In the News

Kids are Returning to School Broken. Here’s What We Need to Do About It.

It’s been a few weeks since students returned to the classroom around the country. But it’s clear already — the kids are not alright.

Mental health fears cloud school reopenings

“Nothing should stand in the way of fully reopening our public schools this fall and keeping them open,” said Randi Weingarten, American Federation of Teachers president, in a speech last week. But she also emphasized that the full return won’t be as easy as reopening the school gates. Educators will have to address students’ emotional needs on top of their academic setbacks.

Op-Ed: Our Kids’ Mental Health Can’t Wait

It’s been a year since the word “COVID” became part of our national vocabulary. Lives have been lost, families have struggled to survive, and our collective mental health has suffered in unimaginable ways. We have all felt grief, uncertainty, and stress — and our nation’s youth are no exception.

As schools reopen, we can’t leave mental health behind

Even before COVID-19 changed life as we know it, young people in the U.S. were experiencing sharp increases in mental health conditions. Between 2009 and 2017, rates of depression increased by more than 60% among kids ages 14-17, and, over a similar time period, the rate of suicide among those ages 10-14 nearly tripled.

5 Tips For Keeping Your Kids Emotionally Well and Academically Stimulated

As a former public school teacher and a mother of five kids, I know how hard it can be to figure out what to do when staying home with your kids while you’re social distancing. Many parents are now responsible not just for taking care of but also for educating their children while schools are closed.

NJ Senate passes bill requiring mental health screenings for public school students

PIX11

A bill passed unanimously by the New Jersey Senate Thursday would require public schools to administer screenings for depression in students.

The bill, sponsored by Democratic Sens. Troy Singleton and M. Teresa Ruiz, passed alongside a second bill that will require school districts to issue reports on the number of mental health professionals employed by the districts.

Advocates call on Biden administration to prioritize youth mental health as experts warn of consequences

CNN

Talia Kaganovsky has struggled with her mental health for years. But when Covid-19 hit, “it was almost like a giant slap in the face,” the 18-year-old freshman at University of Pittsburgh said.

Kaganovsky, like all Americans, had to readjust her habits and expectations when the pandemic began a year ago. For many high school seniors, that meant realizing there would be no high school graduation or the quintessential freshman year of college. But the coronavirus pandemic also meant she would have to create new ways to cope with her mental health. “I’ve been dealing with mental health for a pretty long time now, but only recently started looking into treating and coping more with it,” Kaganovksy told CNN.

1 in 4 young people are reporting suicidal thoughts. Here’s how to help.

CNN

In the early days of the pandemic, many people came together to help each other, connecting over socially distant dinners and reaching out for video calls with friends they hadn’t talked to in months.

But this international crisis continues, and Americans are having trouble adjusting to the strain of our new reality.

Teens feeling disconnected, hopeless due to COVID-19 raises alarm for parents, experts

CBC News

Ten months into the coronavirus pandemic, Toronto teen Serena Sri is sorely missing all the “amazing” things about adolescent life, from spirit days, intramural sports and learning in-person at her high school in the city’s west end to hanging out with friends and attending her beloved hip-hop dance class.

Teens in Covid Isolation: ‘I Felt Like I Was Suffocating’

New York Times

Remote learning, lockdowns and pandemic uncertainty have increased anxiety and depression among adolescents, and heightened concerns about their mental health.