Weekly Media Roundup: July 24, 2024

Davis Promotes Afterschool Programs in McKeesport Visit, The Mon Valley Independent (Pennsylvania)

To celebrate Pennsylvania’s new BOOST (Building Opportunity through Out of School Time) initiative, which includes $11.5 million for afterschool, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis visited the LaRosa Youth Club in McKeesport to share how afterschool has positively impacted his life. “I grew up going to this facility, so I know firsthand the value of afterschool programs,” Lt. Gov. Davis told the Mon Valley Independent. “At their most basic level, they provide structure for students after the school day ends. But the best programs, like here at LaRosa, enhance and expand on what our kids are learning in school.”

$5.5 Million Grant Funds Mercyhurst University's After-School Programs for County Students, Erie Times News (Pennsylvania)

Thanks to a $5.5 million 21^st Century Community Learning Centers grant, Mercyhurst University will increase enrollment at its afterschool programs in Erie, Pennsylvania and provide new activities, such as trout farming, career exploration and social-emotional learning opportunities. “This grant enables us to expand the MELIA [Mercyhurst Early Learning Innovation Academy] program at (Northwestern Elementary and Springfield Elementary schools) from kindergarten through second grade to K through fifth grade,” Kortnie Fisher, MELIA’s principal investigator, told Erie Times News. “It also allows us to start Compass Academy at the Wiley Charter School.” For the past 12 years, Mercyhurst University has provided afterschool programs to families in Erie, PA.

Tucson Boys and Girls Clubs Offer After-School Programs for the New School Year, KGUN 9News (Arizona)

This fall, students attending the Boys and Girls Clubs of Tucson’s afterschool program will participate in a broad range of activities focusing on character development, academic success and healthy life choices. “Our demographics show that the kids in our clubhouses are from single-parent homes,” Denise Watters, CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Tucson, told KGUN. “We understand parents can’t leave work in the middle of the day to transport their children, so we handle that.”

Summer Cooking Camp Churns Out “Little Chefs,” KEYT-TV (California)

This summer, Santa Barbara Middle School is partnering with Apples to Zucchini Cooking School to offer a “cooking camp” with a new theme each week. At the camp, students are trying new foods while learning how to properly use a knife, select produce, combine flavors, wash dishes and more. The program is designed to keep students engaged during summer break and teach life skills. “We’re teaching how to eat, how to share, and we’re also teaching about gardening and where their food actually comes from,” Apples to Zucchini Cooking School Executive Director Nancy Martz told KEYT-TV.