WINGS is an education organization that teaches kids how to behave well, make good decisions, and build healthy relationships. We do this by delivering a social and emotional learning curriculum into a fresh and fun after school program. Operating in Title I elementary schools, we serve at-risk, low-income kids 3-hours per day, 5-days per week, for the entire school year – students receive more than 500 hours of quality programing annually.

Our program meets two critical needs at the same time: 1) social and emotional education and 2) safe and enriching after school care. Research shows social and emotional education delivered in the after school setting increases academic achievement, school attendance, and student behavior. Evaluations of our program show WINGS kids make better grades, score higher on standardizes tests, attend school more often, and have better behavior than non-WINGS students. Our students also graduate at a rate 40% higher than their peer group – WINGS works.

Problema

We are working to solve poverty, which affects 44% of all U.S. children The impact of poverty on academic development and economic empowerment is devastating. Ten-year-old students from the poorest families are already 18 months behind their higher-income counterparts academically, and attendance records of fourth-grade students from low-income schools show a 38% increase in the number of kids who miss 3+days per month when compared to higher income schools. These trends continue in high school - low-income students drop out 4.4 times more than high-income students. Failure to graduate leads to lifetime income loss of $630,000 and social welfare costs of $240,000 per person. High School dropouts also experience significantly higher jailing and teenage parenthood rates than graduates.

Solución

WINGS is an education organization that teaches kids how to behave well, make good decisions, and build healthy relationships. We do this by delivering a social and emotional learning curriculum into a fresh and fun after school program. Operating in Title I elementary schools, we serve at-risk, low-income kids 3-hours per day, 5-days per week, for the entire school year – students receive more than 500 hours of quality programing annually. Our program meets two critical needs at the same time: 1) social and emotional education and 2) safe and enriching after school care. Research shows social and emotional education delivered in the after school setting increases academic achievement, school attendance, and student behavior. Evaluations of our program show WINGS kids make better grades, score higher on standardizes tests, attend school more often, and have better behavior than non-WINGS students. Our students also graduate at a rate 40% higher than their peer group – WINGS works.

Ejemplo

Kids arrive in WINGS immediately after school. AmeriCorps members, called WINGSLeaders, serve with our kids. They are carefully recruited and trained to maximize impact. Low member to student ratios (1:10-12) and innovative activities are used for constant engagement. Our curriculum includes: Community Unity – the first 30 minutes of each day, focused on creating a caring community, teaching social and emotional skills, and providing a nutritious snack. The WINGS Creed, our SEL objectives in kid-friendly language, is said at this time. Choice Time – 9-week blocks of well-prepared art, music, sports, and activities that the kids select. All activities infuse academic standards and SEL objectives. Choice Time is twice per week and serves as an opportunity for collaboration with other organizations. Academic Centers – 60 minutes Monday-Thursday where students receive academic support from WINGSLeaders and community volunteers. WINGSWorks – weekly 60 minutes of community service activities focused on helping others and strengthening attachment to school. WildWINGS – weekly 90 minutes of innovative games, discussions, and activities to reinforce the weekly learning objective. LaunchPad Curriculum – designed for fourth and fifth grade students to further develop 21st century skills and to open new educational and career pathways. Discussions – Incorporated into Mondays and Fridays, this is a time for students to demonstrate they understand the weekly learning objective. Parent literacy and educational activities are also incorporated into our program.

Mercado

Our peers are effective education and human service organizations providing support to at-risk kids. Examples include Playworks and Citizen Schools. Our competitors are ineffective nonprofits that utilize scarce resources. Program research and the use of data differentiate us. Studies from Yale University and the University of Virginia (UVA) provide evidence that students enrolled in WINGS have significantly higher math and reading scores, grades, and school attendance compared to non-WINGS kids. This led to a $2.8 million Institute of Education Sciences grant to UVA to conduct a four-year randomized control trial impact study on WINGS – the gold standard in evaluation. We also maintain our own online performance management system to monitor impact and to make adjustments in real-time.