Weekly Media Roundup: March 20, 2019

It’s Elementary: UNH Manchester Student Makes Learning Fun, Manchester Ink Link (New Hampshire)

By partnering with afterschool programs, the University of New Hampshire helps build pathways to college and careers in science, technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) for students. Each week, afterschool students visit the University’s STEM Discovery Lab, where they engage in hands-on activities, create art projects and form relationships with UNH students. Topics have included coding, anatomy and marine biology. “I love watching them giggle with each other or concentrate and collaborate when a project gets tricky,” UNH student Alysse Winkelmann wrote in the Manchester Ink Link. “I also [love] sitting down with a child as they tell me what they’re doing or ask me for help because they know I’m there for them. It feels so good knowing I’m able to help children get excited about science.”

Touro College Of Osteopathic Medicine “Graduates” Local Med-Achieve Scholars (Mainly In Harlem), Harlem World (New York)

The MedAchieve afterschool program in New York City works to increase high school students’ interest in medical careers through mentorship, coursework and hands-on lab experience. Operated by the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, the program pairs each student with a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine who provides an inside look into the medical world. “When I learned it was a one-on-one mentorship kind of program I decided it would be a great opportunity to talk to somebody about my interests,” student Kontessa Camacho told Harlem World. “I’ve had a great experience. I’ve learned a copious amount of information…a lot about CPR and different types of medical treatments and types of diseases and how they spread.”

Successful Boys and Girls Club at Waller Elementary, Panama City News Herald (Florida)

Seventy-five first- through fifth-grade students benefit from afterschool meals, physical activity, character education and homework help through the afterschool program at Waller Elementary in Florida. Run by the Boys and Girls Club of Bay County, the program also hosts family nights focusing on health topics including nutrition and hygiene. “It’s about trying to make a difference for kids and their futures,” Program Director Kate Robinson told the Panama City News Herald. “It’s about seeing the impact that we can make. The school day ends at 2:30 p.m. but part of the Boys and Girls Club mission is to be able to impact students out of school, after school, and give them a safe place to go.”

Bringing Education Closer to Home Helps Vulnerable Kids, EdSource (California)

Each day, staff from the Lion’s Pride After School program use a “walking school bus” to take children from two elementary schools to their apartments in an affordable housing complex in California. Once there, students receive academic support, engage in activities, learn about healthy conflict resolution, and more. The afterschool program operates as a partnership between the housing complex and the neighborhood schools, and the two stakeholders share student data to reduce absenteeism. “As new affordable and public housing developments are created across the state, there is an opportunity to weave afterschool and summer programs into their fabric from the beginning,” Jennifer Peck, President and CEO of the Partnership for Children & Youth, wrote in EdSource.