Weekly Media Roundup: March 8, 2023

STUDENT VOICES: We Need More Women in STEM Fields, and We Have Ideas for Making that Happen, The Hechinger Report

In a guest column for the Hechinger Report, high schoolers Henrietta Rasmusson and Emerald Yankey list three priorities for increasing women’s participation in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields: more afterschool and summer STEM programs, opportunities for youth to develop leadership and advocacy skills as STEM ambassadors, and caring adult mentors who create space for student leaders. Rasmusson and Yankey are members of the inaugural 2022 Million Girls Moonshot Flight Crew, a youth ambassador program. “So many of us find our spark in STEM during programs that happen outside of school,” Rasmusson and Yankey write. “Girls everywhere need access to STEM learning beyond the classroom that gives them the freedom to be curious and explore and gain confidence in STEM.”

'The Mind, Body and the Soul': After School Program Holds Self-Care Day for Kids, KETV (Nebraska)

At the DREAM afterschool program in Omaha, Nebraska, students are learning the importance of self-care through mindfulness, exercise and proper hygiene. During a recent “self-care day,” barber Taurean Breckenridge provided free haircuts to students at the program. “I know what it’s like not having a haircut when you were little. We used to get the home cuts, uneven, no line-up, you hated it,” Breckenridge told KETV. “It builds confidence with the kids too, so as long as I can help them, I try to do whatever I can.”

200 Midlands Students Receive Free Shoes, WLTX (South Carolina)

Students attending the HYPE afterschool program in Sumter, South Carolina were each given a new pair of shoes, thanks to an ongoing partnership between Sumter Palmetto Rotary Club and the school district. “We’ve had children in program who were bullied because of the shoes they had on. I’ve seen children come in with shoes that are too small or too big. During these hard economic times right now, and a parent has more than one child, sometimes it’s really difficult to have to choose between putting good shoes on their feet or feeding them,” HYPE Director Barney Gadson told WLTX. For the past three years, Sumter Palmetto Rotary Club has sponsored the “Happy Feet” shoe donation to assist families in the Sumter School District.

Breaking Barriers: SKY Soccer Club Launches Free After-School Outreach Program, WNKY-TV (Kentucky)

A new afterschool program in Bowling Green, Kentucky will give more than 60 fifth and sixth graders the opportunity to join a soccer league with fees, uniforms, equipment, and transportation provided entirely free, plus meals, life skills lessons, and homework help. The SKY Soccer program was created to eliminate barriers to participating in sports. “We’re forming budgets from scratch and finding funding from scratch because these kids would not have the opportunity to play any sports, let alone, do it for free… And so we want to impact as many kids in this community as we can,” SKY Soccer Club Administrator Keiliah Prater told WNKY-TV.