A Bronx school district offers lessons in boosting student mental health

• The isolation of pandemic stay-at-home orders and the trauma of losing loved ones contributed to declines in well-being.
• At the time of our study in 2020, Bronx Community School District 7 in New York City was not just in the poorest congressional district in the nation, but it also experienced one of the highest death rates per capita from COVID-19.
• The lessons show promise not just in this section of New York City, but for the rest of the country as well.

1. Connect to community

• They developed bedtime story videos for families, online cooking lessons that invited community members into their homes, and socially distanced dance classes on school athletic fields.
• Community connections help educators understand child and family needs and allow community members to trust schools as a source of support.
• They also bring community assets, such as free clinics, food pantries, housing programs and mental health resources, into schools where families can more easily access them.

2. Give students a seat at the table

• In Bronx CSD 7, students are part of the Superintendent’s Advisory Council.
• During the pandemic, students around the country created youth-led podcasts to learn from each other.
• Education researchers have referred to these empowering connection activities as “cultural assets” because they not only support young people, but they also help teachers approach students in more culturally sensitive ways.

3.Think developmentally

• But some students experienced another equally devastating decline that’s gotten less attention – their social and emotional development.
• To soften the impact of social isolation, educators in Bronx CSD 7 intentionally dedicated time during remote learning to social interactions.
• Research shows that young people who communicated more often with friends were less impacted by the social isolation of the pandemic.

Faiza Jamil does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.