BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Southside Elementary School, as part of its social/emotional learning program, will incorporate the In Focus curriculum, which will be fully funded by the Hayden Hurst Family Foundation.
“I was very excited when they decided to provide this for us,” said Southside Principal Cassie Melvin, adding, “It’s something that all of our staff are going to be trained on, so it’s not only just in our social/emotional learning class.”
In Focus consists of presenting a 10-minute lesson daily. Lessons address the root causes of violence, bullying, drug use and disruptive classroom behavior.
Teachers are provided with background information for each lesson as well as a script to go off of in presenting the lesson. Many of the lessons tie into the development of reading, writing, STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) skills.
“It’ll be something (teachers) can use to start their day,” Melvin said. “It has a Focus of the Day and Quote of the Day. There are activities laid out already for them. It’s not something where my teachers have to think, ‘Oh, this is one more thing I have to do.’ It’s really already kind of laid out for you.
“It’s supposed to set the groundwork for communication with students in a positive way.”
The Hayden Hurst Family Foundation provides support to schools and veterans in the area of mental health, which is important to the foundation’s namesake, Hayden Hurst, who plays tight end with the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals. Hurst, a 2012 graduate of Jacksonville’s The Bolles School, was drafted to play baseball by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He struggled with depression and alcohol and drug abuse. Following therapy and the support of his family, Hurst left baseball and walked on at South Carolina University to play football. He enjoyed All-SEC honors and set several school records before being drafted in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens in 2018.
Hurst’s parents, Jerry and Cathy, have been Bradford County residents for approximately a decade.
Melvin first learned of the foundation when she was at Brooker Elementary School. She received a call from Jerry Hurst, who said that in looking for area schools to support, he became aware of the school in Brooker. He told Melvin the foundation wanted to partner with the school.
“I, at first, didn’t believe it,” Melvin said. “I was like, ‘This guy’s telling me his son plays for the NFL, and I’m sitting here at Brooker Elementary.’”
Melvin said the foundation “made quite a generous monetary donation” to the school and provided things like T-shirts for the students.
Since then, Jerry Hurst has remained in contact with Melvin. She said even when the Brooker school closed and she moved to Southside, Hurst has called her to ask how things were going and if she needed anything.
That led to the discussion about implementing the In Focus curriculum, which Melvin had been interested in since her time at Brooker.
“I reached out to Mr. Jerry and said, ‘Hey, are you guys still interested in partnering with us?’ He got me in touch with his wife, Cathy,” Melvin said. “Long story short, they are funding In Focus for us 100 percent.”
According to research conducted at Chicago’s Everhart Elementary and Longmont, Colorado’s Timberline K-8 — schools with a student population that’s 90-percent low income — the following was experienced after one year (2016-17) of implementing In Focus — 82-percent reduction in fighting, 67-percent reduction in harassment and offensive language, 54-percent reduction in behavior referrals, 33-percent reduction in bullying and 55-percent increase in attendance.
Southside teachers and staff participated in training on Aug. 8 with In Focus author Tom McSheehy, the founder and director of Teaching Heart Institute, which is devoted to training and supporting teachers and parents in developing children’s social and emotional intelligence.
Melvin said the In Focus curriculum is going to tie into the culture she and Assistant Principal Laurén Morgan are wanting to create at the school.
“That’s something we were really passionate about last year, building the culture and letting the kids know that we really love them and that we’re here for them and that they have someone to talk to,” Melvin said. “I think (In Focus) is going to facilitate having those hard conversations and teaching these kids what’s socially accepted behavior, which is really important to us.”
If you’d like to find out more about In Focus and the Hayden Hurst Family Foundation, visit teachingheartinstitute.com and haydenhurstfoundation.com.
