Students from Rochester school district gathered  to partake in celebration hosted by Somali American Social Service Associated (SASSA) for their participation in afterschool programs. Staff and students from New Vision Foundation’s afterschool coding course also joined the celebration. Yahye Ahmed, a student services program coordinator at Rochester Public Schools states “SASSA supports after-school programs which offer students the opportunity to receive academic support and development while providing them with a safe space to learn and grow. The programs also help build confidence and improve the social skills of the youth.” NVF’s instructor Ileys Osman states, “My students have been committed to their afterschool coding course. Each week I’d see an additional number of students joining the class. As you can see this allows students to stay busy and get social with other kids. My goal as an instructor is to create an environment of enrichment and engagement for my students.”

A couple weeks remain until the end of the school year for the students which means the afterschool programs will soon be coming to an end. I connected with Amina Abdullahi, an 8th grader in our NVF coding course and she states that the ending of the school year is bittersweet for her. She’ll miss her teachers and peers but very much looks forward to summer break. This was her first year attending an afterschool coding course and she mentioned how busy it kept her throughout the school year and how she is grateful for the opportunity.

 

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