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Weekly Media Roundup: May 9th, 2018

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Weekly Media Roundup: May 9th, 2018

Forestview After-School STEM Clubs Highlight Need, Booming Popularity (Pine and Lakes Echo Journal, Minnesota)

The afterschool programs at Forestview Middle School are overwhelmingly geared toward STEM. Many students are currently participating in the robotics club; others are learning to program drones, work with a laser-engraving machine or operate high-altitude balloons. As multimedia teacher Jim Reed explained to Echo Journal, "What we've basically done is we've tapped into kids that didn't have anything to do after school. Instead of having kids go home and play video games, why don't we have them build video games?"

Middle Schoolers Race Solar Powered Cars in Downtown Grand Junction (KJCT, Colorado)

In Grand Junction, Colorado, students in the MESA (math, engineering and science achievement) program spend their afterschool time learning how to both build cars and be more sustainable. Students recently showed off their solar-powered cars this weekend in a race downtown. “MESA inspired innovation and creativity, there are all sorts of ways to use that in future careers and lives," Anne Wenzel, Executive Director for Western Colorado Community Foundation, told KJCT.

An Orchestra Adopts a City, One Kid at Time (New York Times)

OrchKids, the brainchild of Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s music director Marin Alsop, started ten years ago with just 30 children as an afterschool program where students learned to play classical music. Now one of Baltimore’s most successful afterschool programs, Orchkids boasts over 1,000 student participants, tens of success stories and past performances at venues around the world, most notably for Michelle Obama at the White House. “Every time they step out, they’re a positive image of our city,” Baltimore mayor Catherine Pugh told the New York Times. She added that she would like to see OrchKids expand. “Baltimore is about possibility. Baltimore is about future.”

Kids Stock Fish as Part of New Milford Arts and Nature Program (New Milford Spectrum, Connecticut)

Nature was front and center on the curriculum for a dozen children in the After School Arts Program of Washington, Connecticut this year. On a trip to New Milford, the children had the chance to stock the local river with brook trout from a local hatchery and learn about conservation efforts in the area. The Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust put on activities for the students to teach them about local animal species, make “wildflower seed bombs,” and explore the local ecosystem. “We really encourage kids to unplug and get out. Even most of our art programs are outside,” program manager Ali Psomas told the New Milford Spectrum.

Weekly Media Roundup: March 20, 2024

Matthew McConaughey and ASU Are Helping an Arizona School District. Here's How, Arizona Republic (Arizona) Matthew McConaughey and Arizona State University (ASU) have teamed up to help a Phoenix-area school district apply for federal afterschool funding included in the Bipartisan Safer...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      03/20/24

Weekly Media Roundup: March 13, 2024

English Learners Stopped Coming to Class During the Pandemic. One Group is Tackling the Problem By Helping Their Parents, Hechinger Report In North Carolina, nearly one third of English language learning students were chronically absent last year, a rate significantly higher than the...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      03/13/24

Weekly Media Roundup: March 6, 2024

Charlotte Afterschool Program Aims to Break Cycle of Youth Crime and Violence, WBTV (North Carolina) In response to the 33 percent rise in juvenile gun violence in Charlotte, North Carolina, county leaders presented The Way Forward plan to city council members this week. The plan includes...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      03/06/24

Weekly Media Roundup: February 28, 2024

Program Designed to Boost Reading Rates in NW Tallahassee is Reaching More Students, WTXL (Florida) At Springwood Elementary School’s afterschool program in Tallahassee, Florida, students are paired with volunteers from United Way’s ReadingPals program, working together to improve...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      02/28/24

Weekly Media Roundup: February 21, 2024

Missoula After-School Program for BIPOC Youth Creating Next Generation of Leaders, KTVQ-TV (Montana) At the Association for BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) Youth afterschool program in Missoula, Montana, students of color build community, take part in mindfulness activities, and develop...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      02/21/24

Weekly Media Roundup: February 14, 2024

Viewpoint: Invest in Out-of-School Programs to Help Solve State’s Educational Challenges, South Bend Tribune (Indiana) Indiana lawmakers are considering continuing the state’s pandemic-era investments in out-of-school time learning, including afterschool and summer learning programs....

BY: Magen Eissenstat      02/14/24

Weekly Media Roundup: February 7, 2024

Rangers Star Welcomes Kids to the Ice in After School Program, NBC4 (New York) With help from a donation from the Garden of Dreams Foundation, 50 students in the WHEDco (Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation) afterschool program in the South Bronx are lacing up skates and...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      02/07/24

Weekly Media Roundup: January 31, 2024

Advocates of Afterschool Opportunities Rally in Albany for $119M Funding Boost, Spectrum News 1 (New York) On Tuesday, afterschool leaders, students, and lawmakers gathered in Albany, New York to press for an additional $119 million in state funding to ensure universal access to afterschool. At...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/31/24

Weekly Media Roundup: January 24, 2024

'Articulate Their Pain': Preventing Teen Suicide Through the Power of Music, Spectrum News 1 (North Carolina) DDAAT-App, a mental health nonprofit with an afterschool program in Charlotte, North Carolina, is partnering with The Bridge, a music studio, to give students access to recording...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/24/24

Weekly Media Roundup: January 17, 2024

Bessie Coleman After School Aviation Program to be Tested in Oklahoma, General Aviation News (Oklahoma) Sixth and 7th graders in Tulsa, Oklahoma are exploring careers in aerospace and aeronautics by building planes, flying drones, and participating in other hands-on projects thanks to a...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      01/17/24