The Colorado Springs Gazette final

How to help students return to classes post-pandemic

BY DEBBIE KELLEY Special from The Gazette Chancey BUSH/THE GAZETTE Contact the writer: debbie.kelley@gazette.com

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.

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.

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.

Things for parents and students to keep in mind as the start of school nears:

• Get into a routine that includes time for youth to talk to trusted adults in their lives about how they are feeling. “It’s especially vital to carve out time for this on an ongoing basis during these times,” Falasca says.

• To recharge and re-center, take breaks from social media, engage with friends face-toface and spend time outdoors,

Falasca says. “For youth who will still be online or in some type of hybrid learning model, isolation still can be an issue, and social interaction is important for all youth.”

• Foster feelings of connectedness and belonging by engaging in activities students like that they missed while they were not attending school in-person, such as athletics, music and theater, clubs and other activities.

• Seek out support groups to build relationships and process feelings about returning to school and what last year meant. “This can also be a very positive outlet,” Falasca says.

• Access available resources and ask for help when needed, Falasca says. Information and resources are available for preventing a crisis, and crisis-level help is accessible 24/7 for students, parents and others concerned about someone who just doesn’t seem to be doing all right or is having a hard time with stress, anxiety, relationships, substance use, depression and other issues.

The Colorado Crisis Services hotline is 1-844-493-8255, or text “TALK” to 38255.

Diversus Health operates a 24-hour walk-in clinic at 115 S. Parkside Drive, Colorado Springs, with immediate access to mental health services for children and adults.

The state’s Safe2tell hotline also is open 24/7 to anonymously report safety concerns to a live, trained person at 1-877-542-7233. Tips also can be submitted through a mobile app can be downloaded through the Apple App Store or Google Play, or use the website, https://safe2tell.org/ submit-anonymous-tip-report.

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2021-07-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-07-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://daily.gazette.com/article/283205856302238

The Gazette, Colorado Springs