Less Socialization in School Taking its Toll

By Sushant Kunwar

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many schools have had to change their learning models to ensure all students’ and faculty members’ safety. Branford High School is among the multiple schools in America that assumed the hybrid learning model to start the 2020/2021 school year.

This transition has brought up questions regarding students’ mental health. Teenagers, who are proven to be the most vulnerable to mental health issues, have struggled even more with their mental health during the pandemic. A study by The Harris Poll discovered that 70% of teenagers struggle with mental health, and 45% had experienced increased stress due to the pandemic. This begs the question, how has the hybrid learning model affected the mental health of students at Branford High School?

At Branford High School, the hybrid learning model includes 3 days of virtual learning and 2 days of in-person learning for each student. This new style has significantly reduced social interactions in both students and staff.

“I think it takes a toll on everybody,” said BHS school social worker Melissa Simone. “There aren’t as many opportunities to socialize with peers, which can feel depressing, boring, even lonely for some. I have also noticed (as another staff has too) that people talk and interact less. It’s like the mask has had a silencing effect on more than just the spread of germs. Humans are mammals, and mammals are social animals. Socializing on social media alone isn’t good enough to fulfill our natural socializing needs.”

“I think the administration has tried to show more focus on students’ mental health, but I feel that individual classes need to be more lenient with workload to reduce stress given the situation we are all going through with the pandemic,” said junior Aditya Rajpurohit.

This sentiment is also shared by junior Andrew Bono, who claims that “It can feel more overwhelming at times because it seems teachers expect us to be able to do all our work with more time between classes, but this can be hard, especially when it accumulates.”

These concerns are very valid among students, and BHS has multiple resources in place and is working to provide additional resources for students, Simone said.

“A lot of schools don’t have as many resources as we do,” Simone said. “We have 4 social workers (others are Diane Queen, Jen Miller, Sue Sachetti), 1 psychologist (Sarah Bertolini), a Nurse Practitioner (Karen Reilley), four school counselors (Ms. Montano, Mr. Callan, Ms. Olszewski, and Ms. Harkins) and a school nurse. Our health teachers also incorporate a variety of wellness activities and education into their classes on a regular basis.”

Another rising concern surrounding mental health includes the looming possibility of transitioning to an all-virtual learning style as the number of cases increase in the district. Many schools have already transitioned to all virtual classrooms. This might be a possibility for BHS shortly, as in his recent newsletters, Superintendent Hernandez no longer mentioned that the East Shore Health Department has determined there isn’t a need to close schools.

Simone, however, is optimistic that BHS will properly assist students with mental health issues regardless of the challenges.

“No doubt in my mind that we will continue to find ways to support students in an all-virtual learning environment. We are learning new technology all the time to help us with service delivery and are looking at new and creative initiatives that will allow us to connect with students in various ways,” she said.

Rajpurothit agrees. “I think it will definitely be a lot more difficult for BHS to provide adequate mental health support if we transition to all virtual,” he said. “But it is possible if the administration prioritizes the needs of the students.”