Editor’s Note: This article contains references to mental health and thoughts of suicide.
In recent years, conversations around mental health and how to address mental health issues have become much more prevalent. Student voices on this matter are being amplified worldwide through the use of social media and other forms of advocacy. Four out of every 10 students in 2021 reported that they felt persistent feelings of hopelessness, and 22% thought about death by suicide.
Students with mental health struggles at such a young age can be faced with long-term issues both in and out of the classroom. For all of these reasons, there has been a significant outpouring of support for students in the United States.
A study done by the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that in the 2021-22 school year, 96% of public schools provided at least one mental health service for their students. While the use and accessibility of these services are not reflected in this data, it is clear from this high percentage that student mental health is on the minds of many.
Although there is still much work to be done to support student mental health, one side of this conversation that is lacking is about teachers and school staff. Mental health struggles aren’t just experienced by the students in a school but also by the adults who facilitate the support and advocacy of the students. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers have consistently reported being stressed, anxious and burnt out. Between February 2020 and May 2022, nearly 300,000 teachers left the profession.
Teachers are faced with many struggles in the classrooms, including lack of pay, stocking their own classroom supplies, teaching overcrowded classrooms and much more. All of these things put a massive strain on the mental health and well-being of those in the education profession.
H.R.744, the Supporting the Mental Health of Educators and Staff Act of 2023, provides funding, resources and support for educators and other school staff’s mental and behavioral health. This piece of legislation states that the Department of Health and Human Services will provide grants or contracts to a variety of educational agencies and higher education institutions to support the mental health of educators and school staff and provide training and other programs for the staff. These programs will not only encourage and support school staff but will also elaborate on practices for the prevention of harmful behavior among these professionals.
This legislation received bipartisan support from members of the House of Representatives and is a strong start to advocacy for the mental health of educators and school staff. However, this issue goes further than just needing resources for support, and it also needs more of a conversation.
Issues related to educators and school staff need to be addressed on a public level — social media, media outlets and legislation — just as student mental health advocacy has. NC State is a great place to start this conversation. NC State’s College of Education program has hundreds of students whose career choice will heavily impact their mental health.
Catarina Ferreira, a second-year studying middle grades social studies and language arts at NC State, said legislation like H.R.744 impacts her and her fellow future teachers.
“As a future educator who wakes up every morning questioning my career choice, this bill is not only essential, but a relief for many aspiring teachers,” Ferreira said. “Being a part of NC State’s education program is rewarding and comforting. However, I fear leaving this safety net and entering the American school system is something no future educator can prepare for. For many teachers, access to mental health resources are limited, causing many educators to suffer in silence. When teachers are having a rough day, they simply cannot show it, as they have standards to uphold in the classroom. Facilitating a more meaningful, rich learning experience for everyone involved can only be accomplished with the improvement of mental and behavioral health in schools.”
Mental health advocacy and support, across the board, are struggles that face the United States every single day. Our educators and school staff are not exempt from this struggle. Taking care of one’s own mental health can be a heavy job on its own, but these individuals also take on a role in supporting students’ well-being on top of their own. They deserve to have support, resources and mental health advocacy so that they can continue to educate and help build the generation of tomorrow.
