A unique elective at Milton High School is teaching students acrobatics and choreography based on the famous Cirque de Soleil circus performances after school. “My parents made me try out,” student Cole Dobbs told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “At first, I was like, no way am I going to dance around on stage in silly costumes. But then I joined (the Cirque club) and I have loved it. It is extremely physically demanding and it’s my favorite part of the day.” The program is run by Larry Smith, a cirque and theatre teacher at Milton High School, whose goal for students is to work as a team while being creatively and physically challenged.
The MiCasa afterschool tutoring program boosts the academic abilities and confidence of children in the Farm Labor Housing Development who may have trouble with their English language skills. The program has seen a lot of success: MiCASA students typically score up to 20 points higher than other English learners and are in the top 10 percent of their class. “We are very proud of the children coming out of that camp because this is what America is all about; opportunity and creating constructive members of society who can communicate well and comport themselves well and contribute to society,” Butte County Housing Authority Director Ed Mayer told the Chico Enterprise-Record. The program was honored with the Agency Champion award from United Way of Northern California last month for its success.
The Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy promotes sports-based skills that helps youth overcome poverty, improve their academics and more. “The objective is to really teach them life lessons through baseball,” Washington Nationals founding partner and Chairman of the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy board of directors Rodney Slater told Arkansas Online. “We call them scholar-athletes because the emphasis is on scholarship. ... We also seek to positively impact their families as well.” Approximately 15,000 participants have been drawn to the thousands of events hosted since the Academy’s opening.
Helping Hands is a new afterschool program at Kid’s Place Sequoyah that teaches students about community and citizenship. Kindergarteners through fifth graders take part in community service activities like helping teachers at school and sorting through recyclables, showing students that it’s important to give back and serve others. Students “understand that regardless of your background, you might need some help one day… and that helping others is a part of life,” Kid’s Place at Sequoyah Director Dana Gamby told the Knoxville News-Sentinel.