Weekly Media Roundup: November 15, 2023

Opinion: Students Aren’t Spending Enough Time Learning. Here’s How We Can Improve Outcomes., The San Diego Union-Tribune (California)

In a recent guest column in the San Diego Union-Tribune, Courtney Baltiyskyy and Aleah Rosario share how California’s recent $4 billion investment in out-of-school time programs is already making a difference at the YMCA of San Diego County, where Baltiyskyy is vice president of policy & advocacy. Since the funding increase, the program has raised wages for more than 700 staff and is now able to provide 4,000 more students with high-quality afterschool programming. “These experiences that connect learning about conservation, creative arts, career opportunities and more are supporting positive mental health, enthusiasm for learning and importantly show students that no matter their ZIP code, they are worthy of an amazing educational opportunity,” Baltiyskyy and Rosario write.

Over 80% of Public Schools Offered Summer Programs in 2023, K-12 Dive

Last summer, 78 percent of U.S. public schools offered academically focused summer programs and nearly a third of them used Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding to support these programs, finds a recent U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) report. The report also finds 87 percent of public schools currently offer some form of afterschool programming. “The new data tell an important story about the additional opportunities available to help students beyond the school day, especially at a time when academic recovery from the pandemic remains a top concern,” NCES Commissioner Peggy Carr said. Education leaders caution that many schools will not be able to offer summer programs once the COVID federal aid ends in the fall of 2024.

Full Circle: The Unsung Heroes Behind the Scenes Keeping Kids Out of Trouble, ABC Action News (Florida)

To address the alarming rate of juvenile crime, the Tampa Police Athletic League Boxing program in Florida provides students a safe place to exercise but more importantly build relationships with adult mentors who follow the afterschool program’s core values of commitment, honor, integrity, and courage. “We get a lot of kids that have domestic and family issues at home. And they just come here to seek normalcy in their life,” Master Police Officer Julius Cannon told ABC Action News. “And so we get a mixture of kids, we get the kids who want to participate in boxing and be athletic, and then we get the kids who just need to get away and be mentored… I like to feel like I’ve at least helped out a small percentage of cases. And for me, that’s the biggest achievement of my career.”

Community Helps After-School Science Lab Gather Steam, The Reflector (North Carolina)

Last week, on National STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) Day, the Building Hope Community Life Center’s afterschool program in Greenville, North Carolina opened a new STEAM lab with microscopes, computers, chemistry equipment, a Van De Graaff generator and more. Dozens of education, government and business leaders attended the event to celebrate the afterschool program’s impact and highlight the importance of increasing students’ access to hands-on STEAM activities. “The STEM field is rapidly changing with new opportunities that we could not have even imagined five, 10, 15 years ago,” U.S. Rep. Greg Murphy told attendees via video “So it’s very exciting to see the work that Building Hope has embarked upon to engage future young talent.”