5 Tips To Support Students Mental Health As The School Year Begins

As schools across the country begin a new school year, they are also preparing to help children deal with the historic rise in mental health problems.

The situation is dramatic for counties that failed to maintain student-to-supervisor ratios before the pandemic led to increased student mental health needs.

Data released in May by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed some improvement. in adolescents and young adults at the start of the pandemic, at least in terms of more severe mental health problems. Children ages 12 to 17 visited hospital emergency departments less frequently for mental health problems in the fall of 2022 than the previous fall.

Nonetheless, ER visits, particularly among girls, were still higher than before the pandemic. And the latest available data still shows that teens, and especially LGBTQ+ girls and youth, have experienced record levels of sadness and hopelessness. in 2021

Based on improvements shown in available data, the CDC accredited schools in May with more expanded mental health support, ranging from better access to therapists and social workers to teacher training to help anxious students. . .

However, most school and health officials agree that there is still work to be done.

At a virtual event hosted by the AASA School Principals Association on Monday, experts said the start of the new school year is an opportunity to set the tone for supporting and prioritizing student mental health.

These are some of his tips.

Collect data on student status

Student needs vary widely from community to community, so standard responses to overly broad generalizations, such as simply adding another counselor to the staff without basing the decision on specific local need, are unlikely to be particularly effective.

Schools should conduct regular surveys to assess student well-being, Illinois State Superintendent Tony Sanders said. You should ask about things like students' sense of belonging and whether teachers care about their feelings and goals.

But collecting data isn't enough, Sanders said.

School and district leaders should take the time to analyze the results and identify what services, programs, or other support measures can make a difference.

“If you're not collecting data on how your students are doing, you don't know how to respond to concerns or issues that come up in your schools,” he said.

Avoid "plaster solutions".

It can be tempting to invest in mental health programs that offer "quick fixes" or have an immediate impact, said actress Goldie Hawn, who founded a children's charity in 2003. However, the positive impact on children's mental health students rarely lasts or fundamentally changes the way students process and deal with difficult situations.

A more mindful approach and investing in long-term, holistic solutions, such as teaching them to understand and regulate their emotions, will be more effective, Hawn said.

That doesn't mean it's not helpful to bring a therapy dog ​​into the classroom, he said. This is possible, but it must be complemented and reinforced by other efforts.

The Oscar-winning actress championed children's mental health after the 9/11 attacks and founded the Goldie Hawn Foundation. He has developed educational programs called MindUP that help students "develop the knowledge and tools they need to manage stress, regulate emotions, and meet the challenges of the 21st century with optimism, resilience, and compassion," it says on the website.

"These are serious problems, but we don't want to put a band-aid on them. We want to make changes that are truly systemic," he said. "[Kids] need to know more about their brains, to trigger their emotions, to recognize what they're feeling, and then to understand different techniques to calm them down" and make a better or better decision. the test ".

Collaborate with community partners

Schools don't have to do all this work alone, said Gregg Behr, executive director of the Grable Foundation, which helps Pittsburgh schools find organizations to work with to promote children's literacy.

Even if schools could magically hire any mental health professional they felt they needed, it wouldn't be effective for all students. Some need more specialized support and sometimes schools cannot provide it themselves. But you still have to try to address the needs of each individual student, Behr said.

"We have many community partnerships in our schools and in our states that we need to leverage to move this work forward," he said. "That's why I would ask local supervisors and managers, 'What are you doing to involve outside resources?'"

Anne Brown, president of the Cook Center for Human Connection, a youth suicide prevention organization, added that schools can also provide resources to help parents learn how to support their children's development and special needs.

This can also include free online courses available on demand. Schools can place a "medallion" on their website that acts as a link directing visitors to these resources, he said.

“We work with the schools because the parents and the kids are there, but we know there isn't enough help and support in the schools,” Brown said. "So educating parents and helping them be the first point of contact when working with children with anxiety, depression or other needs can go a long way toward helping those children."

Teachers cannot help students without helping them.

Dan Bridges, superintendent in Naperville, Ill., said part of the job of helping children is making sure adults are served first.

“There is a lot of emphasis on the trauma that children suffered during the pandemic, rightly so,” he said, but sometimes people overlook the fact that adults have been traumatized as well. And it is difficult for adults to provide strong support to a child who is not mentally well.

"We must care for the hearts and souls of all the people we serve," he said.

Bridges said her district is focused on making sure employees feel they have a say in decision-making and are heard when they provide feedback or ask for help. Your district is also tasked with responding to current events and providing opportunities for professional development as new concepts and issues emerge, such as the advent of artificial intelligence tools or as students come to school with more behavior problems.

See each day as a new opportunity to help children

Asked if she had any advice for educators about going back to school, the Grable Foundation's Behr encouraged her to "look at this as the first of 200 opportunities to make a difference and have a day of miracles." school anniversaries

"There are all kinds of 'little bets' that can be done every day," she said, like a community group bringing babies to help in class or using attention breaks in math class. “Systems take years to develop to work properly. …Being relational is something we can do now to unlock the potential, the joy, and the wonder of what is possible.”

Hawn suggested that districts ask students what would make a day a "miracle day" for them. Then they will feel included and their contributions will feel important.

Vassar students return to school