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Weekly Media Roundup: March 13, 2024

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Weekly Media Roundup: March 13, 2024

English Learners Stopped Coming to Class During the Pandemic. One Group is Tackling the Problem By Helping Their Parents, Hechinger Report

In North Carolina, nearly one third of English language learning students were chronically absent last year, a rate significantly higher than the state’s overall student absenteeism rate. OurBRIDGE for Kids, an afterschool program for immigrant and refugee students in Charlotte, North Carolina, is addressing the issue with a comprehensive approach that is producing strong results. “We realized before trying to address why your child isn’t going to school, we needed to ask, ‘What’s worrying you right now?’ That question really opened up all the reasons why going to school was not the first priority for many families: housing insecurity, food insecurity, job loss,” Sil Ganzó, founder of ourBRIDGE for Kids and an Afterschool Alliance Afterschool Ambassador, told the Hechinger Report. In addition to providing culturally responsive afterschool programing, ourBRIDGE connects families to staff members who speak the same language and to local community support services.

State Working on Afterschool Programs. WV Metro News (West Virginia)

At the inaugural West Virginia Afterschool Quality Conference in Charleston, more than 120 out-of-school time programs gathered to discuss best practices and the need to expand access to afterschool statewide. The conference was organized by the state Department of Education in partnership with the Department of Human Services Division of Early Care and Education with the West Virginia Statewide Afterschool Network, which released its updated program standards at the event. “There are a lot more kids in West Virginia that would love to participate in an afterschool program if they had access to an afterschool program,” Susan Gamble, director of the West Virginia Statewide Afterschool Network, told WV Metro News.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Sierra Vista Expanding With a New After-School Program in Palominas School District, KGUN 9 (Arizona)

Students in the Palominas School District in Arizona will soon have access to a comprehensive afterschool program thanks to a new partnership with the Boys & Girls Club of Sierra Vista. The new program will be the Club’s third in the Sierra Vista area and will offer a wide variety of activities not currently available at the students’ schools. For example, Palominas School District Superintendent Sherri Rosalik told KGUN9, “We’ve got some kids who are so into STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), and we don’t have those resources, but we could set up a room that has those 3D printers and Chromebooks [at the afterschool program], and we could do cool STEM activities in there.”

After School Academy Aims to Complement Classroom Learning, Sonoma Index-Tribune (California)

At the After School Empowerment Academy in Sonoma, California, high school students are participating in driver’s education classes, ready to work programs, finance courses, and leadership and advocacy programs. The free afterschool program began this winter, thanks to a partnership between Sonoma Valley Educational Foundation, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley, and Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance. “Long gone are the days of measuring success solely by a grade on a report card,” Sonoma Valley Education Foundation Executive Director Angela Ryan told the Sonoma Index-Tribune. “We know that true success for our students is the opportunity to explore who they are and what they want to become in a safe, resourced and inclusive environment. The After School Empowerment Academy reflects this sentiment by offering programs that develop the whole student — socially and emotionally, practically and academically.”

Weekly Media Roundup: January 29, 2025

Afterschool Program Introduces West Columbia Students to Technology, The Facts (Texas) Students at West Columbia Elementary in Texas are taking part in hands-on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activities in the new Robocatters afterschool program, which already has a long...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/29/25

Weekly Media Roundup: January 22, 2025

Another Year, Another Long Waitlist for BUSD After-School Program, Berkeleyside (California) Due to ongoing staffing shortages, more than 200 students are currently waitlisted for afterschool programs at Berkeley Unified School District. Parents in the district’s PTA Collaborative on...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/22/25

Weekly Media Roundup: January 15, 2025

New 4-H Program Will Bring STEAM to Area Students, KNEB (Nebraska) Students in rural Expanding Learning Opportunity programs in Nebraska are exploring aerospace, electronics, engineering, robotics and more thanks to a partnership with 4-H. The Think Make Create Lab is a six-by-12 mobile trailer...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/15/25

Weekly Media Roundup: January 8, 2025

Parks and Recreation Secures Grant to Bring Physical Activity Education to Youth in Afterschool Program, WBIW (Indiana) More than 50 students in the Banneker Afterschool program in Bloomington, Indiana are taking part in fun physical activities this year led by Indiana University School of...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/08/25

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...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      12/18/24

Weekly Media Roundup: December 11, 2024

Usher Helps Cut Ribbon On New Content Studio at Metro Boys and Girls, WSB-TV (Georgia) This week, superstar Usher visited the Whitehead Boys & Girls Club in Atlanta, Georgia, to unveil a new content studio he donated featuring soundboards, mics, computers and other audio equipment. The...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      12/11/24

Weekly Media Roundup: December 4, 2024

New Program Helps Connect Older Kids to Valuable Activities, Pigeon 605 (South Dakota) Through Sioux Falls Thrive’s new Youth Connect website, parents can explore afterschool programs available in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  “Our goal is to make it super-easy for families, kids...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      12/04/24

Weekly Media Roundup: November 27, 2024

Detroit After-School Program Mentoring Children Through Art, Music Looking to Expand, WDIV (Michigan) At the New City Kids afterschool program in Detroit, teen mentors inspire younger students to pursue music, dance, and the arts while also providing homework assistance. The teen mentors...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      11/27/24

Weekly Media Roundup: November 20, 2024

After-School Program Opens in Lewis County for the First Time in Years, WDTV 5 (West Virginia) Thanks to a partnership between the City of Weston and AmeriCorps, students at Robert L. Bland Middle School in West Virginia will take part in a comprehensive afterschool program this year....

BY: Magen Eissenstat      11/20/24

Weekly Media Roundup: November 13, 2024

Flower City Arts Center Empowers Students to Share Stories Through Photography, Spectrum News 1 (New York) Through photography, sculpture, and painting, the afterschool program at the Flower City Arts Center in Rochester, New York is empowering middle and high schoolers to express themselves...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      11/13/24