Weekly Media Roundup: September 5, 2018

Test Kitchen Growth Comes from Programming, Pen City Current (Iowa)

When Kumar Wickramasingha founded the Elliot Test Kitchen in 2015, his goal was to reach 25 - 30 students a year with academic support and exposure to the culinary arts. Since then, the free afterschool program has grown to more than 200 slots and now incorporates robotics, ACT test preparation, foreign language classes, and chess. The Test Kitchen’s programming has attracted coverage from a variety of media outlets and visits from local officials, including former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad. “The success is that this is all done over a meal. That’s where we’re building a bond. It’s not just homework and that’s the real secret,” Wickramasingha told Pen City Current.

JPS Summer Lit Camp Helps Close Reading Gap, The Post-Journal (New York)

At the Jamestown Public Schools Summer Lit Camp in New York, 113 first- through fourth-grade students spent the summer building their literacy skills by reading in indoor tents and completing writing activities around an indoor ‘campfire.’ The school district partnered with the Jamestown Area YMCA to create the free summer learning program to combat summer learning loss. A range of community partners, including local high school football players and grandmothers from a “Foster Grandparent” program, assisted with interactive read-alouds, community discussions, and more. “Some of these kids have never been to summer camp and this gave them their own ‘camp’ experience,” Site Coordinator Jeanne Larson told the Post-Journal. “Plus all of our staff went above and beyond to make it fun!”

Empower Yolo: ASSETs Program Helps Teens Become Leaders, Davis Enterprise (California)

In Woodland, California, the After School Safety & Enrichment for Teens (ASSETs) program leverages community partnerships to grow teens’ leadership skills and create pathways to college. Through free afterschool and summer learning programs, ASSETs provides personalized support ranging from resume workshops to counseling resources. This year, ASSETs is partnering with Yolo Farm to Fork, a local urban gardening organization, to teach students to tend soil, work with welding tools, cultivate produce and complete community service projects. “The idea is to tie the installation of the gardens into what students are learning at school day by day while partnering with Ag Science and Culinary teachers,” Program Director Jessica Olivares told the Davis Enterprise. “This will create experience and build skills.”

Hitting the Books: The Boxing Gym Saving Detroit's Youth, ESPN

Boxing lessons may draw students to the free afterschool program at Detroit’s Downtown Boxing Gym, but its mantra, “Books Before Boxing,” reminds them of its true purpose: creating a safe space for youth to access mentors and achieve academic success. Each year, the program provides about 170 students ages 8 to 18 with personalized learning plans, tutoring, hot meals, a music studio, and an open library. Since 2007, 100 percent of participants have graduated high school. "People ask me all the time what's the magic of this place," founder Carlo "Khali" Sweeney told ESPN. "The magic of this place is the fact that I'm willing to give my testimony and all these people around here are willing to give their testimonies.”