More mental health support is needed as we learn during this pandemic

By Mia Sitts

April 19, 2021

In today’s world, students are adapting to new ways of learning, whether they go into school twice a week or only learn virtually due to COVID-19. These adjustments can be difficult to manage in a student’s life and many are unaware of the other stressors and responsibilities that students may face.

The article, Impact on COVID-19 Lockdown on Teens’ Mental Health states that 46% of parents have noticed their teen showing signs of new or worsening mental health illnesses since the pandemic began.

On March 26th 2021, a student at Niskayuna High School committed suicide.

A few days prior, my friend that attended the same school had reached out to her teacher requesting an extension on a project because of personal issues. The teacher said no.

After the tragedy occurred, the teacher emailed my friend again. She decided to allow her to have an extension on the project.

Does it take a death to open the eyes of our community?

I feel as though schools do not take action or represent their resources until something traumatic happens.

With the death of their student, Niskayuna High School sent out an important message to their community. This message included a google meet link for virtual counseling support for students.

The resource may have been available prior to the death, but it was only advertised afterwards. Why can’t we send out a weekly reminder to students telling them they can reach out if they need help especially in hard times like this?

Schools and teachers face a lot of stress as well and that should be acknowledged. Trying to teach students and ensure they are engaged is tricky when some students are in the classroom and some students are home.

Also, teachers may not be aware of everything that is happening in a student's life.

However, if a student does reach out to a teacher, they should respond to emails. On numerous occasions I’ve reached out to teachers with questions regarding projects and have received no response.

I had been assigned a project that was about 40% of my grade. I felt as though the description and format of the project given by my teacher was vague so I reached out for clarification and received no response.

Meanwhile, I am working on a group project remotely with students who I am unfamiliar with and received no answers from my teacher.

I don’t expect teachers to give us complete freedom to turn in work whenever we want or to change their teaching routines. However, they need to be aware and empathetic towards students if they are reaching out and expressing their struggles.

Lastly, there are over 1,000 students in Colonie Central High School, yet there are only two school social workers and two school psychologists available to help students combat their personal issues.

4 staff members will not be able to help every student who may need their attention. The more staff members that are hired, the more chances a student in need can be helped.

Mental illness should be a priority in schools and student struggles should be acknowledged by teachers and staff before it is too late.