An Early Social and Emotional Education Offers Solutions

Preventing the violence that erupted at North Charleston High School

Sep 05, 2009
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Submitted by: Paula Schwed

A fight broke out in the cafeteria at North Charleston High School this week, and 26 students were arrested, and then suspended. All over Charleston people are alarmed about the safety of students and concerned about what happens next. WINGS CEO Ginny Deerin sent this letter to the editor of the Charleston Post & Courier in response: 

Police presence, hall monitors and mentoring programs at North Charleston High School may be necessary after the brawl that ended in 26 arrests on September 2.

 But the real answers to the problems will be found in early childhood years.

Over the long haul, it’s  a lot cheaper and less dangerous making sure a house has adequate wiring when it’s being built than fighting a roaring fire that results from the lack of attention early on.  Both the tenants and community suffer greatly.

The kids causing trouble at North Charleston High School lack that early attention to a foundation of social and emotional skills. They don’t know how to behave well, make good decisions or build healthy relationships.  This learning can take place at home with good parenting, at school in a classroom, or after school which is where "WINGS for kids" does its work. 

Every day after school, WINGS weaves a comprehensive social and emotional education into a fresh and fun afterschool program.  So kids get this missing piece of their education and have a safe and fun place to be after school.

WINGS serves 300 kids attending elementary schools that feed into North Charleston High School. We see their many challenges. And the school district recognizes the importance of reaching these students before the house is in flames.

Although WINGS has been serving kids for 13 years, we didn’t begin programs at these schools in North Charleston until last year.  Based on our research, these 300 kids will be better behaved than the kids who don’t get WINGS.  They also have a 40% better chance of graduating from high school.  This will have a huge positive impact on the high schools they attend.

Early childhood education (academic, social, emotional) is where our community needs to invest its time and money.  There is no better return on investment than education in the early years of a child’s life.

Earlier the better

On September 5th, 2009 cristy mccrery says:
Whenever I'm asked what I do, and with my response, I always get that it's great that I'm working with kids at such a young age and teaching them social and emotional skills early on. They always say it's a genius idea to start at such a young age, which can prevent bullying, fighting, incarceration, and teenage pregnancy. At WINGS, we do teach kids how to make good decisions, create healthy relationships, and how to solve a problem rationally rather than physically or acting without thinking first. We give them the tools they'll need to overcome peer pressure that they'll inevitably face in middle and high school. WINGS for kids at NCES is showing tremendous progress, and teachers there can see what an impact WINGS makes in the classroom. My hope is to follow up on WINGS kids as they grow up and to make sure they are reminded of what the WINGS Creed says whenever they're faced with a difficult decision.