Weekly News Roundup - Jan. 19, 2011

Upcoming After-School Conferences (Education Week’s Beyond School Blog)
Registration opens soon for the Afterschool Alliance’s 10th annual Afterschool for All Challenge.  Afterschool leaders, advocates, educators and local and state officials will gather May 16-17 in Washington, D.C., to discuss the hottest issues in afterschool, meet with Members of Congress and celebrate afterschool. Learn more about the Afterschool for All Challenge here.
 
‘In Search of Genius’ - And Finding it in Pharmacognosy (Chicago Sun-Times, Illinois)
Read about the inspiration behind a new afterschool program, In Search of Genius, operating in 30 Chicago Public Schools.  The program, now serving more than 600 students, teaches science to 3rd, 4th and 5th graders in under-served neighborhoods.  It was founded by Chatham native Brian J. Wright, who is working on his Ph.D. in pharmacognosy, the study of medicine derived from plants, bacteria, fungi and other natural material.
 
Redlands Community Groups Offer Activities, Help Despite Tight Budgets (Contra Costa Times, California)
In the wake of a shooting in Redlands that killed two young men and left two injured, the Contra Costa Times examines the Boys & Girls Clubs’ role in keeping young people safe.  “In a national survey the Boys & Girls Clubs does every few years, 57 percent of alumni said the clubs saved their lives,” the newspaper reports.
 
After-School Program at the YMCA Fills Void (Times-Picayune, Louisiana)
A new afterschool program at the YMCA in LaPlace is providing homework, character-building and exercise for students from three St. John the Baptist Parish schools.