Prince Charming at Tuggle Elementary

Prince Charming is the earliest point of engagement for most young men involved with Growing Kings’ programs. In this program, 4th and 5th grade students work through a structured curriculum that focuses on improving their literacy, comprehension, and mathematics skills. This month, we’ll take you inside our Prince Charming program at Tuggle Elementary School.

Every Friday, during the regular school year, 4th and 5th grade boys at Tuggle Elementary gather in a brightly colored room during what would otherwise be their arts period. Each session starts off with Check-ins. During this time, every student introduces themselves in the same scripted manner.

“Good morning. My name is Mr. (First name, Last name). I am a (4th/5th) grade student at Tuggle Elementary.”

Then, each young boy is asked to share a thought. An original thought. As you could imagine, most boys stick to similar themes of interests (i.e. sports, music, playing). However, they’re always expected to elaborate and share more. Longtime program manager, Justin Williams, asked one young student, “Well, tell me what you like to play. Don’t just say, ‘I like to play.’ Tell me more.” At that moment, the boy directed his gaze toward the ceiling, then back down to his classmates and began to open up. “I like to swim. Last summer I went swimming. I did a back flip into the water,” the boy shared. While taking pride in his accomplishment, the boy smiled coyly and quietly sat back down.

As part of Building Stronger Men Everyday, we work to build our students’ self-esteem and their confidence. We also seek to create safe environments for our students, and that means giving them room to share their thoughts and speak their minds.

Once Check-ins were done, each student grabbed a copy of Sports Illustrated for Kids and began flipping through the pages. Last week, students read aloud from an article about Oregon Ducks’ junior quarterback, Marcus Mariota. The class period ended just as each student had a turn to read out loud. Before leaving the room, the boys grabbed their magazines and lined up in front of the door waiting for their cue to go to their next class.

As the 5th grade session began, the students quickly gathered into the classroom and patiently gazed at the Time for Kids magazines that were scattered in the middle of the groups of desks. Once the clock showed it was 9:30 a.m., Check-ins were announced and each young boy jumped at the chance to speak first. One after another, each boy  strutted to the front of the room and introduced themselves in the same way as the 4th grade class.

After everyone introduced themselves, the boys reached for their copy of Time for Kids and turned to a story about gorillas in the Congo. Just as they had done during Check-ins, each boy was eager to read first. Hands shot up into the air like rockets. As they worked their way through the article, tackling each difficult word as a group, a sense of camaraderie became distinctly noticeable.

Prince Charming is simply the first phase of a long-term engagement program designed by Growing Kings staff called Journey of a King. As program participants matriculate through school and life, they will continue to work with each other and grow together. Prince Charming seeks to be more than just a means for improving reading levels and math scores. It’s about creating lasting friendships and strong support systems, and that’s exactly what’s happening at Tuggle Elementary School.

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