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 services and free meals each day. The program also offers a wide variety of enrichment activities, including basketball, gardening, cooking, ceramics, skateboarding and more. “It gives me something to focus on and gives me something to spend my time on rather than just sitting around at the house," Duice Cervantes, a junior at Monterey Trail High School, told CBS Sacramento.

Umatilla Schools Win Grant for After-School Program, East Oregonian (Oregon)

Since 2003, the Umatilla School District in Oregon has provided free afterschool programs to students in kindergarten through twelfth grade, thanks to Century Community Learning Centers grant funding. This year, afterschool programs are partnering with Community Counseling Solutions to provide mental health services. “[Students will] actually be able to have their counseling appointments and counseling opportunities during the after school time, which is really exciting because sometimes that’s hard for families to schedule,” Umatilla School District Superintendent Heidi Sipe told the East Oregonian.

After-School Youth Program Coming to Indian Creek, Herald-Star (Ohio)

In Steubenville, Ohio, Indian Creek Middle School is partnering with the Sycamore Youth Center to open its first afterschool program, providing hands on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) activities, academic support and a healthy snack to middle school students. “We have many kids that go home to empty homes,” Indian Creek Middle Principal Holly Minch-Hick told the Herald-Star. “Their parents are working; they need to work to make ends meet. Why not provide an opportunity for kids to be engaged in meaningful activities and learning after school?” Staff will include teachers from the middle school as well as life skills specialists from the Sycamore Youth Center.

Twelve Honored as Madison’s ‘MOST Outstanding Youth Worker,’ NBC 15 (Wisconsin)

In August, the Madison Out-of-School Time (MOST) initiative in Wisconsin honored 12 Madison-area youth workers for their work to support students’ wellbeing and success after school. One “MOST Outstanding Youth Worker” honoree, Aza Muzowera, has served students at the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center for 10 years. Muzowera attended the center’s afterschool program as a child and became a youth worker because of its impact on his life. “I struggled to find my identity and find who I was and recognize the potential in me when I was eight, when I was 10, when I didn’t have a mentor to help guide me,” Muzowera told NBC 15. “Hopefully I can be that to another child.”