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 program. “The future of technology is ever-changing and being able to give our youth a place to learn at the same pace as the rest of the world is the best feeling,” Anika Velasquez, director of Monte Vista Kids Connection, told the Alamosa Citizen. “With the contribution to Kids Connection, AT&T has supplied students with resources to complete homework, do research projects, and explore this new digital age, better preparing them for their future.” In addition to laptops, program staff and students will receive computer training and support.

Out-of-School Program Expanded at Holmes High School’s 21st Century Community Learning Center, Northern Kentucky Tribune (Kentucky)

Thanks to federal COVID relief funding, the 21st Century Community Learning Center afterschool program at Holmes High School in Covington, Kentucky is partnering with a wide variety of community organizations this year to expand the activities it offers. New partnerships will enable students to participate in yoga, music, acting and improvisation, social-emotional learning activities, cooking, and martial arts. “It is our hope that by offering an even greater number of opportunities for students during out-of-school time, we will see an increase in student participation, resulting in a positive culture, fewer behavior referrals, increased school attendance rate, and increased GPA of those students in regular attendance,” Ashley McClure, associate director for Covington Partners, told the Northern Kentucky Tribune.

From Hip Hop to ‘Top Chef’: How Two NYC After-School Programs Teach Students About Healthy Eating, Chalkbeat

To address the rise in obesity in children since the pandemic, Columbia University is partnering with afterschool programs to explore the benefits educational interventions can have on children’s eating habits. At Hip Hop H.E.A.L.S. (Healthy Eating and Living in Schools), the afterschool program utilizes music to educate students about healthy food choices. “Our studies have shown that leveraging music creates not just immersion, but greater retention, greater learning, and a greater ability to influence behavioral change,” Olajide Williams, Columbia University Vice Dean of Community Health, told Chalkbeat. At New York Edge’s Food Explorers afterschool program, students participate in hands-on cooking classes, learn about a variety of cultural cuisines, and compete in “Chopped” and “Top Chef” cooking challenges. Columbia University researchers will evaluate students’ eating habits at both programs over a ten-week period.

Nonprofit Helps Homeless Children With Afterschool Program, Spectrum News 1 (North Carolina)

Each day at the Champion Village afterschool program in Charlotte, North Carolina, low-income students and those experiencing homelessness get help with homework, connect with mentors, and receive a free dinner and meals to bring home.  The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School district reported a nearly 60 percent increase in students facing homelessness between the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years. “There has been an increase in need, because there are more families moving into the hotels and their cars,” Champion House of Care President Janette Kinard told Spectrum News 1. “Not only are we helping [students] academically, but we are fighting hunger at the same time.”