CALM IN THE STORM
HOW SCHOOLS ARE SUPPORTING STUDENTS WITH MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS DURING THE PANDEMIC
Jane Sanders
The warning came in the form of a 53-page report that U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued in early December. Distilled to a single sentence, Murthy’s message was stark: The kids aren’t all right.
As the pandemic carries on, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services warns that American children are caught in a severe mental health epidemic as they wrestle with the devastating effects of two-plus years of isolation, illness, and broken social circles. Teachers and school administrators are on the front lines of the crisis, and across the St. Louis region, schools and organizations are rushing to address it.
In its annual report “The State of Mental Health in America,” the nonprofit Mental Health America notes that more than 60 percent of youth with major depression do not receive any treatment for the condition. To help kids who need it most, several school districts across the region have teamed with Lutheran Family and Children’s Services of Missouri to receive additional assistance with school-based counseling. The organization is currently working in 58 schools, providing mental health resources such as individual and group therapy, among other treatments.
“At the K–8 levels, we’ve seen a lot of anxiety,” says Julia Pickup, Lutheran Family Services’ director of behavioral health and prevention. “Kids at these younger ages who normally haven’t had to worry about anything more than the common cold or a family member who’s sick are suddenly thinking on a daily basis about germs and contagions, 100,000-plus death tolls, and things like that. It’s really hard for them to wrap their young minds around.”
To be proactive, the Bayless School District has continued to offer extracurricular activities, such as robotics and archery clubs, tutoring sessions, and other programming, so students feel connected to their peers in a time of isolation. “We also do surveys of the students,” says Amy Ruzicka, Bayless School District’s assistant superintendent. “One of the areas we ask them about is supportive relationships: Do you have an adult in school that you trust and can connect with? Do you have a friend you can connect with? We’ll look for students who maybe don’t have those connections and find ways to build them.”
At Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School, administrators have taken several steps to ease the burdens felt by students. One move was to hire another staff counselor who works with students in grades 3–6, when some issues might arise. “We also added mindfulness classes in our lower school,” says Vicki Thurman, MICDS’ director of student support services. “They’re using pieces of the MindUP curriculum and taking time to do mindful breathing, and doing the things they’re taught to make sure they’re self-aware.”
Although the challenges facing school counselors, teachers, and other health workers can feel daunting, Pickup says that 96 percent of children who entered Lutheran Family Services’ school-based counseling program between January and October 2021 advanced to a higher functioning level within nine weeks of therapy.
“I think schools are recognizing the severity of the situation,” Pickup says. “They’re not waiting for it to get worse.”
INTENTIONAL BREAKS
Taking a timeout can sometimes be as important as forging ahead. Last fall, students, educators, and volunteers at The College School took a mindful departure from their typical routine for what they called Wellness Day. Students enjoyed a range of activities geared toward wellness and relieving stress: playing with blocks and bubbles, striking yoga-inspired poses, creating imaginative arts and crafts, and sharing messages of kindness with sidewalk chalk. The day carved out intentional time to "give our community a day to pause, breathe, and reset."
TEACHING ARTISTS
HOW ST. LOUIS CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS ARE ENSURING THAT KIDS CAN ACCESS THE ARTS
Jane Sanders
Art classes can look a little different these days. Students can watch the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis perform, make music with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, and learn art techniques from professionals, all from the safety and comfort of their school. With teachers and resources already stretched thin, arts programs are sometimes the first to go, but local organizations have stepped up to fill the need for accessible programs both in schools and online.
Online resources such as tours and activities from local museums have made the arts more accessible than ever during the pandemic. The virtual options provide a safe alternative to in-person visits for now, but they also allow educators to provide cultural experiences without the costs and logistics of a field trip.
“Whether it’s an online program because a school is on lockdown or because it takes a lot of logistics for a field trip, everybody gets to participate,” says Dr. Yolanda Alovor, the symphony’s vice president of external affairs and equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Access is key for education programs provided by many local arts institutions. For some organizations, such as Jazz St. Louis’ JazzU and Jazz Academy programs, that means providing mentorship and instruction opportunities. For others, such as SLSO’s STEAM-based SoundLab, it can mean providing online activities.
During the pandemic, Saint Louis Ballet’s Pointe to Succeed program began offering streamed performances and lesson plans for teachers. Rehearsal director CiCi Houston Sudholt jokes that, as dancers, they’re trained to pivot. “The minute we started the virtual programming, it just ballooned,” she says. “A lot of the schools that went on our field trips before and some schools we’ve never interacted with just leapt at the chance. We were pleasantly surprised with how many schools got on board for the virtual streaming instantly.”
Across town, the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis is among several organizations that have partnered with schools to facilitate arts education. CAM has partnered with Vashon High School since 2017, offering weekly art classes and collaborating with students on a yearly exhibition. Beyond Vashon, the museum offers several tiers of educational resources, including drop-in workshops, multipart intensives for middle- and high-schoolers, and weekend arts programs that students can access outside of class. The goal is to foster the kind of growth, compassion, and creative thinking that only comes with learning about the arts, says Michelle Dezember, CAM’s director of learning and engagement.
“Just being able to be exposed to how other people think, to be able to think about the world and see the world in a different way, that’s the magic sauce of art,” Dezember says. “Without that, education becomes rote. It becomes just in service of reinforcing some of the mass inequities that we see. Without art, I don’t think education or communities in general have a chance to really grow or thrive. That’s how we are resilient—by having art as a cornerstone of what we do, as something that’s always there for us.”
ACTING CLASSES
Lutheran High School South plans to take its performing arts program to the next level. Following a recent $6 million gift from the Darren C. Jubel Charitable Foundation, it plans to build a 39,000-square-foot performing arts center. The building will house theater and music practice rooms, new administrative offices, as well as a 622-seat auditorium, which can host performances and assemblies. Students will also produce a weekly news show from a new studio for the high school’s digital journalism program. “Our facilities need to match the quality of our teaching,” says Principal Jonathan Butterfield, “and this gift will move us forward.”
A STRONGER CONNECTION
HOW AREA SCHOOLS ADDRESS THE HOMEWORK GAP BY PROVIDING STUDENTS WITH ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY
Jane Sanders
The pandemic not only prompted educators to provide virtual learning solutions for all students, but it also highlighted a severe gap in resources, with some students lacking electronic devices and internet connectivity.
To address such issues, schools got creative. Belleville Township High School District 201 set up hotspots in buses parked in neighborhoods where internet was needed. Every student also received a Chromebook, which they can keep after graduation. Nerinx Hall provided internet for students who didn’t have a stable connection at home.
Even before the pandemic, St. Louis Public Schools had ordered devices for preK–grade 8 students. When the pandemic began, the staff quickly worked to obtain and distribute 11,000 iPads to students. “We couldn’t do it in a single day, so we reached out to our neediest families first, and they received their equipment,” says Cheryl Vannoy, deputy superintendent of accountability and technology services. The district also provided 6,000 hotspots to students without internet access. Likewise, Clayton School District provided each student with a device during the pandemic, and students without reliable internet access were given mobile hotspots.
Now that many students across the region are back in classrooms, schools are still making use of the technological advancements. Moving forward, Clayton School District spokesperson Chris Tennill would also like to see the quality of home internet improve, as some houses don’t have the infrastructure to support multiple people streaming simultaneously.
“The needs aren’t going away,” Vannoy says. “They are, in fact, more evident now. Equity was always a concern, but the pandemic highlighted inequities that were hidden.”
BUILDING OPPORTUNITY
Sometimes, a chance opportunity for one person can open doors for many more students. That’s what happened after Remy Bryant worked in the lab of zoological studies professor Patricia Parker as an undergrad at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. Bryant later became a biology teacher at Jennings Senior High and reached back out to Parker about creating a paid summer internship program for high-achieving students from under-resourced communities. The resulting program, Collaborative Laboratory Internship and Mentoring Blueprint (CLIMB), launched in 2015 and has since expanded to Riverview Gardens, Ritenour, and University City. It will also grow to include students at Hazelwood this year.
COMMON CENTS
LOCAL EXPERTS’ TIPS ON NAVIGATING THE COLLEGE FINANCIAL-AID AND STUDENT-LOAN PROCESSES
Jane Sanders
It’s important to have a plan to pay for a degree. Everybody knows that, right? Not quite.
“It sounds really simple,” says David Rice, associate director of student financial services at Saint Louis University, “though few people think about it like that.”
For current and incoming college students, the cost of higher education is a growing concern. There are currently an estimated 43 million Americans with an average student loan debt of $39,351.
Students can supplement the cost of tuition with scholarships, grants, and work-study programs. “The No. 1 source of outside or private scholarships come from their high school counselors,” says Rice. College financial-aid counselors and admission reps can also help navigate the process. The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis is another helpful resource, providing financial aid for members of the community who otherwise could not afford college, as well as offering advising and other assistance. One more local resource: The St. Louis Graduates collaborative network, which also compiled ample local scholarships at myscholarshipcentral.org.
It all starts with studies, though. “The best financial plan is a good academic plan,” says Rice. Among the opportunities for students in Missouri is the A+ Scholarship program. St. Louis Community College's district director of financial aid and scholarship Kristin Copeland says that students who complete certain merit-based activities are then eligible for free community college.
Then there’s federal support. Students should fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as early as possible for a better chance of receiving funds, including the Access Missouri Award. In addition, for the past two years, during the pandemic, the federal government placed a hold on student loan payments, a pause which, as of press time, is scheduled to continue through May 1.
In recent years, the government has also issued more than $11 billion worth of student-loan forgiveness for individuals with disabilities who qualified for discharge from their loans, former students of closed or defrauded colleges, and those eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The administration has also discussed steps for student-loan forgiveness, tuition-free community college credits, and increasing the size of Pell Grants.
For low-income undergraduate students, Pell Grants can help cover the costs of tuition, room and board, textbooks, and other education-related expenses. (The current maximum amount for the grant is $6,495, although proposed legislation would increase that amount by an additional $550.) “Everybody in our office is happy when we have students who can receive Pell Grants,” says Alex Ebert, a financial aid coordinator with the University of Missouri–St. Louis. “That’s always a life that can be a little bit easier for them.” If loans are necessary, however, Ebert suggests the subsidized variety because they don’t accrue interest.
And while the financial-aid process can be exhausting, it’s often worth it. As Rice says, “College is an investment in ourselves and our future.”
COST FREEZE
In response to the pandemic, Thomas Jefferson School’s board has decided to freeze the cost of attendance for the first time in its 76-year history. “We recognize this year has brought challenges that extend beyond the health and safety concerns due to COVID to our community,” head of school Matt Troutman said in a release. In the past, tuition and fees were separately charged to families, with an annual increase related to rising inflation; this year, the school in Sunset Hills will instead set a total cost per program. “TJ is not immune from increased costs due to inflation,” said Troutman, “but we also recognize that we are partners with our families in educating their children.”
