Starting a new school year as COVID case numbers skyrocket and hospitals fill up is far from business as usual. But what hasn’t changed is that Texans want every student to have the opportunity to do well in school, in spite of challenges students are facing inside or outside of their classrooms. As the pandemic continues to affect children and families across the state, more students will enter their classrooms with a cascade of challenges that are unprecedented. Schools must be ready to meet students where they are — academically, socially, and emotionally — because the more supported students both are and feel, the faster they will get back on track.
Schools can expect students to come back to their classrooms with feelings of worry, frustration, disconnection, grief, and even anger. They’re uncertain about their health, grades, friendships, and family. Losses in income and jobs have strained their families. They’re watching parents get sick and grieving when their loved ones die. The pandemic and its mental health consequences have an impact on students of all backgrounds. Additionally, students living in poverty, students of color, students with disabilities, emergent bilingual students, and students with a history of mental health concerns or trauma are among groups most likely to be adversely impacted and in need of support.
Brain research tells us the ongoing challenges many students across Texas are facing can trigger physiological responses in the body that hijack parts of the brain that control attention, decision-making, and regulating emotions and behavior. These factors aren’t nice “value-adds” when it comes to learning; they are “must-haves.” The ability of schools to successfully address learning loss, close existing education gaps, and help kids achieve their academic goals is strongly tied to how well schools address student mental health and school climate.
Schools are facing some big challenges, too, and managing competing priorities. Keeping students and staff healthy amid the current surge of COVID cases while moving quickly to address learning is certainly on the top of the minds of school leaders. However, it’s critical that as school leaders make decisions both big and small — things like setting goals and expectations for students and staff, selecting learning loss interventions, training school staff, and using their federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds — those decision makers keep student mental health and school climate in sharp focus.
Here are three things school leaders should focus on to support every student in their district, including those who have been significantly affected by the pandemic.
Re-establish school as a safe, positive space for students (and teachers). School climate is a critical component in setting the conditions for learning, especially for students affected by trauma. School-wide implementation of restorative discipline practices, social-emotional learning strategies, positive behavior interventions and supports, and engaging families all promote positive school climates.
Prepare and support teachers and other school staff. Make sure the adults within a school understand (A) the ways that students of different ages are likely to respond to uncertainty, fear, and stress and how trauma-informed practices can help students be better learners; (B) how to identify students who may be struggling and need more support; and (C) how to request assistance.
Have systems in place to identify and respond to students who need additional support. Recognizing the students who need support won’t always be easy. That’s why it's important for school leaders to have multi-tiered systems of support in place to identify students who may be struggling and to provide them with interventions, including referrals to services in the community when needed.
Thankfully, district leaders have access to resources that can help them address student mental health. Here are a just a few that are available to help guide them:
The Early Childhood COVID-19 Recovery Toolkit includes social emotional learning strategies districts can use to support Texas’ early learners in PK-2nd grade.
The Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs can help districts tailor their school counseling programs to meet the academic, social, emotional, and behavioral needs of their students.
The Texas Education Agency and the Health and Human Services Commission have been working with education service centers and local mental health authorities to help districts implement effective school practices by providing guidance, training, and technical support. Be sure to check out the ABC Summit being held each Thursday in September and the Project RESTORE trauma training video series.
Districts can access youth prevention programming that helps students develop skills that protect them from substance use and other harmful behaviors.
Universities and Health Science Centers are partnering with districts to identify and assess the mental health needs of students and provide telemedicine services to students experiencing a mental health crisis.
The Texas Suicide Safer Schools Roadmap is a planning guide Texas school districts can use in developing suicide prevention, intervention and postvention plans.
In addition to federal ESSER funds, districts can also use their state appropriated School Safety and Compensatory Education allotment funds to help support mental health and school climate strategies.
Keeping student mental health a priority will boost the success of schools and teachers in addressing learning loss and closing education gaps. It will also prevent small mental health problems from growing into bigger ones, and help students with significant mental health concerns have the opportunity to be successful in school. Solutions are available. District leaders should work with their school staff and community partners to implement them.