[wyde_heading subheading_tag="h3" style="2" title="Prichard Committee: Survey shows COVID's toll on the mental health of college students" animation="slideInLeft"]Read the Survey Results March 31, 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For More Information Contact: Jessica Fletcher, Senior Director, Communications & External Affairs (cell) 859-539-0511 jessica.fletcher@prichardcommittee.org In a survey to nearly 1,000 Kentucky college students, 74 percent say they have
March 31, 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For More Information Contact: Jessica Fletcher, Senior Director, Communications & External Affairs (cell) 859-539-0511 jessica.fletcher@prichardcommittee.org LEXINGTON, KY - During the 2021 session of the Kentucky General Assembly, key progress was made in strategic areas of education and broadband access that put one foot forward on Kentucky’s path to a Big
[wyde_heading style="2" title="Learning Through COVID:" subheading="The digital divide must be closed at all costs"][wyde_separator text_align="center" border_width="2px" el_width="80%" color="#00853e"] In 2017, census data showed that Kentucky ranked 44th in the nation for broadband access. Nearly 25 percent of our households did not have a subscription for high-speed internet, and more than 15 percent did not have
Just weeks into the pandemic, Prichard Committee members and staff began asking questions about online learning and the impact it might have on students with no internet access. As weeks turned into months, however, our attention expanded to the impact the digital divide was having on all Kentuckians – students, teachers, working professionals, and those
Schools in the Kentucky Community & Technical College System (KCTCS) have worked relentlessly since March 2020 to help close the digital divide for students on campuses across the Commonwealth. At Bluegrass Community & Technical College, faculty and staff members called all 7,000-9,000 students four times throughout the year. Through these campaigns, the school identified over
[wyde_heading style="2" title="Learning Through COVID:" subheading="Built-in mental health supports need to be funded & prioritized for K-12 & college"][wyde_separator text_align="center" border_width="2px" el_width="80%" color="#00853e"] In our K-12 and higher education surveys, the need for more mental health supports for students, educators and family was a prevalent theme. 35% of high school students surveyed said that they
Throughout our Coping with COVID survey work in 2020 and 2021, and from hearing first-hand accounts of mental health struggles from friends and family, it is clear that education entities and non-profits such as the Prichard Committee need to do much work in this space. We need to be asking hard questions about having high-quality
Before the pandemic, Amy Beal, the school counselor for Donald E. Cline Elementary in Cold Spring already had a robust plan to improve the mental health of the schools’ students, educators and families. From sending self-care tips to staff, to hosting individual student therapy, and school-wide bullying prevention, students were well cared for. That care
[wyde_heading style="2" title="Learning Through COVID:" subheading="In K-12 schools & colleges, inequities based on student groups remain starker than ever"][wyde_separator text_align="center" border_width="2px" el_width="80%" color="#00853e"] The pandemic has provided all education stakeholders with a front row seat to how learning can be impacted by life’s challenges. With online classes being conducted across the state, educators were seeing
Since its inception in 1983, the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence has worked to deliver education excellence with equity across the Commonwealth. However, the pandemic has challenged Kentuckians with issues such as food insecurity and mental health conditions that have seemingly put education excellence on the back burner at a time when simple survival was