Article author:
Associated Press
Jocelyn Gecker And Dylan Lovan
CECILIA, Ky. (AP) — For fourth-grader Leah Rainey, her day at school has been marked by a teacher saying, "Emotional check-in."
"It's nice to meet you. Play hilarious voices on your top screen. Ask her to click the emoji that matches her state of mind: happy. sad. Worried. anger. Frustration. calm down. stupid. I'm tired.
Depending on the answers, 9-year-old Leah receives advice from her cartoon avatar for managing her moods, plus a few more questions. did you have breakfast Are you injured or sick? Are you okay at home? Are there unfriendly people at school? Today Leah chooses to be "silly," but she says she suffered grief during her online learning.
At Lakewood Elementary, all 420 students will start the day the same way this year. A rural Kentucky school is one of thousands of schools nationwide using the technology to screen students for their state of mind and alert teachers to those in need.
In some ways, this year's back-to-school will restore some of the pre-pandemic normalcy. Most school districts have lifted mask mandates, rescinded COVID vaccine requirements, and scrapped social distancing and quarantine rules.
But many of the pandemic's long-term effects remain a troubling reality for schools. Among them are the negative effects of isolation and distance learning on children's emotional well-being.
Student mental health reached a crisis point last year, putting pressure on schools for solutions like never before. Districts across the country are using federal pandemic funds to hire more mental health professionals, deploy new coping tools, and expand curricula that prioritize emotional health.
Still, some parents don't see the need for schools to be involved in mental health at all. So-called social-emotional learning (SEL) has become a recent political hotspot, with conservatives arguing that schools are using it to promote progressive ideas about race, gender, and sexuality, or that they are happily It states that the focus attracts the attention of scholars.
But at schools like Lakewood, educators say helping students deal with emotions and stress will benefit students for life, even in the classroom.
Located in a farming community an hour's drive south of Louisville, the school used federal funding to create a 'break' corner in each classroom. According to school counselor Sherry Carr, students can utilize a "self-adjustment kit" with tips such as deep breathing, fluffy stress balls and acupuncture rings. The school plans to build a "reset room" this fall. This is part of an emerging national trend to create campus her sanctuaries where students can decompress and speak with counselors.
Lakewood uses an online student screener called Closegap that helps teachers identify shy and quiet children who need to talk.
Closegap founder Rachel Miller launched her platform online at several schools in 2019 and saw her interest explode after the outbreak of the pandemic. rice field. More than 3,600 of her schools in the US will use the technology this year, she said, with free and premium versions available.
"We are finally recognizing that schools are not just teaching children to read, write and do math," said Dan Domenech, executive director of the National Association of Superintendents of Schools. rice field. In the same way that free lunch programs are based on the idea that a hungry child cannot learn, more and more schools are embracing the idea that a cluttered or troubled mind cannot concentrate on school work. there is, he said.
Experts say the pandemic has increased the mental health vulnerabilities of America's youth, who have experienced increases in depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation for years. was amplified. According to a recent report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 44% of high school students said they experienced "constant feelings of sadness and hopelessness" during the pandemic, and girls and LGBTQ youth suffered from poor mental health. reported the highest rates of exacerbation and suicide attempts.
If there is a silver lining, the pandemic has helped raise awareness of the crisis and destigmatize talking about mental health. It also drew attention to shortcomings in the school's response. President Joe Biden's administration recently announced more than $500 million to expand mental health services in the nation's schools, increasing federal and state funding to schools to address needs in the pandemic era. Added to
Still, many schools are skeptical. School support is sufficient.
"All of these opportunities and resources are temporary," said Claire Chee, her junior, who attends State College Area High School in central Pennsylvania. Last year, her school added emergency counseling and therapy dogs, but most of that help lasted her a day or two. And it's "not an investment in mental health for students." The school plans to increase the number of counselors and mental health training for all 10th graders this year, she said.
Some critics, including many conservative parents, do not want to see mental health support in schools in the first place. Asla Nomani, a mother in Fairfax County, Virginia, said schools use the mental health crisis as a "Trojan horse" to introduce liberal ideas about sexual and racial identity. I'm here. She also worries that schools lack the expertise to deal with mental illness in students.
"Social and emotional well-being provides an excuse to intervene in children's lives in the most intimate ways that are dangerous and irresponsible," Nomani said. . She is in the hands of trained non-professional people.
Despite unprecedented funding, schools are struggling to recruit counselors, which mirrors shortages in other industries in America.
Goshen Middle School in northwestern Indiana is struggling to fill the vacancies of counselors who left last year after "unexpected" student anxiety and other behavioral problems, says Jan. Desmarais Morse said. Two counselors remained at the school, each responsible for her 500 students.
"One man is trying to meet the needs of 500 students," said Desmarais Morse. "It's impossible."
The American Association of School Counselors recommends a ratio of 250 students per school counselor, but this ratio Few states come close to
Her Associated Press analysis of data from the National Center for Education Statistics found that only her two states, New Hampshire and Vermont, met that goal in the 2020-21 school year. Some states face alarmingly high rates. In Arizona, on average, she has 716 students to her 1 counselor. 1 to 638 in Michigan.
Hammond School City in Indiana also said it won grants to hire clinical therapists in all 17 schools, but failed to fill most of the new jobs. . Superintendent Scott Miller. "Schools are stealing from other schools. They just don't have enough workers to get around." And even with more funding, schools' salaries are similarly overwhelmed and are trying to hire more staff. Can't compete with private counseling practices.
Another challenge for schools is identifying children in distress before they experience an emotional crisis. With 277 schools and nearly 200,000 students in the Houston Independent School District, one of the nation's largest, students are asked to put their finger up every morning to show how they feel. One finger means that the child is deeply hurt. 5 means you feel good.
"It's about identifying wildfires early in the day," said Sean Rix, senior manager of crisis intervention for the district.
Houston teachers are now conducting mindfulness lessons with ocean sounds playing on YouTube, and Lucy the Chihuahua and Omi the Cockapoo are joining the district's crisis management team.
Last year, a grant helped Houston build relaxation rooms called "Thinkeries" in her 10 schools. The cost was about $5,000 each. Ricks said that at his Thinkeries campus, which features beanbag chairs and warm-coloured walls, he saw a 62% drop in calls to emergency calls last year, according to school district data. The district is constructing more buildings this year.
But the room itself is no panacea. For the Calm Room to work, schools need to make students aware that they are feeling angry or frustrated. That way, the space can be used to decompress before emotions explode, says Kevin Dahilf, executive director of Counseling In School, a nonprofit that helps schools strengthen mental health services. Shell said.
During the last days of summer vacation, Well Space at University High School in Irvine, California, received the finishing touches from an artist who painted a giant moon mural on top of a mountain. Potted succulents, jute rugs, Buddha-like figurines, and suspended egg chairs provided a non-school feel.When school starts this week, the room will be staffed full-time with a counselor or mental health professional.
The goal is to normalize the idea of asking for help and give students a place to reset. "If they can re-center and re-focus," Blakely said.
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Gecker reports from San Francisco. Associated Press writer Heather Hollingsworth of Mission, Kansas. Arleigh Rodgers of Indianapolis and Brooke Schultz of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania also contributed to the report. Data her reporter Kavish Harjai contributed from Los Angeles.
Rodgers, Schultz, and Harjai are members of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a non-profit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to cover hidden issues.
AP's education team is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. AP is solely responsible for all content.
