Weekly Media Roundup: March 12, 2025

Grant Will Help Pathways/Senderos Center Upgrade Tech for Youth Programs, New Britain Herald (Connecticut)

Thanks to a grant from the American Savings Foundation, the Pathways/Senderos Center in New Britain, Connecticut will provide new laptops and smartboards for students in its afterschool program. “This investment in technology directly strengthens the academic foundation of the youth we serve,” Pathways/Senderos Center Executive Director Heather Mills told New Britain Herald. “With the right tools, we can empower students to stay on track in school, build digital literacy skills and prepare for future educational and career opportunities.”

Waterloo's 1619 Freedom School to Host Canceled African American Read-In, WVIK (Iowa)

When the Waterloo, Iowa community school district withdrew from the statewide African American Read-In for fear it didn’t comply with the new federal directive prohibiting “diversity, equity and inclusion” in public education, the 1619 Freedom School’s afterschool program quickly offered to host the event. “Black stories are valid and worthy in-and-of themselves, and we don’t have to defend that. All people in a community are better when we learn about different cultures and we have empathy with people who have different experiences,” Nikole Hannah-Jones, co-founder of 1619 Freedom School, told WVIK. New York Times bestselling author Tami Charles and other notable Black children’s book authors will read portions of their books during the event. Each student in attendance will receive a book to take home.

TRIO’s Talent Search Building Robotics into After-School Programming, KOLN (Nebraska)

Thanks to federal Educational Talent Search funding, students in afterschool programs at two high schools in Lincoln, Nebraska are learning to code and build robots with the help of mentors from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The program is designed to help students explore careers and higher education scholarships in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. “We’re trying to get this raw excitement and creativity the students have and put it into a medium that we think is not only going to be exceptionally exciting to learn, but could become a productive resource for them,” project director Zach Short told KOLN.

Anti School Shooting Advocacy Group Launches Feasibility Study for New After-School Program In Traverse City, The Traverse Ticker (Michigan)

Since its launch in 2017, hundreds of students in Leelanau County, Michigan have benefited from afterschool programming provided by Leelanau Investing for Teens (LIFT), with activities ranging from service learning to nature hikes. Now, Safer Kids, Safer Schools (SKSS) is exploring the possibility of bringing a similar model to Traverse County as part of an effort to help middle schoolers feel connected to their school community and prevent violence on school campuses. “We’re trying to get to the kids that aren’t involved in other things,” SKSS co-founder Jay Berger told the Traverse Ticker. “They're the kids that go home, and then maybe bad things happen because they're not connected or engaged. Or maybe they hang out with some other people that aren't good influences on them…. We want to change that.”