Students' Mental Health: Beyond Covid-19

As due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many schools across America have shifted to the virtual classroom. Even at schools which are open part- or full-time, the experience isn't the same for children. Therefore, schools ought to be prepared to meet students’ mental health needs at this time.

The quantity of mental health care professionals allotted to an average elementary school is small in accordance with the number of students. Now is a good opportunity to formally introduce the social and emotional learning that children really need. Every class can benefit from regular virtual visits from the mental medical expert. This would provide students using the chance to discuss what is on their minds and express their feelings.

Limited Mental Health Resources

Many schools had severe budget limitations leading up to this crisis. The mental health professionals were dealing with just the trauma cases. The rest of class time with counselors was typically a lesson on general social and emotional learning once each week or every fourteen days.

Teachers need access to mental health care professionals as much as children do. They are dealing with many challenges, shifting their learning materials to a virtual environment, and trying to show new content in a new method to weary children.

We need to expand mental health support in our secondary schools as well. This helps students who might not be in a position to access these resources privately. Additionally, an expansion might help teachers and staff through training regarding how to provide this kind of support, even when resources are limited.

Students’ Mental Health Needs

Meeting the mental health needs of students is important! It is because increasingly more youth across America are reporting feelings of anxiousness. But we CAN do something about it. Although many families can not afford mental health care outside of school, schools can play a role within this. Mental well-being is critical to a student's academic success. Children can't access academic learning if their social and emotional needs are not met.

We need to provide students with tools that will help them get through these challenges many of us are facing. Youngsters are FAR from capable of handling this case, yet they're proving very resilient and adaptable. However, they need to learn the language and normalize their feelings in order to be sure they are really processing and expressing their emotions.

Advocating for Children

Many administrations and school districts are ensuring that mental health comes first which children feel seen and heard.

The nonprofit organization America's Promise Alliance released results of a survey about increasing concerns for middle- and high-school students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report suggests that students have collective trauma. Children are concerned about their family finances and about their families meeting their basic needs. So many parents have lost their jobs, and also the stress of that trickles down to children, teenagers, and young adults. Immediate and continuing support would benefit students as well as their families.