Weekly Media Roundup: October 19, 2022

Boston's Investment in Summer Learning Converts into High Participation this Year, WBUR (Massachusetts)

A new report from Boston After School and Beyond shows nearly 16,000 students in the Boston area attended summer learning programs at schools and community organizations this summer, with an average attendance rate of nearly 88 percent. “I'm thrilled to see the record-high attendance,” Boston Public School Superintendent Mary Skipper told WBUR. “Knowing that our students came to the programs and were fully engaged — that's a critical indicator of success.” Many programs drew on temporary federal pandemic relief aid this year, and the state of Massachusetts plans to invest additional funds next summer to help make up the difference.

Cheyenne River Youth Project Reopens “The Main” After-School program, DRG News (South Dakota)

After being closed for two years due to COVID, the Cheyenne River Youth Project reopened “The Main” youth center in early October. Children ages four to 12 will once again participate in physical fitness opportunities and Lakota culture activities including culinary and art classes. “When we first opened the doors in 1988, we were a one-room, volunteer-run youth center in a former bar on Main Street. We focused on providing safe spaces, positive mentors, and healthy meals and snacks for our vulnerable young children, who too often didn’t have anywhere else to go after school,” Executive Director Julie Garreau told DRG News. “Even after all these years, we feel the heart of our mission when we play with the little ones, help them with their homework, and see their joy when they share a meal, a birthday party or a special occasion with us and their friends.”

California’s College Corps is Off and Running, Daily Democrat (California)

As afterschool programs across the country continue to struggle with staffing shortages, CaliforniansForAll College Corp is sending more than a thousand college volunteers to afterschool programs and public schools throughout the state. The new state-funded initiative, similar to AmeriCorp, has selected 3,250 students from California state and community colleges to serve as College Corp fellows, volunteering at K-12 education programs, climate initiatives and food insecurity efforts. Approximately half of this year’s fellows will work in afterschool programs and public schools. “[College] students are thirsty for this. They want to serve, to create change, to be involved and give back,” Josh Fryday, California’s Chief Service Officer, told the Daily Democrat. “And I think it’s incumbent upon our leaders to create the opportunities for them to do so.”

Afterschool Program Returns to Monroeville Public Library, Trib Live (Pennsylvania)

The Monroeville Public Library in Pennsylvania reopened its free teen afterschool program after a two year pause due to COVID – and this year, for the first time, it is serving middle schoolers. Students in the program connect with AmeriCorps mentors, get help with homework, and explore new interests through a wide range of hands-on activities. “We have all of the library’s resources at our disposal,” Pamela Bodziock, assistant director and teen services librarian, told Trib Live. “We’ve done painting. We’ve done stop-motion animation. We do cooking and baking, tie dying, jewelry making. We have holiday parties. There was one year where they built a gaming computer from scratch.”