With students in turmoil, US teachers train in mental health
By JOCELYN GECKER
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — As Benito Luna-Herrera teaches his 7th grade social studies classes, he is on alert for signs of inner turmoil. And there is so much of it these days. He tells of students whose post-pandemic depression led them to thoughts of suicide. Luna-Herrera is just one teacher, in one California middle school, but stories of students in distress are increasingly common. The silver lining is that special training helped him know how to respond when he saw signs of a mental emergency. The California Department of Education funds the program for any school district requesting it, and the pandemic has accelerated moves to make such courses a state requirement as experts warn of a mental health crisis facing American children.
