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Weekly Media Roundup: November 15, 2023

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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.”

Weekly Media Roundup: October 25, 2023

Iberville Coalition Launches Baton Rouge Youth Coalition Satellite Campus, Plaquemine Post South (Louisiana) In September, the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition (BRYC) partnered with Dow Louisiana, the Iberville Parish School Board (IPSB), and the YMCA to open its first satellite campus at the Dow...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      10/25/23

Weekly Media Roundup: October 18, 2023

Participation in Boston Summer Learning Programs Reached All-Time High This Year, WBUR (Massachusetts) This past summer, nearly one in four Boston youths between the ages of five and 14 participated in the city’s educational summer programs and many of the programs were provided at no...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      10/18/23

Weekly Media Roundup: October 11, 2023

Monte Vista Gets AT&T Support for After-School Learning Lab, Alamosa Citizen (Colorado) Thanks to a $35,000 AT&T Foundation grant, the Monte Vista Kids Connection afterschool program in San Luis Valley, Colorado is purchasing much needed laptops and software for students attending the...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      10/11/23

Weekly Media Roundup: October 4, 2023

N.Y. Afterschool Programs Work to Support Academic, Emotional Needs, Spectrum News 1 (New York) Afterschool programs across New York State are helping students catch up on academics while addressing their emotional needs. Rural communities tend to have fewer after school options because many are...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      10/04/23

Weekly Media Roundup: September 27, 2023

After-School Program Helping Kids ‘Kick’ Off Their Future, WKBN-TV (Ohio) The Concept Young Scholars Program at the Horizon Science Academy in Youngstown, Ohio, which helps students with homework and focuses on building confidence, advancing volunteerism, and overcoming academic...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      09/27/23

Weekly Media Roundup: September 20, 2023

Boys & Girls Club Wausau Offering After School Programs to Prepare Students for Future, WSAW-TV (Wisconsin) Career exploration and workforce development is a major focus of the Boys & Girls Club of the Wausau Area’s afterschool program in Wisconsin. Students can apply and interview...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      09/20/23

Weekly Media Roundup: September 13, 2023

Afterschool Program Helps Madison Students Breathe for Change, Wisconsin State Journal (Wisconsin) At the Meadowood Neighborhood Center’s afterschool program in Madison, Wisconsin, students learn to reduce stress by controlling their breathing, practicing yoga, reading books to therapy...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      09/13/23

Weekly Media Roundup: September 6, 2023

Skateboarding, Cooking, Ceramics: After School Programs at Monterey Trail Help Students Find Hobbies, CBS Sacramento (California) At the ASSETs (After School Safety and Enrichment for Teens) program at Monterey Trail High School in Elk Grove, California, more than 200 teens access tutoring...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      09/06/23

Weekly Media Roundup: August 30, 2023

Oldest Home in Spartanburg Gets $200K for Transformation in an After-School Program, WSPA (South Carolina) Built in the late 1700s, the Seay House in Spartanburg, South Carolina, is undergoing a major renovation this fall and will reopen as the Brown Girls Read afterschool program early next...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      08/30/23

Weekly Media Roundup: August 16, 2023

4-H Can Help Find That Spark, Richmond Register (Kentucky) “In a world full of talents, interests and qualities, everyone has a unique inner fire that gives them joy, purpose, and direction. 4-H calls these ‘sparks,’ representing passion, energy and self-identity, not just...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      08/16/23