#mccourt school

[mariacallous]

Earlier this week, journalists at WIRED and The Washington Post reported that a “Russian-aligned propaganda network notorious for creating deepfake whistleblower videos” appears to be behind a coordinated effort to promote false sexual misconduct allegations against vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.

At WIRED, David Gilbert wrote that researchers have linked a group they’re calling “Storm-1516” to the campaign against Walz. “Storm-1516 has a long history of posting fake whistleblower videos, and often deepfake videos, to push Kremlin talking points to the West,” Gilbert explained. A few days earlier, NBC News also reported on Storm-1516, citing its work as demonstrative of Russian propaganda’s growing utilization of artificial intelligence and more sophisticated bot networks.

Two days after the WIRED report, Washington Post journalist and Russia expert Catherine Belton reported on another bad actor implicated in spreading the allegations against Walz: John Mark Dougan, a former Florida cop with a long and winding record that includes internal affairs investigations, early discharge from the Marines, and a penchant for posting confidential data about thousands of police officers, federal agents, and judges on his blog, which led to 21 state charges of extortion and wiretapping. To escape that indictment, Dougan fled to Moscow, where he soon put his conspiratorial blogging skills to work, effectively enlisting in the Russian intelligence community’s “Internet war” against America.

Records show and disinformation researchers argue that Dougan is responsible for content on dozens of fake news sites with deliberately misleading names like DC Weekly, Chicago Chronicle, and Atlanta Observer. Lately, he’s reportedly started using a GRU-facilitated server and AI generator to create phony videos like the deepfake video showing one of Walz’s former students accusing him of sexual abuse.

With a little more than a week until the U.S. presidential election, Meduza spoke to Renée DiResta — the author of Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality and an associate research professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy — about Russian propaganda, how it’s evolved over the years, and how American social networks are responding (and not responding) ahead of the November 2024 vote.

Timestamps for this episode:

(5:00) The Role of Social Networks in Identifying Fake Accounts

(9:35) Government and Platform Collaboration on Inauthentic Behavior

(16:46) A Case Study: Maxim Shugaley and Russian Influence in Libya

(21:45) Twitter’s Public Data Dilemma

(24:25) Bespoke Realities and Content Moderation

(25:57) The Tenet Media Case

(27:28) The Role of Influencers in Propaganda

(35:26) Marketing and Propaganda: A Historical Perspective

(38:27) The Democratization of Propaganda

(39:36) Name Your Poison: Tyranny or Chaos

[justinspoliticalcorner]

David Badash at NCRM:

An Elon Musk Super PAC is allegedly targeting voters in “more than a half-dozen swing states that could determine the outcome of the 2024 election,” harvesting personal data under the guise of helping prospective voters register to vote, according to a CNBC report. After they hand over their personal information, the website says “thank you,” possibly leading them to believe they have registered to vote, when they have not. “If a user lives in a state that is not considered competitive in the presidential election, like California or Wyoming for example, they’ll be prompted to enter their email addresses and zip code and then directed quickly to a voter registration page for their state, or back to the original sign up section. But for users who enter a zip code that indicates they live in a battleground state, like Pennsylvania or Georgia, the process is very different,” CNBC’s Brian Schwartz reports. “Rather than be directed to their state’s voter registration page, they instead are directed to a highly detailed personal information form, prompted to enter their address, cell phone number, and age,” CNBC explains. “If they agree to submit all that, the system still does not steer them to a voter registration page. Instead, it shows them a ‘thank you’ page.”

CNBC also reports this 15-second video ad is from Musk’s America PAC, and uses video of the Trump assassination attempt to encourage prospective voters to the PAC’s website.

On Musk’s social media site X, Schwartz writes, “Billionaire Elon Musk has created a PAC collecting voter data from those living in key states through an online ‘register to vote’ form that does not directly register people to vote. All of this in an effort to help Donald Trump become president.” Spyware, phishing, and disinformation researcher John Scott-Railton posted what appear to be screenshots of his experience at Musk’s Super PAC site, which he calls “Elon Musk’s America PAC bait-and-switch voter registration page.”

[...] Don Moynihan, McCourt Chair of Public Policy at Georgetown University‘s McCourt School of Public Policy, remarked: “Getting people’s personal information on the promise of helping them to register to vote, and then not helping them to register to vote definitely seems like election fraud. This is what Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC is reportedly doing.”

Right-wing wanker Elon Musk’s America PAC is under scrutiny for data harvesting under the guise of helping prospective voters register to vote.

[darkmaga-returns]

11/19/2024•Mises Wire•Wanjiru Njoya

In considering the outcome of the recent elections in the United States, the question arises as to whether we can now expect to see the end of diversity, equity, and inclusion schemes which were beloved of the Biden administration. As we await the new administration, it is timely to evaluate the challenges facing those seeking to uproot the DEI industry. A key point to highlight is that the roots of this industry run too deep to be supplanted simply by closing down federal DEI programs. We can certainly celebrate the end of Mr. Biden’s Executive Orders on DEI, such as the “Executive Order on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce,” but the wider culture of what is often called “wokery” which now abounds will be much more difficult to displace.

A good example of the culture of “wokery” comes from universities. On the eve of President Donald Trump winning his historic second term of office, the website Campus Reform reported that, “Students at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy will be offered ‘self-care suites’ Tuesday, where they can play with Legos, use coloring books, and drink milk and cookies.” Campus Reform also highlighted its previous report that, “the University of Oregon’s University Health Services is providing therapy goats, dogs, and even ‘Quacktavious the Therapy Duck.’”

The response of many people to such excesses of “wokery” is simply to laugh. It is easy to be amused by the outrageous antics of the fragile adherents of the woke culture. However, laughter must not distract us from the more sinister elements of the DEI industry. As DEI is now banned in several states, many presume that the threat to liberty posed by DEI is over. In fact, DEI has simply evolved.

[iamnathannah]

The ex-owner of the LA Dodgers (not the current group, the one between Fox and them who almost bankrupted the team by selling everything but the bats), Frank McCourt (again, not the writer of Angela's Ashes, but the idiot whose wife was dragged through the mud to divorce him), is behind a sketchy group called the Project Liberty Action Network, which started out with the usual vague 'parents deserve to protect their children' generic issue ads that nobody pays attention to.

But with the word 'Liberty' involved (you know the Moms from every school board and library meaning with the groan 'oh fuck these women again'), I knew it was only a bit of time before they revealed....yup, that 'protection' is giving us back 1997 AOL but worse with KOSA. They want to go back to those days and bring back the worst parts of previous 'children's protection acts' (COPA being the most obvious example) that have been struck down many times before. And this dim-bulb billionaire is using his Dodger Stadium parking lot rent money for trying to push KOSA through.

He's buying as much mainstream ad time as those 'Jesus gets us' dopes which targets women (he seems to REALLY love true crime shows like those on ID, Dateline, and 48 Hours that are helicopter wine mom catnip) and wants to get his way. We already got rid of his idiocy when he had to sell the Dodgers on league orders...let's not let him win again with this nonsense. FOSTA/SESTA already has most adult content on tiptoes as it is; I'm tired of kids being put last because shitty parents can't bother to do the most minute parenting and use tools that are already there, along with companies who just can't stop targeting kids with advertising.

Red hot actionable news: the website StopKOSA.com will send a letter from you about this godawful bill to your legislators. Zero effort. You literally just give them your e and mailing address.

You can see the text they’re going to use, and it’s editable, so you have the option (and it’s much easier than writing from scratch) to add a few words up front or tinker and paraphrase if you like, but you very much don’t have to. They will also offer you your legislators’ phone numbers — WITH handy talking points notes — for optional follow-up after the letter is taken care of.

(Hat tip to Julia Serano for alerting me to it. She has more to say about the potential of this bill to effectively eradicate LGBTQ+ content from the internet. If you thought FOSTA/SESTA was bad…)

—

KOSA is a censorship bill that won’t make kids safe. Instead, it'll put all internet users at risk, especially LGBTQ+ youth. If you believe in a free and open internet, tell your lawmakers to reject #KOSA! https://stopkosa.com/

[dixiedrudge]

Off the Wall - Georgetown Students Offered Post-Election Legos and Cocoa in ‘Self-Care Suite’

Suck It Up Buttercup! Your Tax Dollars At Work… View Source Students at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy will have access to Legos, cocoa, and coloring books in a post-Election Day “Self-Care Suite.” “In an email to McCourt students,” reports the Free Press, “Jaclyn Clevenger, the school’s director of student engagement, introduced the school’s post-election ‘Self-Care…

[buttercupkg66]

Georgetown U. provides ‘self-care suites’ for coddled students stressed about Election Day — complete with milk and cookies and coloring books

[ryeacella]

Behind the Scenes of Someone with Severe Anxiety and Depression

Sarah Maroun, a New York City College Student, Talks About her Mental Illness and its Effects on her Life.

By- Calley-Raye McCourt

Sarah Maroun, a 19-year-old sophomore at Marymount Manhattan College, opens up about her struggles with Anxiety and Depression.

"I would go through phases where I, like, just couldn't do anything, and no one really knew why, and I didn't really know why, and I also grew up, like, always feeling guilty or like something horrible would happen, and I thought it was normal and, like, just a part of me thought these things were just part of life. And then obviously they weren't, but it was, it was difficult to function, and like it was hard to be a fully functional child dealing with that all the time."

Sarah was diagnosed with Severe Anxiety and Depression when she was 15 years old. When asked how she felt about this diagnosis, Sarah was relieved, "I was relieved at first, because I was I didn't feel like completely alone in the subject, because she told me, or my therapist at the time told me, that it was common and, you know, there's ways to push through it, but I was relieved.

With her illness, Sarah sometimes finds it hard to get out of bed in the morning and leave.

Although Sarah tends not to talk to anyone about her struggles, there is one friend of hers that she confides in, her roommate Leo.

When asked if her illness has ever affected a relationship of hers, Sarah agreed and said that because of her illness, she tends to step back from the relationship, "I get in my head about it, and then I completely shut down on the person."

Sarah spends most of her time on the go. Almost every day she spends in class, and when she isn't, she is working at her job.

I asked Sarah if there are any outlets or hobbies she does to help her, and she agreed with one thing in particular, "I do try and write; I think just writing it down to get it out."

''Sometimes I get so scared to go to school to see someone who did something really bad to me, and it still affects me, and it's probably my main aggressor," Sarah says when asked if her anxiety affects her schooling.

"I'm outward with the things I do, with people I know and trust. But it was, it felt very isolating to be friends with them, I think, because we just weren't compatible personalities, and it was like, I'm the only one who has this anxiety, and every time I'd like act, anxious, I'd be like a scary ass bitch," Sarah explains to me how isolated this illness has made her feel.

Sarah keeps her most personal objects and items on this shelf in her room.

"Fuck it. I'll call out of work. I can't, if I, like, can't get out of my bed and function and, like, do things properly with my brain in the right space, like I can't do anything. I'll go outside, and I'll be like, everyone is looking at me, and I need to get inside, and I'll have a full-blown panic attack."

This little stuffed moon is one of the items that brings Sarah the most comfort.

When Sarah can't go outside, she sometimes finds comfort on her balcony.

"I understand that not everyone thinks the way I think. And it took me a long time to come to this conclusion."

Sarah doesn't use medications other than her hydroxyzine, which is a medicine given to those with anxiety, but she does find smoking to be something that helps with her anxiety, "I just smoke a lot because it sometimes clears my mind."

"People will, like, call me crazy or just like, she's just a crazy bitch," Sarah tells me what happens to her sometimes when she is open about her illness with ignorant people.

Sarah started therapy when she was 15. She no longer goes, but she told me a great resource for someone looking for therapy is Marymount's Counseling and Wellness Center.

"Get used to it. Even when you're on meds, it shines through," Sarah says when asked what she would tell someone with her illness.

[hotnew-pt]

Programa de Tecnologia e Políticas Públicas de McCourt dá as boas-vindas a novos bolsistas visitantes | Escola McCourt de Políticas Públicas #ÚltimasNotícias

Hot News De designers a especialistas em liberdade de expressão, os bolsistas visitantes de tecnologia e políticas públicas do outono de 2024 trazem uma mistura interdisciplinar de experiência em políticas de tecnologia para a comunidade da Escola de Políticas Públicas McCourt. O programa Tech & Public Policy (TPP) da McCourt School of Public Policy deu as boas-vindas a quatro novos bolsistas…

[pisswizzard]

[Image ID/ Headline of an article from Emma Duncan that reads: "We should cheer the decline of humanities degrees. There are welcome signs that university students facing £70,000 debtwant courses that lead to well-paid jobs. /End ID]

[Image ID/ Screenshot of a quote that reads: "Sir, Frank McCourt gave perhaps the most robust defense of English literature courses when asked by his students why they should read Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. 'You read it for the same reasons why your parents waste their money on your piano lessons,' he replied. 'So you won't be a boring little shite the rest of your life.'" - Andrew Copeman, Teacher of English, Latymer Upper School, London W6 /End ID]

[darkmaga-returns]

By Wanjiru Njoya Mises.org

November 21, 2024

In considering the outcome of the recent elections in the United States, the question arises as to whether we can now expect to see the end of diversity, equity, and inclusion schemes which were beloved of the Biden administration. As we await the new administration, it is timely to evaluate the challenges facing those seeking to uproot the DEI industry. A key point to highlight is that the roots of this industry run too deep to be supplanted simply by closing down federal DEI programs. We can certainly celebrate the end of Mr. Biden’s Executive Orders on DEI, such as the “Executive Order on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce,” but the wider culture of what is often called “wokery” which now abounds will be much more difficult to displace.

A good example of the culture of “wokery” comes from universities. On the eve of President Donald Trump winning his historic second term of office, the website Campus Reform reported that, “Students at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy will be offered ‘self-care suites’ Tuesday, where they can play with Legos, use coloring books, and drink milk and cookies.” Campus Reform also highlighted its previous report that, “the University of Oregon’s University Health Services is providing therapy goats, dogs, and even ‘Quacktavious the Therapy Duck.’”

[indianhour]

Florida’s expansion of vouchers raises concerns for public schools

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — After seeing her daughter struggle in second, then third and fourth grades, Van McCourt-Ostrand wanted options. So, last year, the St. Petersburg mother of two applied for and received a voucher that would allow her youngest child to attend a private school in Florida. McCourt-Ostrand, whose daughter has dyslexia, had two schools in mind, including one specializing in…

[tallmantall]

#JamesDonaldson On #MentalHealth – The Crisis Of #Student #MentalHealth Is Much Vaster Than We Realize

By Donna St. George and Valerie Strauss The change was gradual. At first, Riana Alexander was always tired. Then she began missing classes. She had been an honors #student at her Arizona #highschool, just outside Phoenix. But last winter, after the #isolation of remote learning, then the overload of a full-on return to #school, her grades were slipping. She wasn’t eating a lot. She avoided friends. Her worried mother searched for #mentalhealthtreatment. Finally, in the spring, a three-day-a-week intensive program for #depression helped the #teenager steady herself and “want to get better,” Alexander said. Then, as she was finding her way, a #girl at her #school took her own life. Then a #teen elsewhere in the district did the same. Then another. “It just broke my heart that there were three different people who were going through what I was, and they never got the chance to heal,” said Alexander, 17, now a #highschool senior. After that devastating stretch in May, families and classmates in the Chandler Unified #School District mourned the three 15-year-olds. They would enjoy no more summer vacations, no birthdays or graduations. The losses ignited a debate about what #schools should be doing to support #students in despair. Nationally, #adolescent #depression and #anxiety — already at crisis levels before the #pandemic — have surged amid the #isolation, disruption and hardship of #covid-19. Even as federal #coronavirus relief money has helped #schools step up their efforts to aid #students, they also have come up short. It’s unclear how much money is going to #mentalhealth, how long efforts will last or if they truly reach those who struggle most. “The need is real, the need is dire,” said Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified #School District, who recalled hearing just that day from the district’s #mentalhealth partners that calls about #suicidalthoughts had quadrupled. “We’re living through historically unprecedented times,” he said. More than 75 percent of #schools surveyed in spring said their #teachers and staff have voiced concerns about #student #depression, #anxiety and #trauma, according to federal data. Nearly as many #schools cited a jump in the number of #students seeking #mentalhealthservices. But #mentalhealth is not the only #pandemic priority. #Schools are spending vast sums of their #coronavirus relief money on ventilation upgrades, expanded summer learning, after-#school programs, tutors and academic specialists. The federal spending plans of 5,000 #school districts nationally show that more than one-third intend to bring new #mentalhealthprofessionals into #schools, and around 30 percent plan to fund social-emotional learning efforts, according to an analysis by FutureEd, a think tank at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy. “This is an incredible increase in the amount of money being spent and the number of districts pursuing it,” Phyllis Jordan, associate director of FutureEd. But it is still, advocates say, not nearly enough. “We simply don’t have enough people in our profession to meet the need.”— Kelsey Theis, president of the Texas Association of #School Psychologists In many areas, even when money is in hand, hiring is not easy. As this #school year opened, nearly 20 percent of #schools reported vacancies in #mentalhealth positions, according to federal data. #Schools often said they employed too few staff to manage the caseload but also complained about difficulties finding licensed providers, the data showed. “We simply don’t have enough people in our profession to meet the need,” said Kelsey Theis, president of the Texas Association of #School #Psychologists. When families seek private #therapists, “sometimes there��s a wait list of months and months before they get help,” she said. In Maine, waiting lists grew so long last year that #school #counselor Tara Kierstead began looking out of state for #therapists who had openings — a solution that was not practical for many families. “It was the hardest I’ve ever had to work to get resources to people,” Kierstead said. “I know some #kids who were never seen.” Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy called out the “devastating” effects of the #pandemic on #youth #mentalhealth in a public advisory last December. Earlier that year, the #American Academy of #Pediatrics, the #American Academy of #Child and #Adolescent Psychiatry and the Children’s Hospital Association together declared “a national state of emergency” in children’s #mentalhealth. They pointed out that young #peopleofcolor were especially affected and linked the struggle for #racial justice to the worsening crisis. A year later, this October, they sounded the alarm again. Things are not getting better. #James Donaldson notes:Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space.  #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticleOrder your copy of James Donaldson's latest book,#CelebratingYourGiftofLife:From The Verge of Suicide to a Life of Purpose and Joy www.celebratingyourgiftoflife.com A deepening crisis Not long after the #pandemic started, researchers began to document declines in #child and #adolescent #mentalhealth. The numbers are stark. Hospital emergency room visits spiked for suspected #suicideattempts among #girls ages 12 to 17, according to the #CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention. From February to March 2021, the number jumped by 51 percent compared to the same period during 2019. For #boys, the increase was 4 percent. Early research from MIT suggested the #suicide rate for people aged 10 to 19 increased in 2020, compared to before the #pandemic. More recently, #CDC provisional data for 2021 showed an increase in the national rate from 2020 to 2021, especially for people ages 15 to 24. In other research, the #CDC found nearly 45 percent of #highschoolstudents were so persistently sad or hopeless in 2021 they were unable to engage in regular activities. Almost 1 in 5 seriously considered #suicide, and 9 percent of the #teenagers surveyed by the #CDC tried to take their lives during the previous 12 months. A substantially larger percentage of #gay, #lesbian, #bisexual, other and questioning #students reported a #suicideattempt. Family upheaval, meanwhile, was widespread, particularly in the early #pandemic: Nearly 30 percent of #students said an #adult in their home had lost a job, and 24 percent said they went hungry for a lack of food. There are no directly comparable pre-#pandemic studies, but Kathleen Ethier, the #CDC’s director of the division of #adolescent and #school health, said #student well-being is significantly better for #teens who report feeling connected to their #schools — a problem for a population that, nationwide, was kept out of them for so long. “There is 20 years of research showing that it not only has an impact on how young people do while they’re #adolescents, but it has 20-year impacts on all kinds of measures of health,” including emotional well-being, suicidality and #substanceuse, she said. It also left many #children grieving. More than 230,000 U.S. #students under 18 are believed to be mourning the ultimate loss: the death of a #parent or primary #caregiver in a #pandemic-related loss, according to research by the #CDC, Imperial College London, Harvard University, Oxford University and the University of Cape Town. In the #UnitedStates, #children of color were hit the hardest, another study found. It estimated that the loss for #Black and #Hispanic #children was nearly twice the rate of #White #children. Too much need, too little help In Maryland, Julia Horton, 16, recalls that, as her struggles worsened last year, she fell asleep in class a lot and did not turn in work; her grades dropped. Looking back, she said, “it is very obvious it was a cry for help.” Some #teachers were compassionate, but others less so. “A lot of #teachers talk about understanding #mentalillness, but they don’t act upon it,” she said. Her #school in suburban Montgomery County had two #mentalhealthprofessionals within its wellness center, county officials said, but Horton — like many #students — had no idea. She talked to a #counselor she liked about getting more time for assignments but it did not help. Her mother ultimately found her an excellent #therapist to help Horton with her #depression and #anxiety, but she wonders about other #teens who may not be as fortunate. Montgomery County school officials said they inform #students about #mentalhealthservices through community messages, their website, #student forums and advisory period lessons — though #School Board Member Lynne Harris said messaging should be more robust and focused on platforms #students use most. In Philadelphia, Mikayla Jones, then 15, took care of her father in spring 2020 when he caught #covid-19 and she had little contact with #teachers and friends during remote learning. She wanted to talk to a #therapist, but her mother couldn’t find one with an opening and she’d never heard of any #mentalhealthspecialist at #school. “I feel like this should not be something that’s possible,” she said. Now a 17-year-old senior, Jones is starting a club to advocate for #mentalhealthsupport across Philadelphia’s #schools. “All #youth deserve someone to be there for them.” Philadelphia officials said #counselors were meeting with #students virtually or in person during the #pandemic to assess their needs and help decide next steps. Still, the #highschool senior never found a #therapist. The first meeting of her #mentalhealthsupport club is later this month. Told about the #school system’s comment, the #teenager said: “If the #school does not communicate the availability of #counselors, and their role as #counselor has been repeatedly labeled as ‘#college #counselor,’ then how will we know that they are there as a #mentalhealthresource?” Shortages of #mentalhealthprofessionals have been the norm in #schools. Professional organizations recommend one #school psychologist per 500 #students, but the national average is one per 1,160 students, with some states approaching one per 5,000. Similarly, the recommended ratio of one #school #counselor per 250 #students is not widespread. The national average: one per 415 #students. National research from 2019 showed that #studentsofcolor have not received equal access to #school #counselors. At that time, 38 states were shortchanging #studentsofcolor, #students from low-income families or both, according to the study done by the Education Trust. As the #pandemic has persisted, #students have spoken out — in Nebraska, Arizona, Connecticut, #Washington. In #Seattle, #students who formed the #Seattle #Student Union to promote #racial justice decided this year to push for #mentalhealth supports in #schools. Chetan Soni, a 17-year-old who co-founded the union, said there are too few #mentalhealthprofessionals to meet rising #student needs. The district told him it doesn’t have the money, he said. #Seattle #teachers who went on strike in September included a call for more #mentalhealthsupports for #students as one of their bargaining points. The strike settlement included part-time #socialworkers at most #schools — a sign of progress, Soni said, but not enough to help all. “#Students are suffering from the #pandemic and so many other things too,” he said. His #school, Lincoln High, is fortunate in having a #school-based health clinic, run by Neighborcare Health. But just one #therapist works there, said Rachel Gordon, the company’s #school-based #mentalhealth clinical manager. Nearly all #therapists based at #Seattle’s #schools have full caseloads and wait lists, Gordon said. Many run group therapy sessions as a way to serve more #students. “We’ve seen increases in #anxiety, disordered eating, #suicidalideation, #OCD and many other #mentalhealthchallenges,” she said. In rural Montana, the squeeze was different: Altacare, a for-profit provider, decided to halt services in the state this year amid recruitment difficulties and funding issues. Districts scrambled to cover for the loss, but many could not, and state officials were limited in what they could do. “Unfortunately they were serving a lot of the very small #rural #schools that were already struggling,” said Mary Windecker, executive director of the nonprofit #Behavioral Health Alliance of Montana. The shortages meant that Montana #kids who needed residential care, for the most serious #mental illnesses, were mostly being sent to other states, she said: “Not because we don’t have beds for those #children but because we don’t have people to staff those kids,” she said. “Imagine a six-year-old with a serious emotional disturbance being sent as far away as Georgia. That’s happening.” One result of all these deficiencies: More #students are acting out. Last #school year, nearly 40 percent of #schools nationally reported increases in physical attacks or fights, and roughly 60 percent reported more disruptions in class because of #student misconduct, according to federal data. Las Vegas officials reported several alarming attacks on #teachers. In Louisiana, dads at a Shreveport #school showed up to help keep the peace after a particularly heated week of #student fighting. National test scores also plummeted to levels not seen since 1999, according to recent data — setting off a wave of alarm among educators, many of whom consider the #mentalhealthcrisis a contributing factor. Violence in #schools is on the rise Scrambling for solutions #School administrators across the country are clear-eyed about #students’ worsening #mentalhealth, many of them strategizing about #school initiatives that may help. “We know that when #kids are mentally well, they’re much more likely to attend #school and do well in #school,” said Sharon Hoover, co-director of the National Center for #School #MentalHealth. In Maryland’s Montgomery County, the state’s largest #school system has expanded #school-based wellness centers that provide #mentalhealthservices: Five are open, a sixth debuts in January and 19 others are being phased in. In Georgia, Hawaii and a host of other states, #schools rely on telehealth services to help meet the gap. They often involve contractors — such as Hazel Health — that respond to referrals from #teachers, #school #counselors or #parents; services are often covered through government funding or payer reimbursements. Some #school systems have adopted #student #mentalhealth “check-ins” to get a quick read on #student well-being. Others created calming rooms for #students or found ways to build mindfulness, yoga or meditation into #student life. “We know that when #kids are mentally well, they’re much more likely to attend #school and do well in #school.”— Sharon Hoover, co-director of the National Center for #School #MentalHealth A growing number of #schools now offer therapy. Many have forged partnerships with community providers who treat #students in person on campus. Health or wellness centers that are located inside of #schools numbered roughly 3,000 before the #pandemic. “#School-based health centers fill a void, particularly in low-income communities,” said Robert Boyd, chief executive at the nonprofit #School-Based Health Alliance. “In #ruralcommunities, sometimes it’s the only provider around.” How mindfulness practices are changing an inner-city #school More broadly, #school systems are expanding social-emotional learning intended to help #students understand and regulate their emotions, develop positive relationships and face challenges. These lessons may be embedded in classes (say, a discussion of empathy related to characters in a novel) or they may come directly through an activity about, for instance, decision-making. In some parts of the country, social-emotional teachings are tangled up in the culture wars, particularly when material deals with #gender and #racial equity. In California’s Natomas #School District, Superintendent Chris Evans brought in an administrator with #mentalhealth expertise seven years before the #pandemic. Each #school already had a #psychologist. But as the #pandemic began, #socialworkers were hired for each #school, too —a decision that no one regretted. “About one in every two of our #students,” Evans said, “accessed some form of #mentalhealthresource.” #Suicide assessments more than doubled last year, to 191, compared to 71 before the #pandemic. A big worry in many areas is what happens when federal aid runs out. The #school board in Natomas voted this spring to retain the new hires even after the money is gone, Evans said. Other efforts flowed from legislation. At least 12 states have adopted some form of “#mentalhealthdays,” which excuse #student absences for #mentalhealth purposes. In Illinois, #students are now allowed five days per year under a new measure approved by the legislature. Ten ways to get #mentalhealth help during a #therapist shortage Critics see the excused days off as counterproductive for #students who have already missed too much #school, but supporters say the laws recognize the stressful reality of many #students’ lives and elevate the stature of #mentalhealth so that it is comparable to physical health. Twenty states also require #mentalhealth education in #schools — which Barb Solish, director of #youth and young #adult initiatives with the #NationalAllianceonMentalIllness, said will reduce #stigma and increase literacy so #students recognize symptoms and learn how to get help for themselves or their friends. #Mentalhealth in #schools is expected to get a big boost, too, Solish said, from the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which allots more than $1 billion over five years to support #school-based #mentalhealthservices. More than $500 million is slated for a grant program to hire and retain providers in #schools, and another $500 million is for building a pipeline of future professionals. A call to do more Riana Alexander and other #students in Chandler, Ariz., showed up at #school board meetings for several months, distressed about the string of #suicides that left three 15-year-olds dead. At a meeting in June, many of them acknowledged their own #mentalhealth difficulties as they pressed the #school district to do more. The father of a #teen who took his life joined them, his voice breaking in #grief. “I don’t have the answers,” he said. He vowed to work with the #students as they seek change and called them brave. Then his voice stiffened. “It’s a shame they have to come in here and ask for this,” he said. Two months later, another #teenager took her life. She was 16. #School had been open less than three weeks. “This is a crisis,” Sofia Borczon, a 10th-grader, told the board at another meeting. She’d had #mentalhealthstruggles for four years, she said, and never felt there were necessary resources. “Kids are dying — and they have been for years.” She and others — part of Arizona #Students for #MentalHealth, which was founded by Alexander — asked for #mentalhealth “first-aid training,” so that everyone would know more about how to help #kids in need, and for “#student action boards” to elevate #mentalhealth concerns at #schools. They wanted to lead a town hall meeting, so their peers could be heard too. Read the full article

[emcant]

Ayyyy

tagged by: @stonesandswords

Three ships: I honestly don't really do this. Still kind of adjusting to the concept of death of the author; canon-breaking stuff is inherently a little weird for me, but I'm learning and soon I will be unstoppable

First ever ship: Uhhhh it was definitely canon, whatever it was. Probably the couple from the Little Mermaid

Last song: was on that BTAS playlist I linked earlier

Last film: I think it was one of the Jackass movies, but it's been a while. Either that or Chuck Jones' The Phantom Tollbooth, 10/10

Currently reading: Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes again. Hits so different and so much scarier once you're out of high school

Currently consuming: water

Currently craving: a different job

tagging: @mitebitmurderous @chidorinnnnn @rapogirl13 but consider this an open invite if that's not you <3

tagged by: @running-in-the-dark

Three ships: Janchard, Colin/Isaac, Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught (I recently started watching Wynnona Earp. It's a slow burn for me but it's keeping me interested!)

First ever ship: it was a bunch of Harry Potter ones RIP

Last song: Meet Me In The City by Lord Huron

Last film: Self Reliance. I liked it.

Currently reading: I haven't read anything in a long while. I have so many books stacking up and it's giving me massive anxiety.

Currently consuming: Nothing, I'm fighting sleep and zoning out lol

Currently craving: my pillow 😂

tagging: @orbitalpirate @thegeekyartist @bringingclawstoagunfight @emcant