Nonprofit’s focus on social skills leads to academic improvement at these Fort Worth schools

Clayton Youth Enrichment began as a small in-school day care nearly 50 years ago started by parents fearing closure of a campus with declining enrollment. Decades later, the program has expanded to 60 campuses, including 10 in Fort Worth with a focus on helping students express emotions and excel academically.

With the help of donations and more than $20 million in grants from the Texas Education Agency, the organization has also reached into at-risk neighborhoods, providing valuable services free of charge.

The focus on social and emotional learning is timely, teachers say, with social interactions limited both in the school and at home, causing delays in development of social skills.

“They were home with mom or dad who was working virtually in some cases, and a lot of times it was technology — go watch TV,” South Hills Elementary principal Melissa Russell said. “They don’t know really how to express themselves with their big words, so we always talk about using ... your big voice when you’re not OK with something.”

The nonprofit has partnered with campuses to address these issues through activities, discussions and a curriculum called Clayton Quest that focuses on leadership, independence, and mindfulness among other things.

The result, teachers and numbers show, is better academic and social-emotional outcomes.

Program helps students express emotions

Margaret McGee-Harris, a veteran teacher and program director at Clayton, said she has been teaching a version of social emotional learning for as long as she can remember, with the curriculum just putting a name to the practice.

“We are giving them those tools to settle disagreements, giving them the tools to say I’m not OK with this and saying do you understand me and asking others to respect what I say,” she said — adding that she has worked with her staff to learn the same techniques.

“We’re using the words, so the kids can use the words,” she said.

Andrew Lara and his friend Jordan Diggs attend the Clayton Enrichment program at South Hills elementary school.

When they enter, they are able to select which emotions they are feeling — and choose an activity that fits with that emotion so they can transition from the school day.

“We talk about our feelings and how it is going and we have ways to express our emotions,” Diggs said. “That’s what the colors are for.”

Diggs explained that students choose a color, so that teachers and other students know how they are feeling.

Students in the program are able to participate in a variety of activities that fit with their mood on a given day as well. If a student is sad, stressed or sleepy, for example, they can read or play alone in a quiet area.

Lara and Diggs spent the time doing a puzzle and chatting.

“Everybody has different emotions, so the colors are so that people know whenever they try to talk to that person they know how to approach them the right way,” Lara said.

Teachers and students then gather in a circle for community time, where they discuss topics like how to calm themselves down when feelings worried or scared. Clayton Quest activities cap the day before students get a snack and are released to their parents.

Social enterprise provides needed service

That food, McGee-Harris said, is sometimes the only thing children eat after school, an example of how important the free programs can be. Childcare costs also continue to be a major problem across the city, with parents having few options if they can’t pick their children up from school.

Melissa Castro said as she was picking up three children from the program at South Hills elementary that before the program was available she struggled with those costs.

“It is so expensive,” she said. “I took a loan just to take care of him for a couple hours and it was over $100 a week.”

Program results

Principals and program staff told the Star-Telegram they saw personal growth of students attending the after-school programs.

While most schools have made progress, some have continued to struggle as the district works to recover from pandemic learning loss, according to numbers and reports submitted to the TEA.

A standardized test for social-emotional learning called the DESSA found improvement with an 8% reduction in students in a “needs support” category and nine of the 10 school programs in Fort Worth schools showed improvement in course passing rates in the 2020-21 school year.

Cynthia Flores, the assistant principal at South Hills Elementary, said the work being done goes beyond academics.

“Test scores are important and they are what we use for accountability,” she said. “But if we are serving the whole child, we can’t leave out who they are. We want them to be good people, not just good test takers.”