There were also more incidents of young people going to the emergency room for mental health reasons. Squirrell noted that pediatricians across the state reported increased mental health needs in their patients in 2020. State Mental Health Commissioner Sarah Squirrell and Holly Morehouse, executive director of Vermont Afterschool, also addressed the media at the briefing. “The pandemic has been the cause of heightened anxiety and depression among many students,” he said. He said it’s important to move ahead on this work now, because of the impact of increased isolation over the past year. “It is our hope that by working together through a focused recovery process, we will demonstrate that the Vermont education system has managed both the safety and educational needs of our students better than any education system in the world,” French said. At a press briefing, French and other officials spoke of the need to return to in-person instruction, emphasizing that the pandemic and months of online education are taking their toll on students. School districts will partner with state support teams on recovery efforts, according to Vermont Education Secretary Dan French. That will be followed by planning, and finally implementation. On Friday, the state Agency of Education released guidance for the first phase of its recovery plan, which is the assessment of current school conditions.

The Vermont education system is aiming to implement a statewide effort to get kids back to full-time, in-person learning by the end of the school year, perhaps in April.

Does omni recover work