of the program’s 1,300 students, Seraphin received one-on-one help from mentors and, in turn, mentored several younger students. He will attend the University of Miami with a full academic scholarship in the fall. Breakthrough was “the first time I really got to sit in a classroom with different individuals that were a different color and different race than me, and it really taught me a lot,” Seraphin told CBS Miami.

Youth Center Opens New After School Location at Rush Park in Rossmoor, Orange County Breeze (California)

A new program in Rossmoor, California will provide elementary students a safe place to continue learning in small groups after school. Program staff will transport children via a “Walking Bus” from their elementary school, and daily activities will include homework help, reading, science, crafts and outdoor play. “We want kids to have a place to go after school that is safe, secure and supervised. It’s all about the kids. That’s why we’re here,” Rossmoor Community Services District (RCSD) Director Michael Maynard told the Orange County Breeze.

New After-School Program for Northern Carroll County Middle Schools Gets Commissioners' Approval, Carroll County Times (Maryland)

To help prevent substance abuse among youth, the Carroll County Opioid Senior Policy Group recently conceived a new afterschool program for middle school students in Carroll County, Maryland. The program will be facilitated by the Boys and Girls Club of Westminster with funding from the county’s “Not in Carroll” anti-drug initiative. It will provide mentors, recreation, homework help, and suicide and substance abuse prevention programming. “This is a time I think we can really make a difference in kids’ lives,” Commissioner Richard Weaver told the Carroll County Times.