South Burlington High School received a $10,000 anonymous donation to be put toward mental health initiatives within the school. The donation coming as many schools remain remote or in hybrid learning. “I actually got a little emotional,” South Burlington High School Principal Patrick Burke said. “The message to our students that the community actually cares about them in this way in itself is really powerful and I know they’re going to feel that and that really matters.”Mental health issues among teenagers have been exacerbated during the Covid-19 pandemic. A study from the Centers for Disease Control shows that emergency room visits for mental health concerns rose sharply starting in March 2020 and staying consistent through October. Visits increased 31% from 2019 for children ages 12 to 17.”I feel beyond grateful,” Meghan Sweet, Director of Guidance & Counseling at South Burlington High School, said. “When this family approached me and said they want to make this donation my first response was like wait can you do that?”As vaccination rollouts continue, the next school year may look more normal for many schools. School administrators know, however, that the psychological impacts of the past year could carry over into the new semester. “Coming out of Covid, we don’t know what we don’t know in terms of what it’s going to be like for students and staff and for our community,” Burke said. “We expect that some students are going to be having a significantly difficult times and other students are going to be doing what they can to get by.”In South Burlington, they want to use this money to prepare for the next year while also keeping enough funds available to be able to address situations as needed.”We need to continue to be trauma responsive,” Sweet said. “How do we best support students who have experienced trauma in ways that are going to allow them to access their education and be successful.”Administrators are already brainstorming some ideas this money could be used for. One idea is to create a wellness room where any student can go to when they need a safe space away from the classroom. What to do with the money, however, is not just in the hands of faculty and staff. “A lot of times our students have the best ideas,” Burke said. “I expect we’ll be receiving proposals from students on how to spent this money and that to me is going to be really exciting.”The school wants these resources and projects to be accessible for all students.”It’s okay, there is no shame in struggling,” Burke said. “We sometimes we see students who are struggling the most and think that they’re the only ones struggling and we know though that all students are going to be impacted by this.””Prioritizing mental health in those same ways that we’ve prioritized athletics or drama or the arts just sends a very important message to everyone that this is a priority.”
South Burlington High School received a $10,000 anonymous donation to be put toward mental health initiatives within the school. The donation coming as many schools remain remote or in hybrid learning.
“I actually got a little emotional,” South Burlington High School Principal Patrick Burke said. “The message to our students that the community actually cares about them in this way in itself is really powerful and I know they’re going to feel that and that really matters.”
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Mental health issues among teenagers have been exacerbated during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A study from the Centers for Disease Control shows that emergency room visits for mental health concerns rose sharply starting in March 2020 and staying consistent through October. Visits increased 31% from 2019 for children ages 12 to 17.
“I feel beyond grateful,” Meghan Sweet, Director of Guidance & Counseling at South Burlington High School, said. “When this family approached me and said they want to make this donation my first response was like wait can you do that?”
As vaccination rollouts continue, the next school year may look more normal for many schools. School administrators know, however, that the psychological impacts of the past year could carry over into the new semester.
“Coming out of Covid, we don’t know what we don’t know in terms of what it’s going to be like for students and staff and for our community,” Burke said. “We expect that some students are going to be having a significantly difficult times and other students are going to be doing what they can to get by.”
In South Burlington, they want to use this money to prepare for the next year while also keeping enough funds available to be able to address situations as needed.
“We need to continue to be trauma responsive,” Sweet said. “How do we best support students who have experienced trauma in ways that are going to allow them to access their education and be successful.”
Administrators are already brainstorming some ideas this money could be used for. One idea is to create a wellness room where any student can go to when they need a safe space away from the classroom. What to do with the money, however, is not just in the hands of faculty and staff.
“A lot of times our students have the best ideas,” Burke said. “I expect we’ll be receiving proposals from students on how to spent this money and that to me is going to be really exciting.”
The school wants these resources and projects to be accessible for all students.
“It’s okay, there is no shame in struggling,” Burke said. “We sometimes we see students who are struggling the most and think that they’re the only ones struggling and we know though that all students are going to be impacted by this.”
“Prioritizing mental health in those same ways that we’ve prioritized athletics or drama or the arts just sends a very important message to everyone that this is a priority.”
