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Weekly Media Roundup: July 31, 2024

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Weekly Media Roundup: July 31, 2024

A North Texas School District is Offering a Free Dinner Program for Students This Year, WFAA (Texas)

This fall, Fort Worth Independent School District is partnering with Sodexo to provide free dinners at its afterschool enrichment programs. “We are excited about the opportunities this partnership with Sodexo provides. We know that nutrition is an integral part of the learning process, and we are committed to ensuring that our students have access to healthy menu options that taste great for breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” Deputy Superintendent Kellie Spencer told WFAA. The meal program is available to all students attending Fort Worth district schools, even if they are not enrolled in the afterschool program.

Beyond the Bell: New Program from The Opportunity Project Supports the Education Workforce and Families Through After-School Programs, Tulsa World (Oklahoma)

As many as 375 of the 450 afterschool programs in Tulsa, Oklahoma are in jeopardy of closing their doors this fall due to the expiration of federal COVID relief funding. To offset these closures, the Opportunity Project’s Tulsa EnrichED is providing funding to schools to start their own afterschool programs. “Our mission is to ensure all Tulsa youth have access to safe, dynamic and engaging after-school and summer programs,” says Lauren Sivak, The Opportunity Project’s executive director, told Tulsa World. “We are committed to stewarding resources thoughtfully, equitably and effectively to enhance youth success in and out of the classroom.”

Can Schools Meet the Demand for Summer Learning as Funding Runs Out?, Education Week

In a recent poll conducted by Gallup for the National Summer Learning Association and American Camp Association, nearly half of parents said their children did not participate in a summer learning program last year – and more than two in five said cost was a major barrier. Now, as federal COVID relief funds wind down, advocates worry the summer opportunity gap will grow even wider. “We think about 5 million more students have been able to attend programs because of those COVID dollars,” Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant told Education Week.  “But those are about to expire, so I am concerned.”

Minnesota Is a Good Place for Children, But We Can Still Do Better, Minnesota Reformer (Minnesota)

Minnesota was ranked fifth for child well-being in the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2024 KIDS COUNT report. In a recent guest column for the Minnesota Reformer, Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota Director Alisha Porter celebrates the ranking while arguing the state must continue to improve education, for which it ranked 19th, by addressing chronic absenteeism and increasing access to out-of-school time programs. “For every child in an after school program in Minnesota, there were three more children in the state who wanted to participate in similar programs but could not,” Porter writes. “Minnesota must invest more in out-of-school learning grant programs. We must consider making permanent and increasing these grants, so such academic supports can make a sustained impact.”

Weekly Media Roundup: August 14, 2024

Virginia Designates Additional Aid for At-Risk Students, Virginia Mercury (Virginia) Beginning this fall, Virginia schools will have an additional $180 million per year to support at-risk students. A 2023 study found that Virginia provided less state funding for at-risk students than the...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      08/14/24

Weekly Media Roundup: August 7, 2024

Chicago Touts After-School Program Growth But Cuts Funding, Chalkbeat Weeks before the school year begins, many Chicago afterschool programs are facing dramatic funding cuts as federal COVID funds wind down and Chicago Public Schools is allocating fewer resources to out-of-school time programs....

BY: Magen Eissenstat      08/07/24

Weekly Media Roundup: July 31, 2024

A North Texas School District is Offering a Free Dinner Program for Students This Year, WFAA (Texas) This fall, Fort Worth Independent School District is partnering with Sodexo to provide free dinners at its afterschool enrichment programs. “We are excited about the opportunities this...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      07/31/24

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...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      07/24/24

Weekly Media Roundup: July 17, 2024

The Dog Days of Summer Drag. Summer Learning Programs Can Help, The Journal (Colorado) To celebrate National Summer Learning Week, 360 students across nine Colorado counties wrote postcards to their state lawmakers about why they love their summer learning programs. “I think summer camp is...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      07/17/24

Weekly Media Roundup: July 10, 2024

Education Matters: Central Valley Schools Are Expanding Students’ Learning Experiences,Your Central Valley (California) Thanks to a series of partnerships with county offices and Community Youth Ministries, students in the Selma Unified and Kings Canyon Unified School Districts in Fresno,...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      07/10/24

Weekly Media Roundup: July 3, 2024

Inside a Summer Learning Camp With an Uncertain Future After ESSER, Education Week More than 1,400 students are participating in Grizzly Learning Camp, a free, seven-week summer learning program run by Ypsilanti Community Schools in Michigan. It uses project-based learning – including...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      07/03/24

Weekly Media Roundup: June 27, 2024

The Surprising Reason Black Schools Face a ‘Fiscal Cliff’ This Fall, Word in Black As federal COVID emergency funds expire this fall, Black students around the country are at risk of losing access to afterschool programs and other supports that students in better-funded school...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      06/26/24

Weekly Media Roundup: June 20, 2024

Parents in Viroqua Come Together for the 'Save the After School Program' Campaign, WXOW (Wisconsin) At the McIntosh Memorial Library’s afterschool program in Viroqua, Wisconsin, students take part in outdoor games, visit local arts organizations, read to a therapy dog named Gordon,...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      06/20/24

Weekly Media Roundup: June 12, 2024

Tacoma's Late Night Summer Youth Program Aims to Curb Violence, Fox 13 Seattle (Washington) At 12 locations across Tacoma this summer, middle and high schoolers are taking part in Summer Late Nights programming held by Metro Parks Tacoma and Tacoma Public Schools. Each weeknight, teens can...

BY: Magen Eissenstat      06/12/24