CONNECTICUT, USA — Families can expect a more traditional school year as COVID restrictions are loosened even more, but many of the pandemic's longer-lasting impacts will remain a reality, including student mental health.
Some school social workers said they believe the mental health need is more prevalent and critical right now.
"It was like the world paused, and then we tried to pick back up where we left off, but we totally forgot that these children – some of the kids that we had coming in the first year – they had never been socialized because they had been born during the pandemic. So by the time they came to Pre-K, they had never been around people or socialized with other folks, so that really exacerbated the problem," said Colinda Hunter, a school social worker at CREC Museum Academy.
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A study by the CDC published in March found more than a third of high school students reported they experienced poor mental health during the pandemic. Over 40% reported persistently feeling sad or hopeless during the past year.
In response to these needs, a package of bills passed by state lawmakers this past session provides tens of millions of dollars to address youth mental health. Action items in the legislation targeting schools include funding school-based health centers, hiring and retaining school social workers and psychologists and funding child development centers.
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“Those resources will help districts when they’re able to identify professionals, to have more school counselors, to have a better ratio of counselors to students so students can receive the individualized attention they need," said Patrice McCarthy, Executive Director of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education.
“I also think that’s not the end of it. I think there’s a lot more that’s going to be needed in terms of resources, in terms of even more social workers. [..] You know there’s literally one social worker to maybe 100 or 200 kids so we need more in terms of staff and funding and support," said Dr. Keniesha Johnson, a school social worker at CREC Academy of International Studies.
While the pandemic has opened up the conversation around mental health in schools, state education leaders say districts have been working to address the issue for years.
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“Ten.. 12 years ago, you didn’t hear a whole lot of discussion about social and emotional development or the whole child and I think we are moving there now and honoring children’s feelings and talking about respect and talking about how to regulate and manage your feelings," said Fran Rabinowitz, Executive Director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents.
Rabinowitz said families have to play a role in the conversations and look for warning signs.
According to the Mayo Clinic, some warning signs of mental illness in kids can include persistent sadness that lasts two or more weeks, withdrawal from social interactions, outbursts or extreme irritability, difficulty sleeping, avoiding school and changes in academic performance and drastic changes in mood, behavior or personality.
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“If your child is talking about anything that relates to suicide, anything that relates to homicide, I think before people used to dismiss those conversations," said Hunter. “Don’t think that anything is just minimal.”
“I would also say [to] be aware of social media. We’ve seen a lot of that over the last year and that shows up a lot in the secondary schools as well in terms of social media playing a big part in their mental and social-emotional health," said Dr. Johnson.
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Angelo Bavaro is an anchor and reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at abavaro@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
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