#student-well-being

#student-well-being

Beyond all the concrete things schools can offer - academics, research opportunities, sports, dining halls - is something both basic and hard to define: a sense of belonging. Factors such as race and gender can influence how at home a student feels on campus, contributing to their overall well-being. But my research highlights the role of religion and spirituality, too: how support for students' worldviews - whether they're deeply religious, atheist or somewhere in between - shapes their campus experience.

In her first "State of Our Schools" address Monday, Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos gave an overview of how the Education Department is meeting families' needs and announced a new accountability tool that breaks down a variety of education initiatives, from the expansion of the NYC Reads curriculum mandate to chronic absenteeism rates per district. The tool is divided into family engagement, teacher support, and student well-being, tracking 37 topics ranging from staff hiring updates and expanding autism programs to increasing voter turnout for the local Community Education Council elections.

It is vital to remember that feeling well is related to doing well. In fact, research supports students' well-being is tied to their academic performance. In one study of 3,400 high school students, those with greater well-being were more likely to have higher academic scores 7-8 months later. Further, teaching well-being at schools has been shown to have a profound increase on academic performance.

Students transitioning to college may feel a sense of loss when leaving friends or romantic partners and may question who they are away from their families.

Skye, a therapy dog, has helped hundreds of students find their calm and support during reading lessons and counseling for nearly a decade.

College should not be a place where neurodiverse students are expected to mask their true selves, as such expectations can lead to burnout and additional stress.