By Andrew Kuder / Broadcast version by Mary Schuermann reporting for the Kent State-Ohio News Connection Collaboration.

Over the past few years, mental health issues among teens in the U.S. have skyrocketed. According to the CDC, suicide rates among people ages 10-24 increased by 60% from 2007 to 2018.

Now, experts say the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated many of the issues that caused these trends.

"Now we've seen the effects of children who were isolated - especially those couple of years - having such a hard time adjusting now. And the social isolation, now coming back to school, the depression and anxiety is really increasing," said Karyn Kravetz, Associate Director of the Portage County Mental Health and Recovery Board.

In addition to a rise in depression and anxiety, this also had an impact on students' development. "A lot of the behaviors that are exhibited are exhibited because students are not in a good situation, either physical environment or mental health-wise," said Debbi Bailey, a consultant for one of Ohio's State Support Teams, which are groups of educators who help local school districts improve student experiences and outcomes.

With fewer options to interact with others, many children and teens turned to social media for communication. However, some experts believe that this increase in social media use without a proper school environment had a negative effect on the children's development.

"In our new age of technology and social media apps, being able to teach our students just some of those critical life skills is important," said Krista Allison, a consultant for the Stark County Educational Service Center.

Allison has seen firsthand how technology has changed the way students communicate with each other. "I remember being in a school once, and I was sitting there as the students were getting ready to get on a bus," she said, "And they were texting each other, but they weren't talking, and I remember asking and they said 'Oh yeah, we're talking to each other,' but they weren't communicating like we're communicating."

In a survey by the CDC, 14.9% of the interviewed students reported being electronically bullied, with female students more likely to experience it than male students.

However, that isn't to say that social media does not have its benefits; it can encourage users to be more open about their mental health.

"They see, say, maybe some famous people, some athletes, some other role models who have come out and talked about their struggles with mental illness," said Kravetz. "And that makes them not as embarrassed now to say that they have issues and they see a counselor."

The pandemic brought many changes to the American education system, the effects of which are still being felt two years later. From rising mental health issues in students to children experiencing delays in their social and emotional skills, parents and schools need to adapt to these changes and work harder to provide students with sufficient learning environments. This can apply to children as young as five years old.

"We know that early learning is really, really, a very critical time for children because it is the building of the foundation," said Bailey. "The first five years of a child's life are when they are absorbing the most and forming those attachments."

School attendance has also been an issue. According to the Ohio Department of Education, there was a 3% decrease in pre K-12 enrollment between fall 2019 and spring 2020, which is significantly higher than the 0.03-0.04% of the previous three years. In addition, the department says that chronic absenteeism has also been an issue.

"We're trying to help people to back up and look at: How can we support students in a way that they do want to come to the classroom...able to learn and function in the classroom in a healthy way?" said Bailey.

One way Ohio has worked to solve these issues through the use of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), which is a set of standards for schools to measure how their students are developing. The standards were adopted by Ohio in June 2019.

Some ways Ohio has expanded SEL practices include reaching out to students on platforms like Twitter and providing documents for parents which highlight examples of how to improve their children's social, behavioral, and emotional health, according to a report from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL).

One way Ohio has worked to solve these issues is through the use of State Support Teams. The goal of the State Support Teams is to work with schools across 16 regions in the state to improve the overall quality of students' education. This includes helping manage each school's meetings and checking students' progress in order to find which areas can be improved.

"We need to really be thinking about, 'How do we create an atmosphere where students can be supported at the education level [in the classroom]?'" said Bailey, who works on a State Support Team based in Canton.

This collaboration is produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.


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Nearly a dozen changes could be made to the Kentucky Community and Technical College system, under Senate Joint Resolution 179, passed by lawmakers earlier this year.

The system's Acting Executive Vice President and Provost Phil Neal said the Board of Regents' recommendations are aimed at improving the process to obtaining two-year college degrees, and expanding options for students.

He said one major change includes collaboration between schools and the state Department of Education, to make it easier to offer dual and transfer credits.

"For example, on the transfer front," said Neal, "one of our recommendations that would be a change is that our eight public universities and our 16 KCTCS colleges, would all have a common course-numbering system for freshmen and sophomore level courses - and that just helps students more seamlessly transfer."

A former chief of staff is suing the system in a whistleblower lawsuit, alleging she faced retaliation for reporting waste and mismanagement.

Last week a Franklin County Circuit Court judge denied a request by the system that the case be dismissed.

A recent audit found a need to improve internal policies and procedures, but found no evidence of fraud or criminal behavior.

Neal said the state's Community and Technical College System has among the most affordable tuition rates in the state, and serves more than 66,000 students.

"We lead the country, number one, in the number of credentials conferred per capita," said Neal. "So the production of people with credentials is right up there at the top. Half of our 16 colleges have been recognized as some of the top performing community colleges in the country."

Americans' views on the importance of a college degree is shifting.

According to a Pew study released earlier this year, only one in four U.S. adults say it's extremely or very important to have a four-year college degree, in order to get a well-paying job in today's economy.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.




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Recent changes to Florida's education laws have removed information on consent, contraceptives and prenatal development from many health lessons at school.

Parents are concerned the Florida Department of Education's policies may leave some districts without vital instruction.

Stephana Ferrell, director of research and insight for the Florida Freedom to Read Project in Orange County, is worried about what she sees as gaps in her children's education, including access to comprehensive health information.

"It's unfortunate that parents have been opted out of these educational experiences," Ferrell stated. "But it's now time for us all to get informed about what our kids are missing and make the extra effort to ensure that our young citizens are armed with this information."

Advocacy groups, including PEN America and EveryLibrary, cautioned overcompliance with state laws may lead to the removal of books on topics like anatomy, teen pregnancy and sexual assault. In a joint letter, they urged Florida school superintendents and school board attorneys to exercise restraint and preserve the resources for students.

Ferrell described a clash between two views: one believing ignorance protects innocence, and another believing being informed is the best way to understand and avoid risks. She sided with the latter, saying education safeguards the community.

"We really are trying to encourage that information to remain available," Ferrell emphasized. "There are lots of nonfiction, well-written and age-appropriate materials that can be made available in the library, and have been made available in libraries in the past."

Florida school districts have struggled for years to determine which books should remain in libraries under laws signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The laws allow parents and others to challenge books deemed "inappropriate," though recent legislative changes limit the number of challenges. This fall, the Department of Education released a list of more than 700 books removed from, or discontinued in, schools statewide.


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New York's Board of Regents approved a Department of Education funding request for climate education.

The board is putting more than $536,000 aside for climate change education and materials.

New Jersey is the only state mandating climate change be taught in all subject areas. Connecticut teaches it as well, but primarily in science.

Emily Fano, director of climate resilience education programs with the National Wildlife Federation, described how climate change can be taught across multiple subject areas.

"There are so many ways climate can be integrated into math class, graphing greenhouse gas emissions for example," said Fano. "Social studies, you can talk about social movements like the youth climate movement that has grown by leaps and bounds all over the world."

She added that health classes could teach the health impacts of air pollution and poor air quality.

The funding allotment faces no opposition, and a Yale University report finds 81% of New York adults feel climate change should be taught in schools. This is higher than the national average of 75%.

If the funding's approved, climate change will be taught in New York schools starting in the 2026-2027 school year.

But, climate education has faced an uphill battle.

A bill establishing a course on climate change in elementary and secondary schools garnered widespread support. But, it failed in the state legislature.

Fano said along with a new climate education bill, more work must be done to make this a reality.

"We'll continue working with the state education department and our partners to make sure that our students are going to get the climate education they need and deserve," said Fano. "So, we will continue working on this issue regardless, but we really hope the Governor understands the urgency of this request."

While this funding request provides a framework for training current educators about how to teach climate change, Fano said she wants this training for people studying to be teachers.

An Education Week Research Center poll finds 18% of teachers don't address climate change because they feel out of their element discussing it.