Wyandanch school district first in the state to implement program to help kids make 'positive decisions'
Jessica Saravia engages her fourth grade class in a lesson on "re-thinking" at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Wyandanch. Credit: Barry Sloan
The concept Jessica Saravia, a teacher at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary in Wyandanch, wanted her fourth grade students to grasp was “re-thinking.”
But before that, she wanted them to identify emotions felt by a girl named Annie, who was disappointed with a gift from her grandma: a shirt with a cartoon character she liked years ago but no longer.
“How did she feel?” Saravia asked the fourth graders on a recent Friday morning.
A few said unhappy, or sad. Some drew a girl’s face with a frown on their handout paper.
Saravia’s class was part of a pilot program funded by the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports to teach students how to make better choices and hence reduce impulsive, high-risk behaviors.
Wyandanch was the first district in the state to implement the program, beginning last school year. It provides social-emotional learning, primary prevention and intervention.
The idea of primary prevention is “going in before somebody starts substance use,” said Jaclyn Marro, director of clinical services at Hope For Youth, an Amityville-based nonprofit that offers training to Wyandanch staff.
“If we look at why people use substances, a variety of triggers happen in early childhood,” Marro said. “That's why when we're looking at primary prevention going to pre-K, we're teaching friendships, or teaching not bullying, being kind to each other.”
The new initiative in Wyandanch is comprised of four programs in the district’s schools, covering students from pre-K through high school, according to staff at Hope For Youth.
There’s also a program for parents and an early intervention program for substance use among students. They are facilitated by Jennifer Quinn, prevention coordinator at Hope For Youth, which provides services for Long Island children and families including out-patient therapy, foster care, diagnostic and emergency residential services.
Research has shown that effective social-emotional learning improves students’ academic performance, reduces problematic behaviors and decreases emotional distress.
The idea is that these skills — such as how to manage emotions, set goals and appreciate the perspectives of others — help students when they interact with their peers or face obstacles, researchers and educators noted. Many of these programs can also help prevent risky behaviors that lead to substance use or bullying.
The budget for the Wyandanch program is $300,000 for three years, according to Patricia Zuber-Wilson, associate commissioner for prevention at the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports.
Zuber-Wilson said the state saw the program as “an opportunity” to work with Wyandanch to address some of its challenges.
About 93% of the district’s 2,600 students were considered economically disadvantaged and the district’s graduation rate is lower than the state average.
This school year, the pilot expanded to Brocton schools in upstate New York. Zuber-Wilson said earlier in the fall that the state is still collecting data and monitoring the Wyandanch program before determining its effectiveness.
Educators said the program starts with young children so the lessons can build upon one another as students grow.
Those foundational skills could be delivered through puppet talks with pre-kindergarteners about identifying emotions up through discussing substance use and prevention with high schoolers, Marro and Quinn said.
“We want to start it at a younger age, so … when they get older, they can really make those positive decisions,” Quinn said.
Back in Saravia’s classroom, the bilingual teacher reminded her students in English and Spanish that Annie, who was upset over her gift, hadn’t seen her grandma in two years and that the older woman probably didn’t know what she likes.
Once Annie realized this, she became grateful to see her grandma, Saravia told the students.
“She changed, right? Because she had to … What was the word that we talked about today?” Saravia asked.
“Re-think,” a boy answered.
“Yes, re-think. Good job,” Saravia said. “She had to re-think the situation.”
Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.
