Educators Are Underequipped To Handle Mental Health Crisis

Did you know that although most educators agree that the crisis of declining student mental health has never been worse, only a small percentage of them feel equipped to appropriately deal with the problem? 

Educators Don’t Have What They Need To Fight Student Mental Health Crisis 

According to a 2023 study released by EAB, an education research company, a staggering 92 percent of school superintendents agree that the student mental health crisis has gotten worse since 2019, but only 21 percent believe they have the adequate resources and staff to appropriately respond to the problem.  

One of the biggest trends we see today is kids who face anxieties about their physical and emotional safety due to not only the pandemic, but the increasing number of school shootings, a fear that past generations of school kids didn’t grow up with as prominently.  

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 57 percent of teens say they fear a mass shooting at their school.  

Increase In Stressors 

Whether it’s the pandemic, financial hardship, or the increase in violence in schools, students are facing more uncertainty in their futures than ever before. In 2001, the National Center for Education Statistics recorded 23 school shootings. In 2020, they reported 93. The steady rise in school shootings over the years has forced schools to prepare for the worst, creating action plans, purchasing security systems, and implementing new safety procedures.  

However, those plans cost money and resources. According to a survey of almost 200 superintendents conducted by EAB, 63 percent said that budget and price were barriers to implementing successful strategies to keeping their schools safe. Kokomo24/7®’s health, safety, and wellness software platform condenses and stretches costs and acts as a resource of its own as it can, for example, track and manage incidents around your school community, helping prevent violent events before they happen.  

And as stressors like increased violence become more serious, so do the mental health challenges of many students.  

A report from the CDC showed that 60 percent of teens identified as feeling persistently hopeless or sad in 2021, with nearly one in three depressed teenage girls considering suicide.  

Government leaders are highlighting the importance of treating student mental health. The Department of Education released $188 million in February of 2023 to various schools in more than 30 states. In addition, the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund allocated an additional $128 million for K-12 schools. The money will go toward increasing school-based, free mental health services that are accessible by students as well as hiring mental health professionals in high-risk areas.   

Kokomo24/7® Can Help

There is no single correct formula to keep your school safe. Kokomo24/7® understands that every school has its own unique set of needs and can help streamline the complicated, yet vital implementation or improvement of health, safety, and wellness resources.  

We can provide your school with a robust, yet easy-to-use technology platform that can help your school, your staff, and your students navigate the health and safety challenges they face. Through tools like our anonymous reporting tip line, incident management system, custom community surveys, emergency alert button, communications management, and more, Kokomo24/7® provides the tech tools schools need to get ahead of student mental health issues before it becomes too late.  

To learn more about Kokomo24/7® or to get a free 15-minute demo click the button below.