Mental health issues among students negatively impacts their attendance and academic performance in school.

Chronic absenteeism, defined as students missing more than 10% of the school year, is a rising problem in many schools. The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health examined data from school-based health centers and discovered that anxiety, depression, and mental health are the top health-related causes of absenteeism. 

“I think mental health greatly affects a student’s attendance,” Anderson said. “I think it can go both ways as positive mental health can increase/motivate a student to attend school, and unhealthy mental health can decrease/deter a student from attending school.”

The Wave Clinic noted that 13.4% of young people in any year may have a mental health disorder at some point in time. The most common mental health issues are anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and disruptive disorder.

“I think a lot of students who have a decent grasp on their mental health diagnosis have communicated well with staff,” counselor Kacie Anderson said. “I think students who have unmanaged mental health diagnosis have struggled to communicate with staff.”

Various mental health issues can cause a lack of motivation to attend school. Junior Chloe Miller, who has depression and anxiety, has had problems attending school in the past.

“Last year, I just kind of skipped school and I wouldn’t do the work,” Miller said. “I’m a lot better at it this year though. Being super tired even though I got so much sleep, like my head just hurt and my eyes hurt and it was just hard to stay awake. It was just draining, and I know that I would rather just sleep in than to go to school.”

Mental health problems pose many problems in the classroom as well. Sophomore McKenna Wilkinson, who has ADHD and anxiety, acknowledges issues with performance during class time.

“I feel that if I’m not in the right headspace, then I will not be able to get my work done because I will be worrying about something else that is on my mind or my feelings,” Wilkinson said. “It [ADHD and anxiety] does not help keep me on track because I’m always thinking about something else so it’s affecting the class time I have.”

Having the inability to focus well can decrease academic performance for students. According to Independent School Management, anxiety makes it difficult for students to study for their classes, depression can cause decreased concentration, and may make it hard for students with those issues to be engaged and complete work on time.

“Last year I got my first D, that was in AP World,” Miller said. “I got a C minus and I got one A, which is weird for me. You could really tell my grades were dropping. [Now] I have four As, a couple Bs and a C.”

If teachers suspect a student is struggling with mental health, they will report it to the counseling department to get students help as soon as possible. Staff members may also have open conversations with students about potential issues they may be facing.

“I think proactively supporting students’ mental health isn’t just on schools,” Anderson said. “Parents and community stakeholders can have a role in this as well. Parents need some resources to help their students. Teachers have a full plate already and adding more things for them to do might just be too much. I think at Bellevue East there are a lot of things teachers do to support students.”

Great story. The student perspectives really show how this issue hits home. Plus you have a lot of good stats. Thumbs up!