Weekly Media Roundup: March 5, 2025

YMCA, Rotary Club Partner to Launch Anti-Bullying Program, Kansas City Star (Missouri)

In St. Joseph, Missouri, the Rotary Club is partnering with the YMCA to offer an anti-bullying afterschool program that focuses on empowering students to stand up for themselves and work through conflict. “We recognize that there’s a ripple effect that happens when you touch the life of a student,” YMCA CEO Tammy Killin told the Kansas City Star. “Our hope is that we can continue this [pilot] program, potentially with other before and after school programs and with other schools in the district.”

Young Authors Bring Their Stories to Life in NYC Public School Program, PIX 11 (New York)

Last week, student authors in the New York Edge afterschool program in New York City read from their works and signed copies of their books at a local bookstore. The book-publishing program is designed to get students ages 10 to 13 excited about reading and writing while building their confidence as creators. New York Edge is the city’s largest school-based afterschool program provider. Student Valentina Ragusano, co-author of Welcome to Candyland, told PIX 11, “It feels amazing. I get to see what I accomplished and what my classmates accomplished.”

Before They Were Sworn SAPD Officers, They Were One-Time Cadets Learning About the Neighborhoods They'd Patrol, KENS 5 (Texas)

In San Antonio, Texas, police cadets participate in a unique community immersion program to better understand the people they are to serve and form a deeper connection with them. As part of their training, the cadets work on art projects with students at Leaven Kids afterschool programs, participate in jiu jitsu classes at Ohana Academy, and talk with college students at William Barbar College. “We know that, the community we are in, there are lot of distractions,” Leaven Kids program manager Mariana Loera Mata told KENS 5. “[Some] kids are unsupervised after school. We also want our kids to understand that (police) are not against us, they are for us.”

Students Win $12K Technology Prize in Statewide Competition by Helping Classmate, Gulf Coast News Now (Maryland)

Students in an afterschool program at Southern Middle School in Lothian, Maryland were recently named winners of Samsung’s “Solve for Tomorrow” competition for their efforts to design a desk for a classmate, Kenneth, who uses a wheelchair. Kenneth uses an iPad to communicate, which the new desk will hold it in place so he can use it with both his hands. The award includes a $12,000 technology grant for the students’ school. "This whole project is really teaching us about how, like, to work together and how we can help other people and not just us," student Everleigh Finnelle told Gulf Coast News Now.