Weekly Media Roundup: November 23, 2022

Hillsborough Teens Offer After-School Lessons, and Get Something in Return, Tampa Bay Times (Florida)

At the Hillsborough Out of School Time program in Seminole, Florida, elementary school students conduct experiments with their Science Buddies from the local high school. The mentoring program was founded by teenagers in the International Baccalaureate program at Hillsborough High School. “[The children] jump in and love interacting with the high school kids,” Tyler Marsh, lead teacher at the Hillsborough Out of School Time program, told Tampa Bay Times. “They’re not just there to get community service hours. They actually enjoy it, and the kids know it.”

New After-School Program Building Opens at Vanderburgh Co. Mobile Home Park, 14 News (Indiana)

The afterschool program at the Grandin Pointe mobile home community can now serve nearly twice as many students thanks to a new building that opened this week.  The free program provides academic support as well as fun, enriching activities such as cooking classes. “This is going to help them in the future to be able to make those bonds with people, be able to learn, and be self-sufficient, really just all around be a better person than they were yesterday,” Grandin Community’s District Manager told 14 News.

Social Media Star Dr. Mike Delivers $125,000 Purse to Harlem Club After Boxing Defeat, New York Daily News (New York)

After losing his boxing match, YouTube star Dr. Mikhail “Mike” Varshavski donated the $125,000 purse from the match to the Boys and Girls Club of Harlem. “Unfortunately, I took a beating,” Dr. Mikhail Varshavski told students at the afterschool program. “My victory is being able to present $125,000 so you guys can have an incredible education and have fun.” In addition to being a social media celebrity, Dr. Varshavski is a practicing physician, and spoke with the students about reaching their full potential. The Boys and Girls Club plans to purchase new equipment for its media room and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) room and hire additional math tutors.

U.S. Secretary of Education Praises California After-School Programs on 20th Anniversary of Proposition 49, EdSource (California)

Last week, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger visited an afterschool program at Bell Gardens Intermediate School in Los Angeles County, where students showcased their drumming, dance and robotics skills. The visit was in celebration of the 20th anniversary of California’s Proposition 49, which dedicated more than $400 million to out-of-school time programs. Secretary Cardona noted that California allocates more funding to afterschool than all other 49 states combined, and he highlighted the Education Department’s efforts to encourage school districts to use COVID relief funding to expand access to afterschool programs. “Our goal is not just to recover from the last two years, but to really give students more opportunities to thrive, to be engaged, to go on to postsecondary education,” he told EdSource. “That takes a commitment on both sides of the aisle.”