COLUMBUS – As Ohio schools settle into a new academic year, the effects of the social isolation kids experienced during the pandemic now appear to be playing out.
State Support Teams are groups of educators working to address mental health issues among teens, which have skyrocketed in recent years with suicide rates increasing 60% among people ages 10 to 24 between 2007 and 2018.
“We’re trying to help people to back up and look at: How can we support students in a way that they do come to the classroom able to learn and able to function in a healthy way?” said Debbi Bailey, who is a consultant for one of the teams.
Districts are employing Social and Emotional Learning, using social media platforms to reach to out to students and providing information for parents on how to improve their children’s emotional health.