An Impactful Ministry at Elkin Elementary School
Kids are under intense pressure and stress. Due to their limited vocabulary and inability to express themselves, kids experiencing stress are often overlooked. Elkin is located in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, an area that experiences a high level of drug and alcohol addiction, house and food insecurity, and the effects of gun violence. Additionally, according to the Philadelphia School District, 100% of the students attending Elkin Elementary School are economically disadvantaged. All of these can have an impact on the mental, emotional, and academic well-being of students.
In response to these realities, Yoga 4 Philly (an organization I founded) has been working with the children and staff at Elkin school since early 2022. This fall, we’ll offer daily yoga classes to children in grades K-4 and children who need “extra love” after school, as well as morning yoga to staff.
This has been a partnership of the heart. Together, we have discovered the power and healing that sharing yoga provides for all involved—and we are so excited to continue this commitment. Charlotte Maddox, principal of Elkin school, spoke of our discovery:
“It's one of those partnerships where you didn't know what you didn't know, do you get what I mean? Our students need the mindfulness, they need the centering.”
Teachers and staff have felt that, for students who have significant stress going on in their lives, this experience has provided profound empowerment.
Ms. Gutierrez and Ms. Graves, both Kindergarten teachers, feel it has been good for their children to learn centering, breathing, and calming techniques. Graves said, “My Kindergarten children were so excited to go and practice and sit in that moment.” Principal Maddox noted that children often “peek” into the rooms where yoga is happening when they are passing in the hall. “And when they peek in, they know and they sense that there is something different happening. They know that that’s a place where you do something for your body and your mind. I’ve heard one child say, ‘it helps you calm down, it helps you be better, it helps you feel better.’”
Principal Maddox said, “This is a skillset they will take into adulthood, into difficult circumstances. Our after school yoga club is designed for students with severe trauma.” It is literally changing students’ lives.
This year, we are raising $20,000 to continue offering free yoga classes at Elkin Elementary School. In the words of the great novelist and social critic, James Baldwin, “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” Our investment today is often the very thing that helps create future dreams.
We recently learned from Principal Charlotte Maddox that:
Elkin went from 9.1 office discipline referrals to 4.7 per day
The pattern of attendance rates increased on days scheduled for yoga
The number of students for detention moved to zero as we replaced with yoga
Qualitative data can be heard in the cheers of classrooms when teachers announce, “We have yoga today at 10:45!”
It ranks top five: Lunch, recess, gym, yoga, math
With all of this data and more, we believe in and witness the impact of Yoga 4 Philly and Elkin School’s partnership, and we are grateful to be together. May this work continue with your support!
You have the power to provide yoga and meditation to over 500 school students, school administrators, and the community members at Elkin Elementary School by clicking here.
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[1] Nobody Knows My Name, 1961, in the essay entitled “Fifth Avenue, Uptown: A Letter from Harlem.”
