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Tuesday, 09 March 2010 17:17 |
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Yorlenis (second from left) with Univision's Patricia Gabriela, Jorge Contreras and Lourdes Meluza
For an aspiring TV journalist, you can't get much better training than spending the day with a professional reporter. Yorlenis Maradiaga, a student at LAYC's Next Step Public Charter School, recently went on the job to shadow Univision reporter Lourdes Meluza as she went from assignment to assignment.
The busy day of work included trips to interview Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano about healthcare reform, to Capitol Hill to interview Democrats and Republicans about the status of the national healthcare bill and to Mary's Center to interview clients about their stance on healthcare in the U.S.
Yorlenis was fascinated by how quickly Meluza came up with good questions to ask, and then memorized them so that she didn't have to read off a piece of paper. Yorlenis also learned how the interviews are edited and cut in the control room and was surprised how quickly they ended up on television.
Despite her schedule, Meluza made sure that Yorlenis understood the journalistic process.
"She was really busy, but she took the time to explain everything that was going on," Yorlenis said.
The trip only bolstered Yorlenis' desire to be a journalist. When asked whether she wanted to be a reporter more now that she had spent the day with a reporter, she exclaimed, "Yes, more!" |
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Thursday, 25 February 2010 11:57 |
 Alex Rubio at a tutoring session. By Ben Graham, SES Site Coordinator
The Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) is happy to announce that the Center's Supplemental Educational Services (SES) tutoring program recently accepted its 100th participant. Thirteen new students helped push the after-school tutoring program's total number to 100 participants.
Supplemental Educational Services (SES) is a federally funded program that offers extra instruction for public school students. The tutoring program offers one-on-one and small group tutoring sessions twice a week in both math and reading. LAYC is one of the most successful SES providers in the DC area, offering after-school tutoring at Bruce Monroe, Powell, and Harriett Tubman elementary schools, as well as MacFarland Middle School. Last year, reading levels for elementary-aged participants increased by two grade levels and math proficiency levels by 35 percent. Among middle school students, reading levels increased by one grade level and math proficiency levels by 27 percent.
Macfarland 8th grader Alex Rubio began SES earlier this year, and has already mastered fractions in just three months of tutoring.
"SES is helping me prepare for high school by catching me up in math and teaching me how to write essays," Rubio explained.
SES Program Coordinator Jeremy Vera hopes to be able to expand the program this year as well as next.
"I'm very proud that we're able to offer this service for DCPS students," Jeremy said. "I'm also proud of the staff, who genuinely care about the students. It's evident when I walk into the school and see kids run up and hug the tutors." |
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Tuesday, 23 February 2010 16:24 |
 Next Step students hard at work. Spanish language channel Univision visited The Next Step Public Charter School to kickoff its "The Moment is Now" campaign, a multi-year effort to boost academic achievement among Latinos in the United States.
Univision reporter Lourdes Meluza visited Next Step where she took some video footage and spoke with students. One of the students she spoke with, Yorlenis, is an aspiring reporter. Yorlenis showed such interest in her future profession that Meluza invited her to shadow her during a day on the job to learn more!
Univision is working with the federal government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in an effort to help parents understand what's needed to ensure their children are ready for college and how to afford it. |
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Thursday, 18 February 2010 10:14 |
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 As a part of an ongoing effort to expose students to a variety of opportunities, the In-School Program visited the White House on Saturday, January 30th. Despite the cold weather and snow, everyone was very excited about the chance to go inside of The White House. During the tour, students were shown The Green Room, which once served as Thomas Jefferson’s dining room, The Blue Room, which was the site of President Cleveland’s wedding, The State Dining Room, which housed numerous formal dinners, presidential China, portraits, and avariety of other exhibits. Additionally, The In-School Program would like to formally thank Ms. Caren Howard from Congressman Hoyer’s office for going above and beyond the call of duty in arranging the tour on our behalf.
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Monday, 01 February 2010 12:58 |
 Chuck proudly holds the donations that he collected for Haiti. Like everyone at the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC), Charles "Chuck" Dickens was deeply affected by the tragic earthquake that struck Haiti a few weeks ago.
In an effort to do his part to help the country, Chuck, a former LAYC participant, created a Help Haiti box to collect donations for earthquake survivors. He placed the box at the front desk of LAYC's main building on Columbia Road and asked people to donate whatever amount of money they could. Last week, Chuck proudly delivered the $94 in donations to the Red Cross.
"I created the donation box after seeing the devastation that the earthquake caused in Haiti," Chuck said. "I felt like I had to do something. Seeing all those people suffering made me realize how lucky I am." |
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