Return to school and mental health balance

Pinellas County, Fla. – As children return to school, their mental health is on the minds of many parents and teachers.

A national health emergency on youth mental health has been declared by several agencies.

Pinellas County Schools is working to bring more providers to their schools to provide additional support.

Spectrum News caught up with the support services team and principal of Cypress Woods Elementary School as they put together new intervention materials for the new year.

School psychologist Taryn Ecker has two tips for teachers on how to build positive relationships with students and how to manage and incorporate positive interventions for behavior in the classroom.

That intervention is being ramped up this year by adding more social workers and psychologists to Pinellas County schools.

Sarah Schutz, a social worker new to the Cypress Woods campus, said she worries about what students may have missed while out of class during the outbreak.

“Every time we have student services, we’re able to fill in the gaps and bring together those who missed out at that time and fill the circle that we can fall back on after things. Resilience, things like that,” Schutz said.

Additional support means school psychologist Taryn Ecker, who was previously split between two schools, will remain in Cypress. She says it gives her more time to focus on individual student time and intervention.

“After the pandemic, we’ve seen an increase in student stress and depression and changes in family financial resources, and so it gives us more time to support our students and our families and build those relationships and those relationships,” Ecker said.

Relationships and relationships – when going to school is scary.

“The communication is huge, so if parents are looking at their students to communicate with their classroom teachers, with the school,” Ecker said.

Counselor Laura Trudell said a team is working together to help students.

“We all play a unique role and have different support skills to help the whole child and promote the whole picture of learning and development,” Trudell said.

This support helps children focus on learning knowing there is a place they can turn to whenever and wherever they need to.