Weekly Media Roundup: December 18, 2024

Mason City YMCA Teaching Social and Emotional Skills to Kids, News-Press Now (Iowa)

Students in the Mason City YMCA afterschool program in Iowa practice communication, emotional regulation, empathy and more in twice-weekly social and emotional learning sessions, learning, for instance, to take deep breaths when they are having “big emotions.” Program leaders say students have demonstrated improvement in conflict resolution since the sessions began. Students “definitely enjoy it, and you can tell they are taking some things away from it,” Youth Development Director Jessica Wilkerson told News-Press Now.

Local School is Set to Continue After-School Program, WPSD (Kentucky)

After a successful pilot program this fall, Morgan Elementary in Paducah, Kentucky is collaborating with Paducah Parks and Recreation to continue to offer its afterschool program next semester. “By the time they (students) get picked up at 5:30, they’ve had their homework done, they’ve had a snack, they’ve had a meal, and that family can go home and be a family,” Principal Tami Snyder told WPSD. The afterschool program staff includes local high school and college students, serving as mentors and role models to the younger students.

YMCA Offering Affordable Holiday Camps to Support Southern Nevada Working Parents, KTNV Las Vegas (Nevada)

Each year, the Centennial Hills YMCA in the Las Vegas Valley sees a notable increase in student attendance during its holiday camps, as parents rely on the organization to provide engaging programming while school is out. At the holiday camps, students take part in sports, health and wellness activities, arts, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) projects, and more.  “The Y is really committed to supporting working families, so we do everything in our power to be able to offer these programs and services, specifically during out-of-school time because we know how important it is for families that are working to be able to have reliable, high-quality care options,” Emily Sowers, executive director of Centennial Hills YMCA, told KTNV Las Vegas.

Community Learning Centers Expand After-School Programs for Kids, Sioux Falls Live (South Dakota)

Several years ago, an Augustana University study estimated that half of elementary students in Sioux Falls, South Dakota were alone after school. To help close the gap, the Sioux Falls School District found it could reduce transportation and facility costs if it offered afterschool programs at its schools. Collaborating with existing local programs, the district began offering afterschool programs at its elementary schools and currently serves 1,800 elementary school students. “We decided we could serve twice as many children,” Rebecca Wimmer, Sioux Falls’ Community Partnerships and Afterschool Programs coordinator, told Sioux Falls Live. Next year, the program will offer summer programs at 12 schools and expand its afterschool programs to include middle school students in the fall.