Nearly all school administrators believe in mental health challenges Their students’ faces are moderate to severe, and more than half say their condition has worsened or not improved in the last year.
News promotion: The findings are A survey released Wednesday A survey of 200 administrators and 1,000 parents with K-12 children was conducted by Effective School Solutions, which provides mental health services to schools.
Found: Parents aren’t as confident as administrators about schools’ ability to address mental health issues for their students, but most say schools should play a role in helping children.
- Only 40% of administrators said they had a high level of confidence in their ability to handle mental health crises at school, compared to 16% of parents.
- Nearly 1 in 10 managers reported having no confidence at all, compared to nearly a third of parents.
- The biggest concern for both parents and administrators was identifying needs and ensuring there were enough staff to support the students.
What they say: Carrie Martin, Director of Special Education and Student Services, Susquehanna Township School District, Pennsylvania, said:
Yes, but: The level of confidence in dealing with the reported crisis is higher than it was three to five years ago, Duncan Young, CEO of Effective School Solutions, told Axios.
- Back in the 1980s, schools and parents He didn’t want to talk about mental health or responsibility for addressing the issue, said John Zogby, the pollster who conducted the survey.
- Now, especially with the rise of social media, “I’m a genie out of a bottle,” Zogby told Axios. “There is a realization that it is growing and more work needs to be done.”
the question is “What are we going to do?” Young said at the federal and state levels to maintain financial need when COVID relief money runs out.
- More than half of administrators told surveyors they needed more information about mental health funding sources within their school district.
Conclusion: “To me,” said Young. “This is the defining education and public health issue of our time.”
Conclusion: “Over the last 15 years, there has been a shift in how schools view themselves in terms of their role in youth mental health,” Young said. “And this is accelerating and I think it will be one of the long-lasting legacies of COVID.”
