Weekly Media Roundup: September 12, 2018

Drone Camp Lands at The Landing, Central Oregonian (Oregon)

In Prineville, Oregon, a free afterschool program is building community partnerships to expose middle and high school students to unique learning opportunities and career paths. During the 2017-18 school year, The Landing reached 150 students with warm meals, homework help, and mentors. This year the program is introducing thematic educational units designed to inspire a love of learning, including a four-week Drone Camp supported by Central Oregon Community College (COCC).  “We are providing the camp to expose students and society to the possibilities and consequences of unmanned technologies,” Kevin Sivertson, COCC adjunct professor of unmanned aviation, told the Central Oregonian.

Applying Hard-Earned Lessons about Education in Alexandria, Connection Newspapers (Virginia)

In Alexandria, Virginia, the “Reach and Rise for Excellence” (RARE) afterschool program aims to combat the city’s high dropout rate by providing a supportive community for at-risk middle school students. RARE partners with many organizations, including a local church and the City of Alexandria, to provide reading and math instruction, a Career Day, parent workshops, coding activities, and financial literacy lessons. Gwendolyn Hubbard Lewis founded the program in 2011, inspired by her own experiences as a student that showed her how mentorship can promote healthy behaviors and keep students on track to succeed. “We want the kids to know there is continuity and they can count on us,” Lewis told Connection Newspapers.

Business Viewpoint: Building Model City for Youth-Driven Impact, Tulsa World (Oklahoma)

In Oklahoma, the Tulsa Changemakers afterschool program empowers youth to use their voices and create change in their communities. Each year fifth- through 11^th-grade participants gain leadership and career skills by designing and executing their own community impact projects; past projects have included creating a career readiness program and organizing a community dialogue around gun violence. “Our past two years of running Tulsa Changemakers has proven to us that young people can drive real and measurable impact in their schools and communities,” co-founders Jake Lerner and Andrew Spector wrote in an op-ed for Tulsa World. “When the community invests in youth, powerful things happen.”

Fun for Everyone: RAAC's Fun with the Arts Program Expands to Boonesborough, Richmond Register (Kentucky)

In Kentucky, the Richmond Area Arts Council’s (RAAC) Fun with the Arts program engages kindergarten- through fifth-grade students with arts classes ranging from pottery to dance to ukulele. Participants develop life skills through the arts, including growing their writing skills by creating their own cookbooks or writing and illustrating their own stories. The free program supports working families while providing students increased opportunities for one-on-one instruction. “It gives students the opportunity to experience the arts, maybe a little more than they get to at school,” RAAC arts coordinator Anne Browder told the Richmond Register.