By Julia Rugg, CEO, Wings for Kids
What we nurture in a child’s earliest years shouldn’t fade when they enter elementary school. Yet too often, the vital emotional intelligence skills developed during ages 0-5 take a backseat to standardized testing and academic benchmarks. At Wings for Kids, we’ve learned that this creates a critical gap in children’s developmental journey–one that can impact their entire academic career.
The foundation laid in early childhood development is like building the first floor of a house. When we invest in positive youth development during elementary years, we’re not starting from scratch–we’re building upon crucial neural pathways and behaviors established during those formative early years. Research shows that children’s brains develop more than one million neural connections every second before age 5. This remarkable period of growth creates the foundation for all future learning and relationship building.
But what happens when children enter elementary school?
Too often, the focus shifts dramatically to academic performance, inadvertently suggesting that social and emotional skills are somehow less important than reading or math. This is a fundamental misconception.
In our afterschool programs, we’ve witnessed how continued SEL support through elementary years creates a bridge between early childhood development and future academic success. Take Malak, a fifth-grader in our program.
Her preschool years equipped her with basic emotional recognition skills, but it was during elementary school that she learned to apply these abilities to group projects, conflict resolution, and academic challenges. When faced with a difficult math problem, Malak now uses self-regulation techniques to manage frustration and persist through challenges–a direct application of SEL skills to academic achievement.

The path to high school graduation begins long before freshman year. Research demonstrates that students who receive consistent SEL support throughout elementary school are:
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More likely to develop effective study habits and self-discipline
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Better equipped to handle the social challenges of middle school transition
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More capable of setting and working toward long-term academic goals
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Better prepared to make informed decisions about their academic future
Think of SEL skills as the invisible infrastructure supporting academic achievement. Just as reading proficiency in third grade predicts high school graduation rates, strong social emotional skills in elementary school forecast a student’s ability to navigate increasingly complex academic and social challenges. Self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, social awareness and relationship building: these skills don’t just support learning–they enable it.
But here’s the crucial point: these skills must be explicitly taught, practiced, and applied within the context of daily school life. It’s not enough to assume children will naturally develop these abilities or that early childhood SEL education alone will carry them through. Elementary schools must intentionally create opportunities for students to:
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Practice emotional regulation during academic challenges
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Apply conflict resolution skills in group work
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Use goal-setting strategies when approaching new learning
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Develop resilience through supported academic risk-taking
As we look toward improving educational outcomes, we must recognize that continuing SEL education through elementary school isn’t optional, it’s essential. The skills that begin developing in early childhood must be consistently reinforced and expanded throughout elementary years, creating a solid foundation for middle school, high school, and beyond. Only by maintaining this continuous thread of SEL development can we truly prepare students for long-term academic success and life achievement.
The time has come to stop treating early childhood SEL and elementary education as separate chapters. Instead, let’s recognize them as part of the same story–one where early investments are protected and built upon, creating stronger, more capable students ready to face whatever challenges lie ahead.