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How Schools Can Help Kids Heal After A

 

Year Of 'Crisis And Uncertainty'

 

By Cory Turner and Christine Herman Apr 22   Save Article

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

" (Elissa Nadworny/NPR)

 

 

He badly misses his Washington, D.C., elementary school, along with his friends and the bustle of the classroom.

 

From Kai, this kind of proclamation doesn't feel like bragging, more like exuberant kindness.

 

To her, the disease poses a mortal threat, and he is her protector, the only one who can make her giggle breathlessly.

 

He sometimes visits her bedside, in the middle of the night, just to check on her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She was born with a heart condition, Down syndrome and a fragile immune system. (Elissa Nadworny/NPR)

 

If that stress isn't buffered by caring adults, it can have lifelong consequences.

 

 

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"Kids have had extended exposure to chaos, crisis and uncertainty," says Matt Biel, a child psychiatrist at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

 

But there's some good news for kids like Kai: Educators across the country say their top priority right now isn't doubling down on math or reading — it's helping students manage all of this pandemic-driven stress.

 

"If kids don't return to school and get a lot of attention paid to security, safety, predictability and re-establishing of strong, secure relationships, [they] are not gonna be able to make up ground academically," Biel says.

 

Promoting mental wellness in the classroom

 

 

Think morning circle time or, for older students, homeroom.

 

At Hernandez Middle School in Chicago, teacher Lilian Sackett starts off each day by checking in with students, then diving into a short lesson on mindfulness and other social-emotional skills.

 

She teaches English as a second language, and she learned early on that many of her students' families were dealing with a lot of stress related to job losses and illness — that's on top of any trauma that may have predated the pandemic.

 

"We need to allow the students to share their experiences with the pandemic and to give them that safe space [to] talk about it," Sackett says.

 

What's more, she says, children can benefit a lot from just a few minutes each day of classwide calm When she found out her students love Bob Ross and his tranquil, televised painting lessons from the 1980s and '90s, Sackett decided to work him into their morning routine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rashida Humphrey-Wall is a longtime nurse who recently began a new job — on top of her already full-time job of parenting Kai and Alaina through the pandemic. (Elissa Nadworny/NPR)

 

"When they're having fun, they're so excited — they'll learn anything you throw at them."

 

Sackett says her approach was informed by a virtual training , provided by Ann & Robert

 

H. Lurie Children's Hospital, that focused on the impacts of trauma on children.

 

 

Sackett learned that teachers can help by creating a supportive environment that fosters resilience.

 

She says it was a really stressful time, especially for her third-grade sister.

 

"And it made me feel bad because it's just like... I didn't know what to tell her because I was in shock, too."

 

But Sheyla says the short daily lessons in mindfulness at the start of each school day — and being able to share her feelings and concerns with her teacher — were enough to help her get through.

 

"I've been telling them, 'I'm thankful for you being here.'"

 

When more serious help is needed

 

 

And the more schools invest in promoting mental health and equipping children with social-emotional skills, the fewer children will go on to develop more serious problems, says child psychiatrist Matt Biel.

 

But there will always be children who need more intensive interventions, which could involve school social workers and psychologists, when available, or a referral to a mental health professional beyond the school.

 

And he says she has helped him come up with strategies to manage his stress at home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He says she has helped him come up with strategies to manage his stress at home. (Elissa Nadworny/NPR)

 

"And then I'll come back out when I'm more calm and happy."

 

"In the beginning I think I had depression, anxiety... anything you can think of, I probably had it."

 

Biel says that kind of stress can trickle down to children.

 

 

"All of the best evidence-based practices in the world are not going to have the desired effect if that child is living in a family that's overwhelmed by stress," he explains.

 

Through a partnership with Medstar Georgetown Center for Wellbeing in School Environments , Kai's school arranged for Humphrey-Wall to meet with a clinical psychologist once a week for what they call "parent wellbeing sessions."

 

Without it, she says, "I don't know what I would have done, really."

 

 

Partnerships between schools and mental health care providers can be expensive for districts and may not be an option in rural or under-resourced areas where there simply aren't enough child-focused services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"In the beginning [of the pandemic] I think I had depression, anxiety... anything you can think of, I probably had it," Humphrey-Wall says. (Elissa Nadworny/NPR)

 

But whatever the solution, he says schools need support as they explore their options.

 

"We need to support schools and school systems with more resources to make this possible."

 

Federal help for schools

 

 

For districts that want to do more, the latest COVID-19 relief package And one U.S. senator has been pushing the Biden administration to emphasize mental health as it guides districts on how to spend that money.

 

"Not all schools and districts are equipped to work on these complex mental and behavioral health issues and meet the unique needs of today's students," Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto wrote in a letter They will need robust assistance from community-based service providers and the health care community."

 

Cortez Masto says a recent spate of student suicides in one county in her state , Nevada, underscores just how urgent the needs are.

 

So we've got to change that dynamic."

 

In the U.S., where access to health care — especially for children's mental health — is inequitable and inconsistent, the difficult work of identifying and tending to the mental and emotional health of this pandemic generation will fall largely on the shoulders of educators.

 

Cortez Masto hopes the flood of federal relief dollars will help other districts create similar partnerships with child mental health providers, or find other solutions.

 

He's talking it through with his school-based therapist, doing his best to give those worries a roundhouse kick:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He's eager to get back to the business of making friends with the entire world. (Elissa

 

Nadworny/NPR)

 

 

He's eager to get back to the business of making friends with the entire world.

 

If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (en español: 1-888-628-9454; deaf and hard of hearing: dial 711, then 1-800-273-8255) or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.

 

 

This story is part of a reporting partnership that includes NPR, Illinois Public Media and Kaiser Health News.

 

To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

 

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Why PE matters for student academics and wellness right now

 

By Kelly Field, The Hechinger Report Nov 8  Save Article

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After rain forced classes indoors, fourth graders at Middletown elementary run around the gym. (Yunuen Bonaparte for The

 

Hechinger Report)

 

 

This story about PE teachers was produced by The Hechinger Report Sign up for Hechinger’s newsletter .

 

Amanda Amtmanis, an elementary physical education instructor in Middletown, Connecticut, handed out cards with QR codes to a class of third graders, and told them to start running.

 

They paused to scan the cards, which track their mileage, on their teacher’s iPad and got some encouragement from an electronic coach — “Way to run your socks off!” or “Leave it all on the track!”

 

“Whoa, look at Dominic!” another boy exclaimed.

 

“We don’t need to compare ourselves to others,” Amtmanis reminded him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A fifth grader scans a QR code card that tracks his running mileage. (Yunuen Bonaparte for The Hechinger Report)

 

 

Amtmanis thanked her students for their willingness to adjust — a skill many of them have practiced far more often than running these past 18 months.

 

 

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But it’s already caused at least a short-term spike in childhood obesity Rates of overweight and obesity in 5- through 11-year-olds rose nearly 10 percentage points in the first few months of 2020.

 

Amtmanis’ “mileage club,” which tracks students’ running, both in and out of school, and rewards them with Pokémon cards when they hit certain targets, is an example of how PE teachers around the country are trying to get kids back in shape.

 

Even before the pandemic, fewer than half the states set any minimum amount of time for students to participate in physical education, according to the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE), which represents PE and health instructors.

 

In some California schools, administrators are shifting instructional minutes from PE to academic subjects — or canceling class altogether so PE teachers can sub for classroom teachers; in others, they’re growing class sizes in the gym, so they can shrink them in the classroom.

 

Over the summer, the principal of Macdonough Elementary, one of two schools where Amtmanis teaches, approved her request to participate in another running program called The Daily Mile, in which kids walk or run 15 minutes a day during school hours.

 

Daily running breaks “boost attentiveness, which has positive effects on academics,”

 

Amtmanis argued.

 

 

But two weeks into the school year, not a single teacher had bought into the idea.

 

 

“The issue is their packed schedule,” Amtmanis said.

 

 

Last year, many schools conducted gym class remotely, with students joining in from their bedrooms and living rooms.

 

And many instructors grappled with how to teach and assess motor skills and teamwork online.

 

Though instructors found creative ways to keep students moving — substituting rolled-up socks for balls, and “disguising fitness” in scavenger hunts and beat-the-teacher challenges — they still fretted that online gym wasn’t giving students the same benefits as in-person classes.

 

Compounding their concern was the fact that many students were also missing out on recess and extracurricular sports.

 

In a March 2021 survey conducted by the Cooper Institute, maker of the popular FitnessGram assessments, close to half the PE teachers and school and district administrators responding said their students were “significantly less” physically active during their schools’ closure than before it.

 

Schools that were open for in-person learning were also much more likely to cut back on PE instructional time, or eliminate it altogether, the survey found.

 

The consequences of these reductions in physical activity are hard to quantify, especially since many schools suspended fitness testing during the pandemic and have yet to resume it, but some PE teachers say they’re seeing more kids with locomotor delays and weaker stamina than normal.

 

They’re exhausted after 20 seconds of jumping jacks.

 

Some lack the spatial awareness that’s essential to group games.

 

“They don’t know how to move without running into each other,” she said.

 

 

Other instructors are seeing an increase in cognitive issues, such as difficulty paying attention or following directions, particularly among kids who remained remote for most or all of last year.

 

“I say ‘Knees, please,’ so they spin around to face me,” he said.

 

“They forgot how to share; how to be nice to each other; how to relate to each other,” said Donn Tobin, an elementary PE instructor in New York.

 

PE has a key role to play in boosting those skills, which affect how kids interact in other classes, said Will Potter, an elementary PE teacher in California.

 

“We’re uniquely situated to handle the social-emotional needs that came out of the pandemic, in a way classroom teachers are not,” Potter said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amanda Amtmanis, the PE instructor at Macdonough Elementary, hands a fifth grader a card with a QR code for tracking her mileage. (Yunuen Bonaparte for The Hechinger Report)

 

She sees the little signs of strain daily — the kid who got upset because he couldn’t pick his group, for example, and the one who was distressed that his Mileage Club card had gotten mixed up in the front office.

 

“Their emotional reserves are low,” she said.

 

 

In some communities, families seemed to spend more time outdoors.

 

“We saw the skyrocketing sale of bicycles, we saw families going for walks,” said Dianne Wilson-Graham, executive director of the California Physical Education and Health Project.

 

But in Title I schools like Macdonough, where more than half the students are low-income, some kids didn’t even have access to a safe place to exercise or play during school closures.

 

“Not only are they not in soccer leagues, but sometimes they don’t even have a park,” Amtmanis said.

 

Amtmanis came up with the idea of doing the Daily Mile after spring fitness tests revealed drops in her students’ strength, flexibility and endurance.

 

They say the tests aren’t valid with young children, even in ordinary times, and argue the time they take could be better spent on Covid catch-up.

 

Andjelka Pavlovic, director of research and education for the Cooper Institute, said its tests are scientifically proven to be valid for students who are 10 and up, or roughly starting in fourth grade.

 

Some states specify how often students must be tested; others leave it largely to the teacher.

 

Bragg, the Arizona teacher, said he has put testing “on the backburner” because “right now it’s not at the forefront of what’s important.”

 

If they perform poorly on the tests, “they may not feel as strong.”

 

She didn’t want to embarrass her students, so she made it into a series of games.

 

The team whose balloon soared the highest won fidget putty.

 

Pushups became a Bingo game, with the center space representing pushups.

 

 

“My goal was to get through it without ever using the words ‘fitness” or ‘testing,’” she said.

 

 

As the pandemic drags on, some instructors are taking a similar approach to fitness remediation and acceleration.

 

Bragg likes a warmup called “ Touch Spots It works on reaction time, cardiovascular endurance, spatial awareness and sequencing — but the kids don’t know that.

 

“Students are having so much fun that they don’t realize how much fitness they are doing,” Bragg said.

 

Differentiation — tailoring instruction to meet individual students’ needs — has become even more essential, with former remote learners often lagging behind their in-person peers, Bragg said.

 

When playing catch, for example, he offers his students different sized balls — the smaller ones are more challenging.

 

Potter, the California teacher, spent the first two weeks of school teaching his students how to connect with their partners, stressing the importance of eye contact and body language.

 

“It’s a very different environment.”

 

Lately, he’s noticed that kids who were remote last year are being excluded from groups.

 

“Social interaction needs to be practiced, just like how to throw a ball,” he said.

 

 

Richardson, the Kentucky PE teacher, is trying to build up her students’ stamina gradually, through progressively longer intervals of exercise.

 

She’s trying to get them to give kids breaks “when they get glassy-eyed and frustrated.”

 

She told them to remember how they felt when their students return to the building.

 

“I always say, ‘If your bum is numb, your brain is the same,’” she said.

 

 

As students return from months of online learning, teachers are under enormous pressure to get them caught up academically.

 

Physical education is “readying their minds and bodies to be more successful in other areas,” Cox said.

 

Terri Drain, the president of SHAPE, argued that schools fail students when they treat physical learning loss as less serious than its academic counterpart.

 

Unless schools commit to helping kids catch up, “the impacts of this ‘missed learning’ will be lifelong.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amtmanis, a 20-year veteran of the Middletown school district in Connecticut, is using running to help her students get back in shape. (Yunuen Bonaparte for The Hechinger Report)

 

She recently sent them a list of suggestions on how to fit 15 minutes of running into the day, including by incorporating it as an active transition between academic blocks.

 

“While it may seem like there aren’t minutes to spare,” she wrote, “the energizing effect of the active transition should result in more on-task behavior and more efficient working.”

 

In the meantime, Amtmanis plans to keep using the mileage club to motivate her students to run and to monitor their progress.

 

“This is an unobtrusive way to keep the data.”

 

 

This story about PE teachers was produced by The Hechinger Report , a nonprofit, independent news Sign up for Hechinger’s newsletter .

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