Student stress, anxiety are top concerns for next school year

While some K-12 students are excited for the upcoming school year, many of them are exhibiting stress and anxiety following the pandemic.

As a mom of two and a K-12 substitute teacher in Iowa City, Tamara Fisher has witnessed anxiety and stress increase among students in the last year due to COVID-19 and other world events.

“I think there is just that lingering stress of the unknown,” she said.

Seventy-six percent of schools reported an increase in staff voicing concerns about their students exhibiting symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and trauma since the pandemic started, according data published in May by the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences.

In Iowa, 59 percent of students of students who experienced one or more depressive episodes did not receive in mental health services, Mental Health America reported.

Fisher said the safety of schools is one of the recent stressors for children.

“Its one of those things that none of us like to think about,” she said. “As a teacher, I’ve been in a lockdown before and it's really scary.”

In addition, the pandemic added stress for students with hybrid schooling and family deaths, she said.

“With the pandemic happening, that created some economic issues, financial insecurity for families, schools trying to figure out what to do, and teachers who were burning the candle at both ends,” she said. “That just ramped everything up.”

Allison Bruhn, a University of Iowa professor of special education and executive director of the Iowa Center for School Mental Health, said guardians and educators need to reassure students that school is safe.

“If they are feeling that level of anxiety, they can talk to their school counselor, a school nurse, or a trusted adult who can help them work those issues through some mindfulness techniques, some breathing techniques and some cognitive behavioral therapy,” she said.

She said anxiety is a normal response to stress, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that a child has a mental health disorder.

“The main thing is that students feel comfortable telling somebody when they are feeling that way,” she said.

Seeking support in school

At Iowa City High School, some faculty started helping and identifying students’ mental health problems two years ago with the first Navigating Emotions and Stress Through Training (NESTT) mental health room.

Over 1,700 students used the mental health room during the last school year, with about 400 active students returning, said Thos Trefz, a City High student family advocate.

Seventy-percent U.S. public schools had an increased number of students seeking school mental health services, according to the Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences data.

Elizabeth Lilly, an Iowa City schools special education school social worker, said more students visited the room during the past academic year than ever before.

“If anything, the numbers and the last two years has confirmed that there is a gap in providing spaces or the opportunities for students to discuss,” Lilly said.

Mary Peterson, a counselor at City High, said that students most commonly self-identify stress and anxiety as their reasoning to visit the NESTT.

She said 40 percent of students who visit the room just want to talk to an adult.

“What really they are looking for is a break in the day,” she said. “I think a lot of that has happened because their ability to sustain a full school day has been interrupted.”

Parents should watch for changes in behavior in their child, such as elevated or depressive moods and failing grades, Peterson said.

"Or maybe they are withdrawing and not hanging out with friends anymore,“ she said.

Peterson added that since the creation of the City High mental health room, other schools in the district, like West High and Liberty High, are creating similar student spaces.

Talking to your kids about mental health

Bruhn said parents should talk to their kids about mental health concerns when their child feels safe.

“You have to be careful because you don’t want them to shut down, but you have to be able to engage in conversation with them,” she said. “Sometimes it is helpful if you are doing something else like taking you kid out for ice cream or coffee.”

Bruhn said going back to school can be an exciting and stressful time depending on the school’s environment.

“It depends if they feel like they have a connection to the school and there’s a sense belonging. For students who don’t feel like that, it is obviously more stressful,” she said. “And then of course with COVID-19, there is a whole other added layer of that.”

Fisher said she speaks to her kids about difficult topics before bedtime.

“Its really trying to dig a little bit deeper and when asking those questions, trying to impart those little nuggets of wisdom that we’ve gained over time,” she said.

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