A two-part report
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and numerous studies show that anxiety and depression have increased among children over the last five years. For many the pandemic exacerbated both, as well as social isolation, academic struggles, grief and trauma, economic difficulties and caregiver stress, all while access to psychiatric care became more difficult and waitlists grew.
Many teachers, as well as parents, are struggling to support children through the increased mental health challenges they’re facing.
During the public comment section of the March Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) Board of Education meeting, parents and teachers testified to the need for more mental health services for the county’s students.
A Father’s Plea
One father of three county schools students, shared – at times tearfully – how his child’s school had been without a school therapist for a prolonged period, before filling the position at what would prove a critical time for his family. Just a month after the therapist joined the school, they alerted the parents to suicidal ideation and other concerns with their child. The school therapist called the student’s parents, who took their child to Children’s Hospital, where they spent 10 days in the psychiatry unit. Things have since improved for their child with medicine and therapy, the father told the board of education, but now the therapist has left the school and that position is once again vacant. Their family is fortunate to be able to pay for the therapy their child needs, he said, but not every family can. “I implore you to find a way to increase the psychological services in our schools. Figure out a way to screen for learning disabilities, anxiety, mental illness. And double the number of therapists in schools,” pleaded the parent. “Or triple it!”
A Teacher’s Testimony
Tammy O’Donnell, an English and media teacher at Chesapeake Math and IT Academy North High School and parent of an 11th grader, reported that their school had instituted Wellness Wednesdays, during which teachers take at least 10 minutes at the beginning of class to help students decompress, ease anxiety, refocus. “I use the entire class period,” said O’Donnell. “We don’t have a therapist at our school. We’re not able to access the Hazel Health telecare services [a service introduced in PGCPS this year] because the grant did not include charter schools and this week alone I’ve had three students come to me with issues of depression, not feeling as if they belonged or wishing they could be someone else because they don’t like who they are. We must have more mental health access in our school for our kids. My students are begging for it. You just heard parents begging for it. I’m begging for it.”
O’Donnell brought letters from her students to the board members sharing their needs. One student wrote that “mental health days” – PGCPS’ allowance of one excused absence each semester for students’ mental health needs – haven’t been explained well to parents, who think it’s a way to “skip school and play video games.” Another student thought there should be five mental health days each semester instead of one.
Hazel Health
The online medical services through Hazel Health (my.hazel.co/pgcps/info), which began part-way through this school year, can provide students with online access to medical appointments and online therapy. Students can access the service both at school and at home. However, there are a limited number of appointments available for therapy services and many students aren’t enrolled in the program. One school nurse at a Greenbelt school suspected parents didn’t fully understand the Hazel Health offerings, whether they could sign up if they already had a primary care doctor (they can) or afraid costs will be incurred since the service asks for insurance information. Through the partnership with PGCPS, services can be accessed by those who are uninsured and those who have insurance will agree to have their insurance billed but have no cost to the family. The majority of students that Greenbelt school nurse saw were not signed up for the service as their parents had not opted in or completed the permission forms.