Mental Health and the Return to School
August 20, 2020
As children return to school, no matter how they return, their growing minds will have an immense amount of feelings to process:
- The losses of a school year that ended abruptly;
- Anxieties, fears, and losses from COVID-19 and the unrest our community experienced;
- The loss of relationships with friends and family who do not have a presence in their lives due to social distancing;
- The lack of familiar, comforting activities such as play dates, recreation activities, summer camps, and family vacations;
- Concerns around the uncertainty of parents returning to work or still out of work;
- Discomfort over a new world that includes social distancing, face masks, and more; or
- Fears about the future and what it might bring.
As adults, many share these fears, anxieties, and concerns. But kids often don’t have the skills, tools, or resources to help them cope yet, which can create many classroom struggles: apathy, distractions, disengagement, frustration, giving up, or an inability to concentrate on learning. This affects how kids experience these emotions, their friends, classmates, teachers, and parents.
Did you know: According to the National Center of Educational Statistics, less than half of schools offer mental health supports to their students in school? Do the teachers in your community have the resources to support children struggling online and in-person? The truth is, many area schools do not have adequate resources to meet the health needs of the children they serve, and they lack the funding to offer more.
Your support of People Incorporated allows us to partner with four area school districts to provide additional mental health resources when schools cannot meet the needs of their students without added community support.
Our mental health staff collaborates with teachers, parents, administration and the child to provide the care a child needs to feel safe, comforted, and secure amid a world full of uncertainty. We provide on-site therapy to kids who need us, and partner with parents on access to additional services they might need, whether it’s food on their table, health care, or something more. We educate teachers and caregivers on signs of trauma, and how to help children cope.
People Incorporated’s school-linked mental health services work hand-in-hand with families and schools, so no child falls through the cracks.
