Research is clear: There is a shift in the student landscape. Mind health is declining at earlier ages, and barriers to success are becoming more severe and noticeable.
Teachers are often reporting an increase in behavioral issues, while also contending with larger class sizes and a decrease in support. As students seemingly become less resilient and motivation wanes, schools are feeling the impact.
Sapien Labs is a global leader in research, boasting over 2 million data points in its Mind Health Quotient (MHQ). This is a survey that measures comprehensive elements of mind health. After years of global research and multiple publications, they have entered the education space.
Students have been showing troubling signs in terms of mind health lately. This was sparked by the data, which showed that over 50% of adolescents struggle with their mind health and wellbeing, where they experience 5 or more problems or symptoms of clinical significance.
These aren’t just empty statistics. These are students who have dreams, passions, and goals in their school space. Sapien Labs recognized that need and decided to put their research to its best use, in benefiting children.
See the research in action with Schools For Strong Minds, the non-profit school-wide program designed by Sapien Labs.
What’s happening to today’s students? Are things really that different in their school experience? Let’s examine the climate of today’s school experience.
The typical school day is marred by:
School leaders know that issues do not start and stop in the school. Along with added challenges to the school environment, there are new obstacles that students face outside of school hours, like:
It’s easy to see the data and feel pessimism for the future of education. That would be misguided, though. Schools across the globe are thriving in these conditions, creating authentic learning experiences for students and achieving success in all relevant measurables.
For schools who want to stop the slide, the most efficient method is to empower your school with meaningful data. Signing up for Schools For Strong Minds would provide you with specific, actionable data to enhance student success. It’s hard to create a real impact if you don’t know what the barriers are and to what extent they are impacting your students.
Regardless of the data, here are some highly effective strategies to implement or review now:
Implementing these or similar programs will speak to the greatest needs that schools have been experiencing on average.
School climate can have a huge, lasting impact on every individual student in the building. That’s why many administrators focus on it, looking to create sweeping changes that improve all measurable statistics school-wide.
But it isn’t one big, sweeping change. And it’s not an immediate, perfect impact. It is a series of calculated, strategic decisions to address what your students need the most, day after day. Sign up to learn more and get started.
