Weekly Media Roundup: September 30, 2015

Native American Dance Club for Kids expands (Great Falls Tribune, Montana)

Native American students at West Elementary will soon have the opportunity to celebrate their heritage through dance. Previously, West students had to travel to another school in the district to take part in the Great Falls Public Schools Indian education’s afterschool dance club, but now they’ll be able to learn traditional Native American dancing, receive homework help and work with mentors at their own school. Indian education specialist TJ IronBear said the dance program makes a huge difference for kids in both their schoolwork and their attitude, even transforming one shy boy into someone who will dance proudly in front of his friends and speak up in class. “He’s coming to school every day engaged,” IronBear told Great Falls Tribune.

Build a Robot, Build a Career (Chippewa Herald, Wisconsin)

Kids at Chippewa Falls Middle School are improving their problem solving, communication and critical thinking skills by building remote-control robots out of Lego pieces. “It’s such a hands-on project, it requires that they communicate,” Jodi Thesing-Ritter, executive director of diversity and inclusion at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, told the Chippewa Herald. The afterschool robotics class is part of the Voyageur’s afterschool program at the school that aims to increase student interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and give kids valuable skills that will help them enter the job market one day.

Akron Elementary School Adds Hour to Day for Unconventional Learning (Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio)

An extra hour of school will allow Leggett Elementary students to participate in drama class, charm school, mad science experiments, business entrepreneurship and puppetry lessons, thanks to a $500,000 federal grant. The school day will now end with 45-minute “Discovery Blocks,” special enrichment classes designed by individual teachers to give kids instruction in subjects they won’t have time for during the regular school day. The kids can choose which Discovery Block they want to participate in, giving them ownership over their learning experience. “We’ve missed the love of learning,” intervention specialist Jemma Huber told the Akron Beacon Journal. “This extra time, it lets us know [school] is fun, that this is a great place to be.”

Burlington After-School Sailing Program Promotes Accessibility and Leadership (Vermont Public Radio, Vermont)

The Community Sailing Center on Lake Champlain is teaching low-income kids to rig and sail a boat on their own through its highly successful afterschool sailing program. Since it opened 13 years ago, the center has helped thousands of students, in a number of Burlington schools, experience sailing while developing leadership abilities, confidence, teamwork and communication skills. Associate director Jen Guimares said the sailing program helps shy students learn to lead while teaching more outgoing students how to be good followers. “It’s a great platform,” she told Vermont Public Radio. “And really, these programs are using sailing to do so much more.”