Weekly Media Roundup: September 18, 2019

YouthPlaces Is Offering Kids A Place to Hang Out Downtown After School, WESA-FM (Pennsylvania)

When YouthPlaces, a Pittsburgh nonprofit, surveyed students about the possibility of an afterschool program to offer teens a safe, constructive space and also reduce loitering downtown, the response was overwhelmingly positive. As a result, the nonprofit will open a program in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center this year. The new program will be open from 8 am to 8 pm and will include mentorship, tutoring, an entrepreneurship and innovation incubator, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programming, and more. “We’re adults. We sometimes come from places of what we wanted when we were kids, and it’s not the same, especially with technology…. Youth input on what they want to do creates more buy-in,” President and CEO Cynthia James told WESA.

Students Create Businesses, Start Their Own Companies at Young Entrepreneur Academy, Mansfield News Journal (Ohio)

Over the past five years, students in the Young Entrepreneurship Academy afterschool program in Mansfield, Ohio have started businesses ranging from a computer game company to a business that re-sells motorcycle parts. In the year-long program’s three phases – the big idea, the pitch, and the launch – students learn about branding and marketing, write their own business plans, pitch their ideas to local investors and business owners, earn startup funding, and register their new companies with the secretary of state’s office. “It’s so cool to see what they accomplish, and how much they grow,” Program Coordinator Nikki Lewis told the Mansfield News Journal. “I know that some of my past grads are in college now, and it’s fun to know what they’re doing, how successful they are in college.”

Grant to Provide Funding for New After-School Program at WEMS, Williams News (Arizona)

Children in preschool through eighth grade at Williams Elementary-Middle School (WEMS) in Arizona will benefit from a robust, hands-on afterschool program this year thanks to a 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant. The Falcon Flyers program will focus on academic and social and emotional development. Students will receive academic support from certified teachers, and activities will include theater, science, cooking, sewing, and more. The program will also offer parents language and employment resources. “Family time is super important, but a lot of families can’t provide that right after school,” Principal Carissa Morrison told the Williams News. “Some [students] are watching TV, playing video games or maybe not in a safe place. This will give those students good role models and some structure.”

Warrensburg After-School Program Recognized by School Boards Association, The Post Star (New York)

Students who attend the In the Zone afterschool program in Warrensburg, New York show a 48 percent decrease in early dismissals and a 28 percent decrease in absenteeism, according to the school superintendent. Seventy students attend the program, where they perform community service, engage in physical activity, get help with their homework, make crafts and more. The New York State School Boards Association recently recognized the program as a “Champion of Change for Kids.” “We were thrilled we were recognized,” School Superintendent John Goralski told the Post Star.