Weekly Media Roundup: May 20, 2020

Burlington Provides Care at School — or at Home — for Essential Workers' Kids, Seven Days (Vermont)

Afterschool staff and paraeducators are providing a safe, enriching learning environment for children of essential workers in Burlington, Vermont while schools and afterschool programs are closed due to coronavirus. At the school-based program, designed by the Burlington School District, each staff member is assigned a single child or set of siblings to care for, and groups remain in separate rooms to maintain social distancing. Daily activities include science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) projects, outdoor time, arts, crafts and online learning from classroom teachers. “Staff put us all at ease with their warmth, energy and professionalism,” parent Lauren Dewey told Seven Days.

After-School Program Hosts Drive-Thru Fifth Grade Graduation in New Braunfels, Community Impact (Texas)

Since 2006, the New Braunfels Christian Ministries in New Braunfels, Texas has facilitated a free, daily afterschool program called Kids Club that includes tutoring, enrichment, meals and more. Last week, the program hosted a socially-distanced ‘drive through graduation’ for fifth grade students. Volunteers and teachers waved signs congratulating students on their accomplishments, and families received groceries and pizza. “This is a big milestone for these kids,” Christian Ministries Executive Director Brett Mosher told Community Impact.

Nonprofit Expands Free After School Programs Amid COVID-19 Crisis, Bronx Times (New York)

DMF Youth in New York City, New York provides free afterschool and summer programs that combine dance and social-emotional learning activities to promote students’ physical and mental wellbeing. While in-person programming is suspended due to the pandemic, the program has continued this mission through YouTube lessons and live Zoom chats. In these lessons, students learn new dance steps and choreography and take part in “awesome human challenges” designed to promote kindness, teamwork, mindfulness and confidence. DMF Youth will also distribute care packages to students with journals, letters from teachers, and art supplies. “After I dance with DMF Youth, I always feel better,” third grader Ta Jae told the Bronx Times. “I actually feel happy.”

Kumar's Cooking Class Goes Online, Fort Madison Daily Democrat (Iowa)

While in-person programming is suspended due to the pandemic, the Elliott Test Kitchen afterschool program in Fort Madison, Iowa is combining cooking, history and science instruction in live classes online. In a recent class, students learned to make spinach tater tot casserole. While the casseroles were in the oven, a history teacher gave a lesson about railroad turn table material from the 19^th Century, recently discovered in Fort Madison, and a science teacher demonstrated the difference between physical and chemical changes. Founder Kumar Wickramasingha is planning a summer learning program focused on science that incorporates cooking. “If you want kids to participate in summer learning, you have to add an incentive,” he told the Fort Madison Daily Democrat. “That’s where the cooking comes in.”