Quarantine inspires SEL kits for Madison students
Katina Wright is the librarian at Madison High school.
It is a school and community she’s very invested in.
“My own children have attended North East schools,” said Wright. “Three of them have graduated from Madison, and I have one currently here.”
But that’s not all; along with the four older children, she’s got two toddlers as well. So, when the pandemic hit and everyone was sent home, she needed a plan.
“One of the first things I did when the quarantine started was bought craft supplies for my own kids because I had to keep them busy,” said Wright. “So I created craft kits because I noticed that as our students went through virtual learning, they were plugged into media all the time, all day long. Crafts allowed my own children the ability to be able to unplug from their computers and their phones for just a little while and do something that just relaxed them.”
When students returned to campus, Wright made sure craft kits were waiting for her students at Madison.
“So things like friendship bracelets or adult coloring pages. Just things that are very easy, simple and allowed them to relax and unplug,” said Wright. “At first, the students were very reluctant, but after about day two or three, they went. They were all gone like hot cakes, and the students were very eager to get new ones.”
The craft kits were tapping into a social and emotional need for the students. So, Wright went a step further and developed a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) section of the library.
“We’ve got things like Play-Doh or stress balls and things like that and ways to get them to talk about their feelings through things like gratitude journals,” said Wright. “This way, students will have the opportunity to explore and find other ways to channel energy, stress, and emotions other than just through their social media or their phones and things like that.”
The SEL section in the library is open to all. There are self-help books and brochures on ways to deal with stress and anxiety. There is even a section geared toward teachers so that they can get help too.
“This place and these students are my entire world,” said Wright. “As a librarian, all of them at one point or another have or will walk through these doors, and I want to make sure that they feel like the library is theirs and there is something here for them.”
Katina Wright is showing how #NEISDcares one craft kit at a time.
