Weekly Media Roundup: May 17, 2017

After-School Programs at Risk – Will Jerry Brown Help? (Sacramento Bee, California)

Advocates rallied yesterday at the California State Capitol to urge Gov. Jerry Brown to support funding for afterschool programs. The event was organized by the California Afterschool Advocacy Alliance, and speakers included several state senators and assemblymen. Following the rally, advocates delivered more than 8,000 letters to Gov. Brown expressing support for afterschool programs, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Charlie Dent Says He’ll Try to ‘Protect’ After-School Programs Trump Wants to Cut (Allentown Morning Call, Pennsylvania)

U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent recently visited a Communities in Schools afterschool program at Washington Elementary School, expressing his support for 21st Century Community Learning Centers, which President Trump’s most recent budget proposal defunded. “We’re going to try and do what we can to protect a lot of these programs that help children coming from challenging socio-economic circumstances,” Dent told the Allentown Morning Call. More than 700 Allentown School District students could lose access to afterschool programs under the president’s budget proposal. 

Young Entrepreneurs Host Expo to Show Off Their Products (Scottsbluff Star-Herald, Nebraska)

Fifth- and sixth-grade students at Mitchell Elementary School are learning to develop and launch their own businesses through a 14-week afterschool program. EntrepreneurShip Investigation, sponsored by Western Nebraska Community College, teaches students how to sell and market products, culminating in an expo held earlier this month where students showed their work to their classmates. “It’s important for these children, because even though they may never want to be an entrepreneur, it gives them an appreciation for what their future bosses go through,” program head Ellen Ramig told the Scottsbluff Star-Herald.

Students Work Around-the-Clock During 27-Hour Space Mission (Marietta Daily Journal, Georgia)

Six elementary school students blasted into space last week on the Intrepid, a trailer-turned-simulator in the Russell Elementary School parking lot, while their classmates worked in Mission Control to monitor the simulator’s altitude, speed and trajectory. The 27-hour launch simulation was the culmination of a unique afterschool program that teaches elementary schoolers the ins and outs of space exploration. Russell’s space program has been sending its young astronauts up in the Intrepid every year since 1998, according to the Marietta Daily Journal, building their teamwork and problem-solving skills along the way.