In Learning Through COVID

Built-in mental health supports need to be funded & prioritized for K-12 & college

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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 wanted mental health services, but didn’t have access to them.
  • 36% of teachers said they wanted more access to mental health services.
  • 21% of families said they would benefit from more mental health services.
  • 74% of current college students said they have felt an increase of mental or emotional exhaustion due to COVID-19.

“My parents work an 8-5 job every day so I stay home by myself the majority of the time with nothing to do. Not being around my friends, family, or peers as much as I was before COVID has drastically affected me and my mental health,” wrote a high school sophomore in the Coping with COVID student survey.”

In our college survey, despite respondents reporting increasing mental health issues, more (12%) indicated accessing mental health service less frequently than more frequently (8%) compared to before COVID-19.

  • 13% reported they were not at all aware of mental health resources offered by their institution.
  • 11% reported they had trouble accessing services.

A recent study by PEW Research Center found that as many as 1/3 U.S. adults are experiencing anxiety related to the pandemic. All of this data points to the need for built-in mental health supports in our public schools and universities.

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Author

Jessica Fletcher joined the staff of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence in January 2020. She comes to Prichard with more than 17 years experience working in communications, journalism and education advocacy. She has covered local school boards as a journalist in London, Ky. and Winchester, Ky., and communicated about the importance of education to Kentucky's workforce and economy as the Communications Director at the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. She also served as the Executive Director of Communications at the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet and as the Chief Communications Officer for the Kentucky Department of Education. A lifelong Kentuckian, she is a graduate of Rockcastle County High School and Eastern Kentucky University.

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