No matter the vitality of Wall Street, no matter the rate of unemployment, no matter the reading produced by any measuring tool that gauges the status of pandemic recovery, there can be no full rebound from COVID-19 without ensuring the health — physical, emotional and mental — of students.
Advocates for Pennsylvania students have raised concern about the adequacy of school-based mental health services as the state prepares for a coming school year that anticipates a return to classroom-based, in-person instruction.
School officials are girding for an increased demand for mental health services. But the demand will go unmet unless services are increased.
A recent joint state House committee hearing shined a spotlight on the concerns as stakeholders testified before the education and human services committees. Officials from both the education and human services offices, psychologists, mental health services providers and school principals painted a picture of impending need.
For more than a year, many students bounced from one learning method to another, at-home learning or a mix of in-person/at-home instruction. It doesn’t take an expert to conclude that the situation created learning gaps and some level of emotional/mental stress for at least some students and, very likely, the majority — if for no other reason than the transfer of stress from parent/family to kid.
The state education department is warning they expected greater need for mental health services in the fall. They’ve received anecdotal information of increased absenteeism this school year as well as feelings of disconnectedness. This is no surprise. Even before the pandemic, a significant swath of students struggled with mental health issues.
The state education department should tap into federal money from the American Rescue Plan to bolster school-based mental health services. The Association of School Psychologists of Pennsylvania suggests that more school psychologists be hired and that graduate students be tapped to address a shortage in the field. Though American Rescue Plan funding is expected to last only two years, that period of time could be sufficient to meet the immediate needs for some extra mental health support as students adjust to a return to comparative normalcy in the fall.
— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/TNS
