If last month’s Amazon Prime Day sales are any indication, families are primed to shop for students returning to classes.

Amazon reported that Prime members globally purchased 1 million electronic tablets, 1 million headphone sets, 600,000 backpacks, 240,000 notebooks, 220,000 Crayola products and 40,000 calculators during its June 21-22 blowout.

Yep, all the coolness of trendy clothes, new school supplies, young love behind the bleachers and social media spotlighting are back this fall.

But angst often accompanies the transition from one grade level to the next, especially this year, post-pandemic, when many students missed at least some, and up to five quarters, of in-person learning due to COVID-19.

“The past 16 months have been full of changes, and even in ‘normal times,’ going back to school creates a shift in students’ lives,” says Jamie Falasca, director of healthcare services for Diversus Health, El Paso County’s largest nonprofit provider of mental health services.

“When you couple that with all that has gone on over the last year, this can be overwhelming for students, teachers and families,” she said.

To prepare for that possibility, Diversus Health will resume placing therapists onsite in the six local school districts the organization works with for mental health needs, she said.

With the pandemic, the organization expanded to include hybrid services for schools, with telehealth therapy, Falasca said, and also plans to offer group sessions for students and support for teachers this academic year.

“We did this in a small capacity last year and received feedback that it was helpful to have this type of outlet for school staff, in addition to students,” she said.

In addition to the usual stressors of reconnecting with old friends, meeting new friends, getting to know teachers, learning new material, and becoming involved with sports, clubs and other activities, students could face increased mental health needs this year, Falasca said.