AALEAD MD Middle School Programs

• A Conversation with AALEAD Staff Mecca!

  

  By Neel Saxena, Executive Director interviewing Mecca McPherson, MD Middle School Program Coordinator

  Photos courtesy of AALEAD Staff

  As February wrapped up last Friday

• The diversity of a Lunar New Year celebration

  By Ha Nguyen, Development & Communications Associate

  Photos courtesy of AALEAD Staff

  Every year as January starts to wrap up and February approaches, the atmosphere is filled with excitement, hope, and anticipation for the upcoming Lunar New Year. This year, February 5 marked the first day of the Year of the Pig, the twelfth and last animal of all zodiac animals.

• Saying Goodbye to 2018 at MD Holiday Party

  By YLan Nguyen, MD High School Program Coordinator
  Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff

  Last week, AALEAD Maryland Programs celebrated the end of the year at our Annual Winter Holiday Party. Youth from across MD middle schools and high schools gathered for an evening of community, joy, and celebration. The theme for this year’s Holiday Party derived from the overall program theme - “Ignite: Discover Your Passions.”

• Maryland Social Event

  By Shanice Lo, Maryland Middle School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of Mecca McPherson   On March 30th, during the Maryland School Spring Break. AALEAD High School and Middle School Youth are invited to attend the MD Bowling Party. This event is a reward for youth who have had excellent attendance of 80% or better at AALEAD programs. We appreciate youth continually coming to programs and sharing their stories and experience with us.

• Practicing Leadership Through Facilitation

  By Diane Bui, MD High School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff One of the most exciting leadership opportunities AALEAD youth have is the chance to serve on our yearly youth council. Youth meet on a monthly basis to discuss what they hope to accomplish in programs, and help support planning events for their fellow AALEAD peers.

  Black and Asian Pacific American Solidarity – a history of resistance

  By Mecca McPherson, MD Middle School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff In 1926, Black History Month was first established in by

• AALEAD Origins: Rooted in our Past, Creating Our Future

  By Neel Saxena, Executive Director Photos Courtesy of Various Staff Logo Courtesy of DC Programs Manager, Charles Kuo Asian American LEADs orgins are rooted in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC where Sandy Dang, AALEAD’s founder, saw the unmet need in low-income Vietnamese refugee youth and made supporting th

• #ThrowbackTuesday

  By Diane Bui, MDHS Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD MD Staff After-School programs in Maryland start THIS WEEK! We are so excited to be back in our schools, reconnecting with returning youth, and welcoming new youth to programs. Youth in schools today are busier than ever. Between magnet programs, IB classes, AP course loads and a number of after-school activities, it’s no surprise our youth are always on the move. This got our MD staff talking about when we were younger, and

• Power of Youth Workshops

  By YLan Nguyen, MD Middle School Programs Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff For the past two months, AALEAD youth at Newport Mill Middle School have been planning their own workshops. Youth-led workshops are one of the ways that youth can choose what they want to learn about and how they want to learn. [caption id="attachment_15110" align="aligncenter" width="300"]

• A Cycle of Peer to Peer Mentoring

  By Keo Xiong, MD Programs Manager Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff   March was an inspiring month of youth leadership in action. The AALEAD Maryland middle school after-school program spent their March learning about high school, and had extended opportunities to meet their high school counterparts. Middle school youth learned more about life after middle school through our ‘Middle School to High School Transition Support Series,’ which included in-class workshops and guided walk