Weekly Media Roundup: July 19, 2023

What 3 After-School Programs Are Doing to Prepare Kids for the Future of Work, Education Week

Across the country, afterschool programs are providing students the opportunities to dive deeper into STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) activities. At the SeaPerch afterschool program in Alexandria, Virginia, students create their own underwater robots while learning about global environmental issues. In Oakland, California, high school students of color are working side-by-side with Google mentors, creating computer programs at Google’s Code Next afterschool program. At Indiana Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs afterschool programs, students are exploring careers as first responders, crane operators and automotive technicians, all through virtual reality headsets. Afterschool programs “complement what’s possible during the school day, including offering more flexibility and time for hands-on learning to explore career paths and gain workforce skills,” Maud Abeel, an associate director for Jobs for the Future, told Education Week.

Summer School Rockets Students Out of This World, KPBS (California)

Eighty middle school students are designing a metaphysical mission to Mars in a free project-based summer learning program offered by the San Diego Unified School District. The program is designed to introduce students to STEM concepts through hands-on activities including designing, building and launching model rockets. “You can create something and it won’t always come out as planned. But, that’s how you fail and have trials. You learn better and next time it will be easier," Makayla Day, a 14-year-old student, told KPBS.

New After-School Programming Coming to Southeast Colorado Springs Students This Fall, The Colorado Springs Gazette (Colorado)

Thanks to a grant from the Daniels Fund, Pikes Peake United Way is partnering with Colorado Springs Sports Corp and Junior Achievement to open a free afterschool program focusing on sports and financial literacy at its new Family Success Center. Students will have the opportunity to play up to ten different sports while learning about leadership, teamwork and how to balance a budget. “It will mean a lot to those kids who are not likely to participate in club sports or any sports programs that may require a fee or transportation,” Pikes Peak United Way CEO Cindy Aubrey told the Colorado Springs Gazette. “The other half is the financial literacy program that JA (Junior Achievement) will be doing which is about teaching children at an early age how to make money, and how to handle money.”

Nonprofit Partners with Boys & Girls Club to Screen for Health Concerns, SC Now (South Carolina)

Last week, students at the Florence Boys & Girls Club summer learning program in Florence, South Carolina got free vision and dental screenings thanks to a partnership with Healthy Learners, a local nonprofit. Healthy Learners provided information about the results of the screenings to students’ parents, who can contact the organization for help accessing follow-up care, including transportation. The Florence Boys & Girls Club is Healthy Learner’s first partnership in the Florence area. “As long as there’s a hardship or need, we’re here to help them,” Program Manager Dee Newell told SC Now