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<\/p>\nLOS ANGELES \u2014 Before stepping foot in class, students at Scholarship Prep South Bay in Wilmington start their day with several check-ins.<\/p>\n
Staff members welcome students when they are dropped off and note the student\u2019s emotional state. Then again, the breakfast staff greet students as they get their morning meal. The third check-in happens at the door as their teacher welcomes each student for the day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once seated, the first 30 minutes of instruction are focused on the social emotional wellbeing of the student. Given that all staff are trauma-trained, they then communicate among each other when they notice a student might need additional help, such as speaking with a counselor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
School officials said the SEL model is designed to foster a sense of belonging that keeps students like Mason Becerra wanting to come back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I\u2019m welcome, you know, like I feel like I deserve to be here,\u201d said Becerra.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now as a seventh grader, he said he\u2019s come to appreciate the check-ins.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt helps with like breathing and like people that have like anger issues or sad or they\u2019re dealing with something at home. Like it helps them in, like they take like a breather with us and breathe in and out,\u201d said Becerra.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His father, Martin Becerra, said he has seen his son\u2019s anxiety ease when he drops him off at school every morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s like, \u2018Okay, dad, see you later.\u2019 So that makes me feel good that they are able to talk and communicate. He\u2019s even been up here when he was eight years old, said, \u2018Hey, I want to go talk to Mr. Castillo\u2019, which is one of the counselors, and just get some stuff off of him. So that lets me know that they communicate, they reach out to the student,\u201d said Martin Becerra.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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(Spectrum News\/Vania Patino)<\/p>\n
For Principal Alisson Vann, it validates their school model.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStudents across the country, they sit in classes and they\u2019re dealing with things that nobody on the campus knows about, sometimes not even families at home. And so when we are able to work through these issues because our students feel open enough to talk to us, because they know that we care. I think what that does is you see kids back in classroom in their learning. You see their their grades move up. You see, the smiles on their faces. You see the high fives,\u201d said Vann.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The school saw a 20-point increase in its math scores last year, which she attributes to its model. She said they are also at a 1.4% chronic absenteeism rate compared to the state\u2019s 19.4%<\/a> during the 2024 and 2025 school year. The rate tracks how many students missed at least 10% of the school year.\u00a0<\/p>\n