- May 5, 2024
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Students have faced a lot of changes in the past year.
They left their classrooms for spring break in 2020, and returned to virtual instruction two weeks later. High school graduations were postponed to July, and when in-person classes renewed in August 2020, their schools no longer looked the same. Now, they had one-way hallways, plastic dividers on their desks, and assigned seating at lunch.
At Ormond Beach Middle School, the school counselors recognize that these new protocols — though important for the students' safety during a global pandemic — were challenging for kids. But what they also saw was an increase in both the amount of students reaching out for help with their mental health, and the frequency in which they did so.
"The underlining issues were there and the pandemic increased the awareness and brought it up to the surface for us to see it sooner or at a higher intensity," said Tara Fatta, OBMS school counselor.
The Ormond Beach Observer recently spoke with Fatta, as well as her two fellow school counselors, Lisa Gallagher and Kelle Deriggi, on how students are coping with their mental health.
Fatta: Being confined to the house is starting to get to some students, where they don’t have the sports, or they don’t have the outlets anymore.
Gallagher: Also, contributing factors would be the increase in screen time. So with that comes a lot of time they’re spending online doing gaming and inside activities, and not leaving the house, and not being able to get outside because of fear or whatever other factors a family might have.
Gallagher: Yes, I would say it has been an adjustment. We have had a lot of students go back and forth between [Volusia Live], trying to figure out what the best pattern is for them. We saw a lot more lack of motivation to get assignments completed. We have a lot of teachers complaining about that across the nation.
Fatta: We’re creatures of habit. So students have been at home, logging on when they felt like it. It was very difficult to have them get back in the saddle as far as, ‘you need to be on time. You need to be engaged. You need to be productive.’
Deriggi: I really think that a lot of students were struggling with loneliness and isolation, and lack of that support network. Even though we’re back in school, they are still feeling some of that. They don’t have those connections — the teams, the sports, the activities outside of school. Even here on campus, as much as we try to make it normal, it’s still different.
It does make a difference, particularly at this age level. That lack of being able to be social and hang out with your friends between classes, and meet each other for lunch — that’s really been challenging for many of our students. Then, when you have a lot that are struggling on a deeper level with some depression and anxiety, because the whole world is in a pandemic, it’s a scary time for them.
Gallagher: It’s changed because our availability to resources has changed. A lot of the community service agencies weren’t there [at the beginning] or they switched to telehealth. Didn’t go over well with this age to switch.
It’s getting better though. As far as what would be different, we’ve had to really explore all options and see what fits with every family. We’re the first line of defense. We do have a mental health team now that really stepped up to the plate, so if we can’t find a community agency and the student is on campus, we’ll give that child some services one way or another. At least Volusia County Schools does offer mental health counseling now, which has increased, and they’re doing a better job in responding to the need.
Fatta: They just want to be listened to. I know a lot of the time parents will want to ‘fix it,’ and find a solution for it. We’re finding, just as counselors, that they just want to be heard. My biggest suggestion to parents would be ask your child how they’re feeling, and really listen to the answer while being nonjudgmental.
Gallagher: And the kids want to feel validated. They want to know that their concern is heard.
Fatta: [Adults] forget that to a 12 year old, the little things are big things because they don’t have that life experience to have perspective, and especially now during a pandemic, they have less opportunities to have life experiences and really have perspective.
Fatta: Again, sitting and having those conversations with your children, and also more family outings that are safe — going for a bike ride, going for walks and getting out of the house in a safe way.
Deriggi: This is new territory for all of us. There’s no past precedent set of how anyone is going to handle this pandemic, or what’s expected of them. So, just having those family conversations, that these are really unprecedented times and it’s OK not to know what to do, and it’s OK to be confused, and it’s OK to be scared, but we’re going to get through this together. I love communicating with parents at school and being a team, because it really does take a village to raise kids. I go to my friends for help and advice with my own family, and I know the three of us as counselors like to be here as support for families.
It’s challenging to get through middle school — so just that family time, that open communication, just listening — goes a long way.
