Weekly Media Roundup: May 18, 2022

Clark, Champaign Organizations Awarded Grants for Student Academic Needs, Well-Being, Springfield News-Sun (Ohio)

Thanks to a $2.1 million Summer Learning and Afterschool Opportunities grant from the Ohio Department of Education (ODE), the Champaign Family YMCA and Graham Local School District will expand their afterschool and summer programs to a greater number of elementary, middle school and high school students. Activities will include math and reading enrichment programs, engaging life skills activities, community service projects, career exploration and parental support. “This additional funding from ODE will enable us to expand these existing programs, touch lives and positively support the future needs of students in the Graham Local School District,” Lori Garrison, Graham Local Schools grant manager and Afterschool Ambassador, told the Springfield News-Sun.

Scholarship, Internship Program Offered to Boost Bend Afterschool Staffing, Central Oregon Daily News (Oregon)

To boost hiring amidst a staffing shortage, the Bend Parks and Recreation (BRPD)’s Kids Inc. afterschool program is partnering with Oregon State University-Cascades (OSU-Cascades), Central Oregon Community College (COCC), and the Bend-La Pine School District. Starting this fall, students at OSU-Cascades and COCC will be awarded scholarships for serving as youth recreation leaders in the program, in addition to the program’s hourly wage. High schoolers will also receive course credit for completing paid internships with the program. “Kids Inc. has provided aftercare at most Bend elementary schools for more than 30 years and the need for school-age afterschool care has never been higher,” BPRD Recreation Services Director Matt Mercer told Central Oregon Daily News.  “Working parents feel this need acutely and we must do more to strengthen and retain the workforce charged with this important after school enrichment activity.”

Barnett Shoals Elementary Boys Learn Responsibility, Respect in Boys to Men Program, Athens Banner-Herald (Georgia)

At Barnett Shoals Elementary School’s Boys to Men afterschool program in Athens, Georgia, students enjoy learning valuable life skills in a supportive environment. “I have learned how to be more accountable, how to be more respectful to other people, and how to be more responsible with my actions," fourth grader Ayden Stephens told the Athens Banner-Herald. After participating in a recent school play, Stephens said, “I got a lot of compliments because I was amazing, I was into it, and I was feeling it. Boys to Men helped me with public speaking so I wasn’t nervous at all.”

Don't Tell the Kids, but Halfway Home Pueblo's Summer Program is Educational, Too, The Pueblo Chieftain (Colorado)

This summer, students in the Halfway Home Pueblo summer learning program in Colorado will learn to make pizza, visit the Pueblo Zoo, go swimming, do arts and crafts, work with tutors and mentors one-on-one, and more. “It’s a fun six weeks and every day there is something good to do. We usually have 95% attendance because the kids don’t want to miss out,” Founder William Wright told the Pueblo Chieftain. Halfway Home Pueblo also operates an afterschool program during the school year, and both programs are free.