Jeff Riley, the state commissioner for K-12 education, says his office will make more regular attendance a top priority in the year ahead and push for "new responses" to fix the issue.
Children’s mental health has worsened and suicidal thoughts have increased during COVID pandemic and remote learning, physicians say
Updated Dec 19, 2020;
With children in Massachusetts continuing to learn remotely, full- or part-time, during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, physicians have noticed concerning declines in students’ mental health.
Young people have started to require more significant care through inpatient programs or hospitalization, Worcester-area doctors say. They’ve observed increases in suicidal thoughts, eating disorders, substance use and obesity among patients this year. Those problems are exacerbated for children in urban school districts, where more students live in poverty and have higher educational needs. It further stretches the education gaps that already existed.