LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A surprising change has come to many school rosters— children who were toddlers at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic are now entering kindergarten to first grade.
“This might be their first experience in a school setting ever,” said LISA Academy Counselor Sydney Kenward.
This runs true for those pandemic toddlers, and LISA Academy is stepping up to help these students socialize through a program called ‘Centervention’.
Centervention aims at helping the students get acclimated to others, teaching them social skills, and how to deal with their emotions.
“Some of our kids come in with a great understanding, but some of them don't and that's perfectly fine,” Kenward said. “They're still developing.”
As these young minds soak up new things, Kenward explained that socialization is a necessary skill. So, LISA Academy implemented 'Centervention' in this previous school year only for elementary students.
According to Kenward, the program did push the elementary kids over a hump.
“We did see a change in those social emotional behaviors and just behavior in general because there just seemed to be kind of a gap between connecting with others,” Kenward described.
Implementation of the program came at a crucial time, not only for the students but for the school as a whole. It was the first school year Kenward has called normal since 2020.
“The first year since the pandemic, where we were getting to have kids fully on campus, they were getting to fully engage in activities, that for a while they weren't,” Kenward said.
During this pilot year, students engaged daily with Centervention.
“[The students] spent 20 minutes a day using this program to develop different social skills,” Kenward added.
The students learned about anger, conflict, and problem-solving— all while the program tracked how the students processed if they were strong or struggling in an area.
This in turn benefited the LISA Academy counseling team.
“It really helped encompass our data-driven counseling plan, form small groups from it, form our classroom lessons around those ideas,” Kenward explained. “Using data to say we're going to work on these specific skills.”
Since the pilot year showed improvement, starting this school year, any student from kindergarten through 12th grade can take part in Centervention.
“This school year, we're using it as a needed resource to reinforce those skills,” Kenward said.
As Kenward puts it, this change comes because each kid needs social skills, but the needs can look different at every age.
“In elementary school, it might be self-regulating, and staying calm and understanding conflict,” Kenward said. “Middle school, it might be peer relationships. Going on into high school they're starting to make goals, maybe trying to get a job on the weekend.”
It's all about tackling each set of new experiences for each age group.
“Even though they are different and look different at different ages, they all intertwine together,” Kenward said.
From there, Kenward wants LISA Academy counselors and Centervention to be the step that closes the gap for students.
“It's our job to come in there and kind of see where those gaps are,” Kenward said. “We're hopefully building this bright community of students that are having a good attitude, focused on what they're learning, but also being revealed to the world around them.”
This school year, any student wanting to take part in the Centervention program can do so through a referral process.
“It's just a little slip and it's confidential,” Kenward said.
Kenward explained that there’s also a referral link for parents and teachers in case they want their students to take part in the available services.