When the Kids Are Not Alright: School Counseling in the Time of COVID-19

• In Event: Addressing Students' Mental Health Needs

Abstract

As schools across the nation adapted to distance learning brought on by the COVID-19 crisis, providing support beyond the instructional core has been a challenge. Through our COVID-19 National Survey of School Counselors we documented counselors’ understanding of student needs, virtual counseling efforts, strategies utilized to support students, and the organizational conditions enabling their work. In June-July, 2020, 984 school counselors from 48 states completed our survey, which includes an oversampling of rural and urban school counselors. Findings from our study include a lack a direction for counseling by school leadership, rare involvement by counselors in the planning process, less time counseling students about social emotional issues, career development, or postsecondary plans, and other professional challenges.

Authors

• Mandy Savitz-Romer, Harvard University

• Heather T. Rowan-Kenyon, Boston College

• Tara Patricia Nicola, Harvard University

• Stephanie Carroll, Boston College

• Laura Hecht, Harvard University