Student mental health and well-being attracted a huge amount of attention during the 2021-22 school year. This school year is likely bring a similar level of attention to those issues.
But there are some big differences going into this school year that have many educators hopeful that the 2022-23 academic year won鈥檛 be as grim and difficult as the last one. For one thing, most students have been back to full-time, in-person school for an entire year, and are beginning to get used to the routines again.
Plus, educators now have a better idea this school year of what to expect and how to handle students鈥� social and emotional needs.
鈥淭he blinders are off,鈥� said Lydia McNeiley, the college and career coordinator for the Hammond, Ind., school district. 鈥淲e know the trauma students are experiencing. We know we have to address it. And I think we are starting off the school year knowing that it鈥檚 not going to be pretty, but it鈥檚 going to be better,鈥� than the previous school year.
Here are some big issues facing schools when it comes to student wellness this fall:
Educator mental health and student mental health are inherently linked
Headlines are full of stories about low educator morale, teachers leaving the profession, major staffing shortages. Teachers鈥� emotional fatigue naturally has an impact on students, experts and educators say.
鈥淲e spend so many hours a day with these children, they pick up on our emotions,鈥� said Tara Kierstead, a school counselor at Hall-Dale Middle & High School in Farmingdale, Maine. 鈥淪o, the burnout, and the feeling like the world is against us, all of that really does take a toll on the kids.鈥�
District leaders who stepped up their focus on students鈥� social and emotional needs in recent years often say they regret not including teachers鈥� social and emotional needs in the mix earlier, said Justina Schlund, the senior director of content and field learning for the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, or CASEL, a nonprofit organization.
While no district has hit on the perfect solution, some schools and district leaders have found it helpful to more deliberately solicit feedback from teachers about what is causing their frustration and fatigue, and to act on their suggestions, Schlund said.
Pushback to social-emotional learning is complicating educators鈥� work
K-12 schools have long been battlefields in the culture wars, but the environment has become even more heated lately as legislatures and school boards debate teaching American history, policies for LGBTQ students, and other politically divisive topics that educators deal with every day.
Now, something as mundane as a presentation for the American School Counselor Association can turn into a social media flashpoint, as Kierstead found when she shared her school鈥檚 guidance for helping students navigate gender identity. Her presentation was well-received, but somehow, right-wing social media accounts got hold of it and attacked her.
While most of the pushback isn鈥檛 coming from local sources, it鈥檚 still challenging to deal with, Kierstead said. And it鈥檚 made some teachers wary of social-emotional learning, which is aimed at helping kids鈥� develop skills like cooperation, resilience, and empathy.
鈥淲e want all kids to feel supported and to feel safe. And social-emotional learning is a huge part of that,鈥� she said. The fact that the term has been misconstrued into 鈥渟omething that is just flat out not [what it is] has really put a lot of stress on school counselors, in particular,鈥� she added.
She鈥檚 especially saddened by social media campaigns urging parents to prohibit school counselors from working with their kids. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very sad that the new narrative from a lot of people is we are bad people and shouldn鈥檛 be around your children,鈥� she said.
Family and community engagement matters more than ever
One bright spot of pandemic-driven virtual learning: Parents became more connected to their schools than ever. Living rooms became classrooms, and teachers a consistent, virtual presence at home. What鈥檚 more, many schools began offering online parent outreach events, which made it easier for parents with less-flexible schedules or unreliable transportation to participate.
But when classes resumed in person, some of the goodwill between schools and families slipped, as parents coped with changing COVID protocols. They often blamed teachers for the confusion they felt, or for policies they disagreed with, including those that banned them from entering their child鈥檚 classroom to avoid spreading the virus.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a level of distrust that formed,鈥� McNeily said. 鈥淚 think bridging that gap, again, [is going to be about] having conversations with families. And letting them know, it鈥檚 not me against you. It鈥檚 us working together for the benefit of your student.鈥�
What鈥檚 more, Schlund worries that some parent perspectives have been drowned out, amid the headline-grabbing debates over issues like critical race theory. 鈥淚 think some voices are being heard in the big megaphone鈥� of the national media, she said. 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a huge swath of voices aren鈥檛 being heard.鈥�
Kids have mental health needs that stem from the pandemic, and some that don鈥檛
Most students attended school in person for most of last school year. But many were still trying to figure out how to be around other kids their age, follow school rules, and cope with having less autonomy over their schedule than they may have had at home.
This academic year, they are more likely to show up ready to settle into a routine, said Ashley Wright, a school counselor at Gordon-Reed Elementary School near Houston. 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a thirst for structure. They want that and they just haven鈥檛 had it firmly, consistently.鈥�
Over the past few turbulent years, children in her community have been dealing with a lot of change, Wright said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been lots of divorces, lots of separation, lots of loss of jobs,鈥� Wright said. That鈥檚 contributed to a prevailing sense of loss. Children as young as kindergarten have experienced suicidal thoughts, she said.
What鈥檚 more, the kinds of concerns that usually dominated schools鈥� mental health outreach before March of 2020 are still big problems even though schools have been focused on helping kids recover from the pandemic.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e gotten more used to being in school and doing school,鈥� Kierstead said. 鈥淏ut that doesn鈥檛 mean ... things like cyberbullying and depression and anxiety, suddenly took a vacation, because they didn鈥檛.鈥�
One positive, according to Schlund: Schools continue to place expanding social-emotional learning and improving school climate on the top of their to-do lists. In fact, district leaders named developing 鈥渢he whole child鈥� and improving school culture as the most pressing priorities in a survey conducted this summer by .
Students are seeking connectedness and have asked their teachers and school leaders for more time during the school day to develop friendships and deepen their relationships, Schlund said.
For educators, that means 鈥渨e need to get back to the basics, really,鈥� Kierstead added. 鈥淭o building relationships and keeping an eye out for the kids that we think are having a rough go of things and making sure all teachers have connections with kids.鈥�
