Mental Health Part Of The Plan When Students Return In Newark

NEWARK, NJ — Let’s face it: getting ready for a new school year was never stress-free for kids and teens. But the added pressures of the coronavirus pandemic are new and unwelcome twists in districts across New Jersey, including Newark.

Many Garden State school districts have been running counseling and mental health programs to help their students cope with pandemic pressure. And that’s also true in Newark, where terms like "social emotional learning" and "mindfulness" have become part of the school vernacular.

Newark district administrators speak more about the issue in their Safe Return Plan for 2021-2022.

"The district prioritizes social-emotional learning to support our students and to develop a positive school culture and climate within all of our schools," Newark school officials say. "To address the stress and anxiety caused by long-term school closure and social isolation, the district continues to implement a variety of strategies to support our school communities."

They include:

• Meetings to facilitate opportunities for students to connect and reflect
• Meditation and mindfulness exercises, when possible
• Integrated social-emotional classroom lessons
• Daily check-ins by school social workers and school counselors
• Individual and group counseling facilitated by social workers and school counselors
• Counseling referrals and mental health resources provided to families
• Fall and Spring student self-assessments to measure student strengths and challenges related to the five social and emotional competencies
• School culture and climate surveys in all schools
• Professional learning opportunities afforded to school-based staff on topics such as grief and loss, depression, anxiety, motivation techniques, social and emotional competencies, and mental wellness
• Partnerships with mental health agencies
• Implementation of age-appropriate social-emotional learning interventions

“For those whose family well-being has been negatively affected by COVID infection or death, unemployment and financial instability, there's a greater risk for adverse mental health outcomes,” Ann Murphy said, adding that there is also an enhanced risk for youth who live in homes with abuse and neglect during the quarantine.

• See related article: Addressing Teen Mental Health During the Pandemic

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