Teaneck Schools Prioritize Mental Health As Students Return

TEANECK, NJ — Before students at Teaneck Public Schools begin taking out their pens and calculators for the new school year, teachers and administrators will be checking in on their students and making mental health the focus of in-person learning.

For the first two days of school, the priority for educators at Teaneck Public Schools — from preschool to high school — will be students’ personal well-being after a year and a half of online learning. Superintendent Dr. Christopher Irving said this period has been a very traumatic experience for many students and that launching right into academics didn’t feel right this time around.

“I did not want to start school and just jump right into class without asking students just where they were, and letting them know we care enough about them that before we begin doing our reading, writing and arithmetic that we also talk about their feelings and their reflections over the last year and a half,” Irving said.

To implement these discussions surrounding mental health at the high school and upper-middle school level, Irving said teachers and counselors are facilitating groups where students can reflect on the last year and a half. For younger students in the elementary schools or lower-middle school, Irving said kids are playing more games, getting to know each other and becoming more familiar with their school.

Irving also added that Teaneck Schools has a federal grant, under the Teaneck Mental Health Initiative, that allows them to have three mental health clinicians that students and families can utilize at no cost to the students.

Throughout the rest of the year, students at Teaneck Public Schools have access to a plethora of other services: guidance counselors, school social workers and a behaviorist at the middle school. Irving said he thinks this focus on social emotional learning helps students feel more comfortable in their learning environment.

“I think it is indicative of who we are as a community and that in Teaneck we care about our students,” Irving said. “We care about who they are, how they feel, and we want them to learn, but we also recognize that students can't learn in an environment where they're not comfortable or not safe. Our goal is to do the best we can, within reason, to make students feel as safe and comfortable as possible when returning back to school.”