There has been considerable debate in schools and among policymakers on how best to ensure American students are keeping pace academically. Research shows the COVID-19 pandemic and school shutdowns had a significant negative impact on students鈥� learning.

This debate over academic proficiency, while well-intentioned, is ultimately failing our children. It completely overlooks that American students are falling behind on a much-more important developmental goal: moral proficiency.

The failure to emphasize kindness, respect and character in our schools is encouraging other behaviors to fill that void. An epidemic of bullying pervades classrooms and affects students across the country. The numbers tell the story: According to a Pew Research Center released last year, nearly 60% of teens identify bullying as commonplace in their schools. One in five say it鈥檚 extremely common, and among teens it was cited as the second biggest problem affecting students today. Previous studies have found that two in five students say they were bullied on school property, and nearly half reported being victims of cyberbullying.

Three years ago, we lost our 17-year-old son to bullying. We sent a healthy, happy 16-year-old boy to a new school excited to make friends. He was kind to everyone, a leader, and wanted a life in public service. This made him a target. His reputation was destroyed by lies spread in person and online over the course of a year, beginning with a school election. While he stood up for himself until his final breath, he suffered in plain sight and 鈥� unnecessarily, avoidably and alone.

After his death, we learned that many schools, including our son鈥檚, have no legal obligation to protect your child from bullying. We became advocates for change. No child should have to endure the same cruelty, anguish and pain as Jack did. 

This campaign for change took an important step forward in October when New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the to combat bullying in schools and extend protections already afforded to public school students to those in the state鈥檚 independent schools. A diverse coalition of caring legislators and faith-based and independent school leaders worked with us to pass the law, giving half a million private school students in New York the most basic human right: to feel safe. The law ensures that when a child comes forward or bullying is witnessed, the school is obligated to act promptly: investigate, communicate and respond. 

But these policy changes are a solution to an epidemic that needs a bigger fix than new laws. We know the cure. Bullying is like an insidious disease that grows unchecked in cultures where character and kindness are not cherished.

The chief mission of our schools must be teaching skills and values for life, not just improving test outcomes. That means respect for others and their differences. It means civility; not just reading the student handbook but living it. And it means calling out 鈥� and addressing 鈥� behaviors and actions that threaten the school climate for everyone. 

Bullying cannot be viewed as acceptable or endurable behavior. The old adages that it will 鈥渢oughen them up鈥� or 鈥渋s part of growing up鈥� are archaic and misguided. The bullying our kids experience today is not simple playground teasing 鈥� our children do not feel safe in school anymore, and because of social media, that fear follows them home. Ask yourself: How can you learn algebra in the classroom if you are afraid of what could happen in the hallway?

Only have protections in place for every child. This is unacceptable. We need to help the remaining four million private and parochial school students at risk. Anti-bullying mandates actually reaffirm the mission of our schools: teach the whole child. We hope the Jack Reid Law is a wake-up call. Laws are meaningless symbols if not lived. Climate and culture matter. It must start with school leaders and flow through the entire system of the school: from the chemistry teacher to the gym coach and to each child.

Kindness and bullying are both contagious. One is free; the other cost us our entire fortune 鈥� our beloved son. Which one do you want in your school?

That tension is personal: parents and caregivers come to the job with the hang-ups we鈥檝e amassed since childhood. We鈥檙e famously prone to imposing some version of those onto our own kids 鈥� however hard we try to free them. 

The tension is also social and cultural 鈥� even political. We鈥檙e all trying to teach our kids to stand up for themselves in the tough, pushy, sometimes violent world out there even as we coach them toward leaning vulnerably into grace, compassion, sharing and forgiveness. And a lot of it involves hiding uglier truths about the world from them. But even that only works for so long, because they鈥檒l eventually outgrow our abilities to deceive and distract 鈥� and nothing builds resentment in adulthood like realizing how much you were lied to in childhood. 

This is beautiful, impossible work. We鈥檙e all messing up all the time, no matter how hard we push and strive 鈥� and no matter how much we try to let go and back off. 

Parenting is even harder in moments of public fear and stress. As a father of two, I spent much of Donald Trump鈥檚 first term wrestling to guard my children鈥檚 faith in virtues like patience, kindness, honesty, personal integrity and responsibility. I tried to coach them into believing in the power of peaceful, democratic institutions that represent the will of the public. I tried, in other words, to swim upstream against the prevailing Trumpist political currents. 

Now I鈥檓 a father of three. I鈥檓 dreading the implications of his second term 鈥� for my kids, for the work of raising them, for our schools and for our democracy. It鈥檚 a much more difficult project this time. How can families teach our children to believe in a better, kinder, fairer world 鈥� when they see glory, honor and power repeatedly rendered to a man like this? Can advocates for better educational opportunities for all children build a safer, kinder country with Trump unavoidably at its helm?

It鈥檚 hard to imagine. His return has launched a genuinely bleak era driven by a movement that targets and marginalizes people 鈥� 鈥� to gain power, whether they鈥檙e immigrants or transgender kids who just want to use the bathroom in peace. This is a nightmare for parents trying to raise their kids to be fundamentally polite, to stand up for the weak among us, to choose grace over scorn and peace over violence. 

If you think this is overwrought, please remember that Trump鈥檚 first arrival in office a national spike in behavior at schools. We鈥檙e seeing this time . That鈥檚 not an accident. Trump is persistently, constantly a bully, one who reserves , and   any woman who with the slightest .

This is incessant intimidation that any middle schooler would recognize, that any parent would hate to see imposed on their kid. It鈥檚 sexism that any young girl would instantly view as infuriating and behavior that any decent parent or caregiver would find unacceptable in their son.

What鈥檚 more, Trump is cynically nihilistic. That鈥檚 why many of the president-elect鈥檚 colleagues . He has been caught and never admits his deceit, even when hurt other people. This year, Trump baselessly accused Haitian immigrants in Ohio of stealing and eating pets: innocent people 鈥� immigrants and native-born Americans alike 鈥� , some closing . Note: immigrants community members than native-born Americans.

Trump鈥檚 responses to the pandemic were probably his most consequential distortions. He and insisted that the pandemic was under control and easily manageable. He promoted and , unscientific 鈥渢reatments鈥� 鈥� . People because believed . 

Any family would recognize a kid with Trump鈥檚 penchant for selfish betrayal and willful deceit as a terrible friend or classmate. No family would want an adult who treated people so carelessly in charge of their child鈥檚 safety or well-being. 

, Trump鈥檚 is . He routinely muses about using force against political opponents, journalists, and protestors. Not coincidentally, in an October 2024 poll, were sure that there would be a peaceful transfer of power after the election, what was once an unshakeable tenet of our democracy.

Even if you鈥檙e confident that you can set a strong enough example for kids to be a bulwark against this behavior, that still won鈥檛 solve for the most substantive issue: Trumpist politics have consistently failed to address the very real problems that the U.S. faces 鈥� including and particularly the ones preoccupying U.S. young adults. 

For instance, while a 2023 poll showed that American kids are , Trump and his party are pushing to , , , and close the Department of Education. None of these are real solutions. 

Families in my community tell me they鈥檙e struggling to explain the present state of American democracy to their children. One says their middle schooler keeps bringing them media articles where Trump supporters express surprise that their preferred candidate absolutely plans to follow through on his campaign promises around , , and . 鈥淲hy did they vote for him then?鈥� they say their kid asks. 鈥淲hat did they think would happen?鈥� 

Trump has put families in a terrible situation. It鈥檚 hard to explain why men who violently assaulted law enforcement en route to desecrating the U.S. Capitol are touted as heroes and . It鈥檚 hard to look at all the violent, undemocratic vengeance Trump has promised and insist to kids that nonviolent politics is core to our democracy. 

See, kids are relatively sophisticated risk detectors 鈥� they know real dangers from partisan hysteria. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 particularly difficult to tell them to be patient now and to trust in the democratic process, to believe that the adults will get their acts together and work on real problems. It鈥檚 hard to believe that the system will self-correct after you鈥檝e spent another math period under your desk because there鈥檚 another active shooter in the neighborhood, or even worse 鈥� , as just happened again last week in Madison, Wisconsin. 

Nonetheless, the vast majority of families in my social orbit are grimly hoping they can perhaps pretend the situation away. They鈥檙e hoping that Trump won鈥檛 be who he鈥檚 been for the past decade, that he鈥檒l step up instead and act like a prudent statesman that they can safely ignore. Most are planning to actively distract their kids from American public discourse, to try to keep them from internalizing the next four years as 鈥渘ormal.鈥� 

A lot of education reformers sound similar notes. They鈥檇 like to set all this aside and just get on with their lives and careers and work with Trump to overhaul the federal role in education or expand school choice or somesuch. They鈥檇 like to pretend like Trump鈥檚 behavior can be tolerated or ignored. 

I guess I hope they鈥檙e right. But I think we all know they aren鈥檛 鈥� and so do the kids. 

The views expressed here are the author鈥檚 alone and not those of any organization with which he is affiliated.

From gun-toting math teachers to federal rules that decide which bathroom a kid can use, the student safety and civil rights issues that are central to the School (in)Security newsletter could be in for some major changes. 

Here are 11:

• The return of an architect of the family separation immigration policy during the first Trump administration. | 
  
• An effort to end the constitutional right of citizenship for children born in the U.S. regardless of their parents鈥� immigration or citizenship status. | 
  
• A rollback of civil rights and anti-discrimination protections for transgender students. | 
  
• A shakeup at the federal government鈥檚 primary cybersecurity agency, which has taken a leading role in school cyberattack prevention. | 
  
• Efforts to unwind bipartisan firearm restrictions approved in 2022 following the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. | 
  
• Policies that address school violence through a renewed focus on suspensions and 鈥渉ardening schools鈥� with measures like campus-based police and metal detectors. |  
  
• Efforts to strengthen protections for students accused of sexual misconduct. | 
  
• A promise to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education 鈥� and the potential return of policies enacted during the first Trump administration that scaled back investigations into discrimination based on students鈥� race, sex or religion. | 
  
• A vice president who said school shootings 鈥� which have surged exponentially in the last decade 鈥� are a 鈥渇act of life鈥� and that schools are 鈥渟oft targets鈥� if you are a 鈥減sycho and you want to make headlines.鈥� | 
  
• Efforts to reform anti-discrimination rules to remove 鈥渄isparate impact鈥� liability, including for racial disparities in school discipline. | 
  
• Efforts to eliminate federal funds for schools that recognize students鈥� transgender identities and grant equal access to bathrooms and locker rooms. | 

In the news

To school shooting survivor David Hogg, Democrats鈥� failure to motivate voters rests on the shoulders of one constituency above all: Boomers. I recently profiled , a well-financed political action committee designed to elevate Gen Z and millennial progressives. Here鈥檚 how they fared on Nov. 5. | 

Notorious swatter confesses: An 18-year-old from California has pleaded guilty to making 375 swatting calls throughout the U.S., including false police reports of school shootings and bombings. | 

Federal authorities indicted two suspected cybercriminals accused of breaking into a cloud computing platform and exposing the data of major corporations and the Los Angeles school district. | 

A federal judge has temporarily halted a new Louisiana law that would require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms. | 

A drop in the bucket: The Federal Communications Commission said demand for a $200 million school cybersecurity pilot program far exceeded its capacity, with 2,734 applications requesting a total of $3.7 billion. | 

The Providence, Rhode Island, school district acknowledged in a letter to families that a recent cyberattack compromised sensitive student information 鈥� but only after I published  into the extent of the breach. | 

鈥楢 culture of bullying:鈥� Federal authorities have opened a civil rights investigation into a New Jersey school district where school resource officers are accused of failing to protect an 11-year-old student from harassment before she died by suicide last year. | 

The 28-year-old athletics director of a New York school district has been arrested in an extortion case, accused of demanding that a 17-year-old student send him sexual photos over Snapchat under a threat of exposing personal information about the minor. 

ICYMI @The74

Emotional Support

George, the four-legged companion of education consultant David Irwin, found the perfect lobster costume for Halloween a decade ago and hasn鈥檛 looked back.

The on teens鈥� mental health are well-documented. But could bullying also shape their future aspirations?

In 2023, 72% of transgender students and 69% of those questioning report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness and 1 in 4 attempted suicide. By comparison, 11% of cisgender girls and 5% of cisgender boys reported a suicide attempt. Ten percent of trans youth received medical treatment after trying to take their own life. 

Last year marked the first time data on high school students鈥� gender identity was collected as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention鈥檚 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Administered every other year to some 20,000 ninth- through 12^th-graders, the survey has long been considered the most accurate depiction of the well-being of LGBTQ youth.聽

This most recent survey is also the first to collect data on student welfare since dozens of laws in almost half of U.S. states have rolled back protections for LGBTQ youth and limited transgender people鈥檚 access to health care. A released in September by The Trevor Project found the rate of suicide attempts rose by up to 72% in places that enacted the laws between 2018 and 2022. 

鈥淭he figures reported by the CDC are harrowing and indicate that much remains to be done to support transgender young people’s health and safety in the U.S., especially as we’re witnessing another record-breaking year of anti-transgender legislation,鈥� says Ronita Nath, Trevor鈥檚 vice president of research. 

The federal data adds to research showing that LGBTQ students aren鈥檛 safe at school. Compared with 8.5% of cisgender male students, more than 1 in 4 gender-nonconforming youth reported skipping school within the last month out of fear, and 40% said they were bullied. More than 10% of transgender and questioning students lacked stable housing, a rate five times higher than that of their cisgender peers. 

“These data confirm what we have long known to be true: Transgender young people are disproportionately impacted by a number of health disparities,鈥� says Nath. 鈥淚t鈥檚 crucial to clarify that these young people are not inherently prone to these negative mental health outcomes, but rather placed at higher risk because of how they are mistreated and stigmatized by others.鈥�

According to the Movement Advancement Project, 53% of all LGBTQ people now live in states where there are no legal protections for queer students. Another 2% live in places where new laws prohibit local governments, including school districts, from enacting anti-discrimination policies. States with anti-bullying laws are home to 45% of the LGBTQ population.

Data about trans youth is scarce, but the statistics that are available underscore higher rates of poor mental health, suicidality, in-school victimization and other struggles. The number of youth who identify as gender-nonconforming or questioning in the new CDC data is much higher than past estimates. Extrapolating from 2017 and 2019 Youth Risk Behavior statistics drawn from a smaller number of states, in 2022 the Williams Institute, a UCLA-based LGBTQ research center, suggested 1.4% of teens are transgender. 

It is known that a higher number of youth now identify as LGBTQ in general than previous generations. But researchers caution that at least one more CDC survey cycle is needed to draw conclusions about whether teens are now more likely to say their gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. 

In 2022, President Joe Biden  geared at expanding LGBTQ data collection by the U.S. Department of Education and other federal agencies. At the same time, however, at least 10 states 鈥� including six where anti-gay and trans legislation has been enacted 鈥� in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey in full or in part. Civil rights advocates have complained that this will make it harder to . 

鈥淲e are grateful to see that, finally, transgender young people are being counted,鈥� says Nath. 鈥淲e urge all public health institutions to continue collecting data on this population, and to fund additional research and resources to better serve and protect transgender youth across the country.”

Correction appended Sept. 30

Educators and advocates from across the country 鈥� many of whom say they have already seen the effects of anti-immigrant political rhetoric on their students 鈥� convened Wednesday night to strategize on how to counter it in their schools. 

Adam Strom, director of Re-Imagining Migration, told the webinar鈥檚 93 attendees to take an active role in combating prejudice by facing the issue head-on. He encouraged participants to address bullying against immigrant students specifically in school policy 鈥� and to teach about stereotypes without unintentionally reinforcing them. 

鈥淴enophobia harms all kids,鈥� he said, 鈥減articularly immigrant youth.鈥� 

The meeting came two weeks after former President Donald Trump claimed during a presidential debate that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, . Debunked by multiple official sources, Trump and his Republican running mate, JD Vance, have persisted in repeating the lie, which resulted in bomb threats that shuttered six Springfield schools and two local colleges. 

Less than 30 miles away in Dayton, Joni Watson, a retired public school teacher, works for an adult literacy nonprofit that helps participants earn their GED. Watson’s group also helps Dayton-area newcomers learn to read and write English through free one-on-one tutoring. 

鈥淭his topic is near and dear to my heart as I am really in the thick of it on a daily basis,鈥� she told 社区黑料. 鈥淚 am just sick about what Vance and Trump are doing and saying.鈥�

In a pre-webinar survey of 74 respondents, 31% said they knew of immigrant children who had reported being bullied or teased at school. Twenty-three percent said they heard students make anti-immigrant comments on campus this school year while another 23% heard staff make such statements since the beginning of the year. Eleven percent said they heard or witnessed staffers make anti-immigrant comments to families and caregivers.  

Strom advised educators to reach out to young immigrants and their families to check in on how they are feeling during this turbulent time and to tell all students that bullying of newcomers is unacceptable. He said, too, that educators should respond immediately when such incidents occur. 

During the session, Strom unveiled Re-Imagining Migration鈥檚 new . The AI-powered tool, which fed off thousands of pages of information from the organization鈥檚 website, including reports and lesson plans, was developed to help users identify misinformation. 

It encourages them to check the validity of such claims by consulting credible fact-checking sites such as 鈥� and to learn and spread correct information to their school communities. Since putting Springfield , Trump has moved to inciting false fears over immigrant communities in and .

Psychotherapist Liz Carrasco said she wanted to attend the webinar because she鈥檚 seen the impact of hate speech on her students. 

鈥淢any worry that their families could be torn apart, or that they will face discrimination in their pursuit of education and work,鈥� she said. 鈥淔or these students, political rhetoric is not just words 鈥� it has very real and immediate consequences for their safety and their future.鈥�

A U.S. citizen who was born in Mexico, Carrasco works with UNLV PRACTICE Nevada Rural Communities Mental Health Outreach Program, which supports young people ages 12-25, and teaches at the university’s School of Social Work. Carrasco, who was not speaking on behalf of UNLV, said she works with immigrants who have gone through horrific ordeals, including some who were victims of human trafficking.

Strom asked participants to be honest about whether and how they teach about migration and instructed them to develop better, more robust lessons that capture immigrant students鈥� experiences. 

He said this can be done at all grade levels.  

鈥淭hink about how you might use childrens鈥� books to normalize the stories of newcomers,鈥� he said during the hour-long event.  

Anindita Das, community engagement strategist at an Iowa college, said she was compelled to attend the event because reducing prejudice helps build a more inclusive and harmonious society.

鈥淏eing an immigrant myself, I know immigrants bring diverse cultures, perspectives and experiences, enriching the social fabric of the host country,鈥� she said. 鈥淚mmigrants contribute significantly to the economy through their labor, entrepreneurship and innovation. Addressing prejudice ensures they can fully participate and contribute.鈥�

Correction: An earlier version of this story had an outdated description of Liz Carrasco’s job with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

In 2023, two in ten teens were bullied at school and one in ten did not attend due to safety concerns, 4% increases since 2021. Two percent more were injured or threatened at school. About one in ten experienced sexual violence, roughly the same amount as two years ago, according to 20,000 high schoolers surveyed nationwide for the latest iteration of the CDC鈥檚 Youth Risk and Behavior survey.

For the first time, the CDC鈥檚 2023 survey prompted teens to reflect on racism, unfair discipline and social media use. Nearly one third of students reported being 鈥渢reated badly or unfairly at school because of their race or ethnicity鈥� by educators or peers.

Some key indicators show 鈥減rogress鈥� in combatting the youth mental health crisis: About 10% of Black students reported attempting suicide in 2023, down from 14% in 2021. At the same time, fewer female and Hispanic students seriously considered suicide or experienced persistent sadness or hopelessness in 2023 than in 2021. But roughly half of both groups still experience depressive symptoms, and at rates higher than national averages. 

“The data released today show improvements to a number of metrics that measure young people’s mental well-being 鈥� progress we can build on. However, this work is far from complete,鈥� said Debra Houry, chief medical officer with the agency, in a press release last week. 鈥淓very child should feel safe and supported, and CDC will continue its work to turn this data into action until we reach that goal.” 

Only about half of teens felt close to people in their school, with key demographic groups reporting being especially vulnerable: Girls, LGBTQ and Native youth were forced into or experienced risky behavior more than their peers across nearly all metrics, including substance use, physical and sexual violence, depression, and suicidality. 

The general rise in aggressive behavior, while concerning, is not particularly surprising to experts.

鈥淲e are still seeing a long-tail of effect from the height of the pandemic with kids having been isolated鈥� The ninth grader of today is still a bit less mature, not as good at problem solving, not as clear in their communication with peers, especially when it comes to conflict,鈥� said child psychologist and Boston-area schools consultant Deborah Offner.

Students’ sexual activity and drug use overall mirrored rates from 2021, significantly declining over the last decade. Fewer teens have ever had sex, from about half to one in three. But those that have engaged in more risky behavior: fewer used condoms or were tested for STIs. 

While overall declines in depressive symptoms and suicidality are not 鈥済iant,鈥� said Offner, 鈥渁s we emerge from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, kids in my orbit are overall doing better on average than they were a few years ago. Most of that is [thanks to] the reentry into the social environment of school and activities.鈥�

Recommending stronger health education and opportunities for young people to build relationships, belonging at school, the CDC urged schools to . Some ideas for schools include facilitating mentorship or advisory opportunities for older students to be role models for younger students, who may be feeling lost in their first years in high school, and training all school staff to be strong listeners, 鈥渂ecause you never know who a kid is going to tap into,鈥� Offner said. 

Below are five key findings from the report: 

1. Violence and bullying increased 2% and 4%, respectively, from 2021 to 2023, with about one in ten avoiding school for safety concerns and two in ten being bullied. 

Sexual violence was as prevalent in 2023 as it was in 2021: roughly one in ten teens. Girls and LGBTQ youth were more likely than their peers to experience sexual and physical violence. 

The frequency of bullying at school, students report, increased 4% since 2021, bumping back up to pre-pandemic levels. LGBTQ students experienced bullying the most of any subgroup, with three in ten having been bullied and two in ten missing school because of safety fears.

2. 2023 saw a 2% decline in the share of kids persistently sad, hopeless or making suicide plans, but significantly more experience depression symptoms than did in 2013.

Four in ten teens on average reported consistent depression symptoms, up from three in ten just a decade ago. While 4% fewer girls experienced such symptoms than and 3% less seriously considered suicide than in 2021, the proportion of girls experiencing depressive symptoms is much higher than their peers: over five in ten, 53%.

Among LGBTQ youth, six in ten felt persistently sad or hopeless, and two in ten attempted suicide.

Offner said while social media is often scapegoated as the core driver of depressive symptoms, the most common reasons youth cite as causes of internal conflicts are family or friend-related, like witnessing parents鈥� economic uncertainty or emotional instability, and working through friendship disagreements. 

Many, she added, are also feeling climate anxiety and worried about material needs more than other generations 鈥� their parents placing intense pressure to succeed academically and go onto lucrative careers. 

However social media does serve as a 鈥渟ocial comparison accelerator,鈥� she said, where teens may compare themselves to others or feel bad about being excluded from activities. 

Native teens 鈥� the subgroup spending least amount of time on social media according to the CDC, with about half using it several times a day 鈥� are still the subgroup experiencing highest rates of poor mental health and persistent depressive symptoms. 

3. One third of teens experienced racism, and nearly two in ten reported being unfairly disciplined. 

With the CDC asking for the first time, 32% of high school students reported being 鈥渢reated badly or unfairly in school because of their race.鈥� Asian, multiracial, and Black students reported this more often than peers, at 57%, 49%, and 46% respectively.

On average, 19% of teens were 鈥渦nfairly disciplined鈥� at school in 2023, with male, Native, Black and multiracial students reporting at a rate 3-13% above average. One in three Native youth reported being unfairly disciplined, more than any other race or ethnicity.

4. No significant changes in teens鈥� sexual behavior since 2021. Overall, students are having less sex than in 2013. 

While three in ten teens reported having had sex, down from about five in ten a decade ago; only a third used some form of oral birth control, and half used condoms. 

Six percent of teens polled had four or more sexual partners in 2023, compared to 15% the decade prior. 

Some reasons for the decline may be increased immaturity, said Offner, which is impacting kids鈥� relationship experience. She has also witnessed more young people express ownership of their bodies and wanting to go slowly in their sexual experiences, 鈥淚 think they鈥檙e learning from the mistakes of previous generations, too.鈥� 

5. Alcohol, marijuana, and illicit drug consumption is declining. But vulnerable student populations 鈥� LGBTQ, Native youth, and girls 鈥� used more than their peers. 

In 2023, about 22% of teens reported drinking alcohol, a significant decrease from 35% ten years prior. The number is slightly higher for girls, with about one in four drinking. While the proportion of Black kids drinking increased from 2021 to 2023, their rate is still under average, at 17%. 

Roughly the same amount used marijuana as did two years ago, about 17%, down from 23% in 2013.

Only about one in ten used illicit drugs, like psychedelics and stimulants, or misused prescription opioids. Teens鈥� illicit drug use has declined 6% overall in the last decade. 

Offner observed teens today are a little more health cautious, and have witnessed more siblings and peers practice sobriety intentionally. 鈥淚t鈥檚 much more acceptable to say that you don’t use them or aren’t interested in using them,鈥� she added. 

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Additional resources are available at . For LGBTQ mental health support, you can contact toll-free support line at 866-488-7386.

I am the product of a single-parent household. My mother is a God-fearing woman who raised me in the church. She鈥檚 always taught me to be thankful for what I have and to strive to make my community a better place.

While I have a strong love for social media, I must admit it has not made the world the kind of place my mom raised me to envision. Some have used it to negatively portray my home town of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Based on TikTok and Instagram, you鈥檇 think that crime and crumbling infrastructure are problems unique to us, and not a challenge throughout the United States.

That negative spin may tell part of the story. But it鈥檚 far from the complete picture. It leaves out how residents, particularly students, are working to turn the community around.

My mother made sure I followed the rules, got a good education and stayed safe. But I saw bullying up close when I was in the 9^th grade. Worst of all, I was robbed one morning while walking to school. I lost my phone, my wallet, but most importantly, my sense of security. At Pine Bluff High School, I witnessed students being disrespectful to each other and not accepting people鈥檚 individual differences. I also have friends who got involved in fights. Some lost their lives to violence.

I wanted to prevent others from experiencing what I did. When I was elected president of the Pine Bluff High Student Council in the fall of 2023, I formed a  with the Arkansas Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission to host events on our campus to deter bullying and bring a sense of family to the high school. Students signed agreements to work together and to tell security personnel, their teachers or the principal if someone was being disrespectful or talking about hurting someone. I am happy to say it worked. Some students became friends; others faced disciplinary actions. 

It has been a year of many revelations. Last summer, I was selected to attend , a camp in Conway, Arkansas, that focuses on leadership and civic engagement. My time there awakened me to something my mother tried to shield me from 鈥� namely, that I had little exposure to people of different cultures. As a young Black male from Pine Bluff, whose school population is around 97% African American, I loved the opportunity to meet more white and Asian students from all over Arkansas. 

But the experience also revealed that many of my new friends had far more exposure to technology than we do in our poor school district 鈥� technology like AI, flying drones and robots. In Pine Bluff, we have an after-school program that touches on these subjects, but it would be great to have it offered in school every day.

I am excited that our community is building a , with modern technology and learning spaces that can offer courses in AI and computer programming. I will be in college when the new school is built, but it makes me optimistic for the young scholars who will be attending the best high school in Arkansas in a beautiful, new state-of-the-art building. While my school is already tops in sports 鈥� number one in the state in basketball for the second consecutive year and 2023 5A champions in   鈥� I鈥檓 hopeful that one day the Pine Bluff School District will be number one in academics as well.

After COVID-19, some of us, including myself, fell a bit behind academically, especially in math. Most of us hated virtual learning and sometimes did not pay attention to our teachers. Owning up to the problem, the district鈥檚 and newly appointed school board have introduced academic programs and partnered with community groups to help us catch up. For example, there will be  starting next year. I believe this is going to help scholars increase their retention and knowledge, thus improving test scores. I am proud to say that ACT scores and academics in general are going up. 

I know the doubters are wrong because change is in our bones. Pine Bluff enjoys such a rich history. I am most proud of the fact that, a Pine Bluff attorney, helped to desegregate the University of Arkansas School of Law. I am so impressed that he represented the the Black students who walked into Central High School in 1957, and also served as counsel with Thurgood Marshall, who later became the first Black justice of the United States Supreme Court. 

Branton鈥檚 historical accomplishments inspire me to become an attorney. I want to come back to Pine Bluff and make a positive impact in my community, bringing fresh ideas and helping students from single-parent homes understand that they can be successful in life. I plan to be a positive role model for kids who look like me. 

]]> /article/the-new-face-of-homeschooling-less-religious-and-conservative-more-focused-on-quality/ Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:15:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=703451 By the time LaToya Brooks began homeschooling her three daughters last fall, the Atlanta mother had to ask herself: Why didn鈥檛 I do this sooner?

A former public school band teacher, Brooks said she was largely inspired by the grim pandemic realities of her kids鈥� schooling: Her 7-year-old, born late in the year, was stuck in kindergarten even though she knew the alphabet and could already read. Her 9-year-old was being bullied at a private Christian school, while her oldest, a 16-year-old rising , was simply too busy for typical school calendars.

鈥淎t the end of last school year, I was like, 鈥業 don’t think I can do this again,鈥欌�� Brooks said.

So she quit her job 鈥� her husband still teaches music 鈥� and began homeschooling all three girls.

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Brooks鈥� experiences sync with those of many parents who have turned to homeschooling since the pandemic. A from the online education platform Outschool found that this group is increasingly concerned about the quality of education their kids are getting in school. They鈥檙e also more likely to be politically centrist or liberal and less likely to homeschool for religious reasons.

Other recent research suggests that they鈥檙e also more likely to be non-white: The U.S. Census Bureau in 2021 reported that homeschooling among Black families in the school year following the start of the pandemic, from 3.3% in spring 2020 to 16.1% that fall.

In the , which tapped 622 homeschool families in August, Black families comprised 9% of respondents, but the results didn鈥檛 probe whether there has been a rise in these families. The survey did find, however, that parents鈥� concerns around racism in school during the pandemic rose: Among pre-pandemic homeschoolers in the survey, just 2% said racism was their No. 1 reason for leaving school; among newer homeschoolers, the figure was 5%.

And it found that the reasons families began homeschooling in the past year are 鈥渟hifting away from being a values-driven decision to an environment-driven decision.鈥�

Among other findings:

• 12% of new homeschooling parents said their decision was primarily because their child鈥檚 neurodiversity wasn鈥檛 supported in traditional schools, up from 7% before the pandemic;

• Just 1% of new homeschooling parents said their No. 1 reason was based on religious beliefs, down from 14% of parents already homeschooling who said the same;

• 47% of new homeschoolers described themselves as 鈥減rogressive鈥� or 鈥渓iberal,鈥� up from 32%;

• 6% of new homeschoolers said they had conservative views vs. 27% of pre-Covid homeschoolers.

Significantly, few parents said their decision, either in 2020 or 2022, was based on politically charged issues such as vaccines or schools鈥� political stances.

Traditional schools鈥� 鈥榟ot mess鈥�

Outschool co-founder Amir Nathoo said the findings suggest that parents are homeschooling for many reasons, including having children whose learning differences 鈥渨eren’t being satisfied by the local school.鈥�

Homeschooling families have traditionally valued its flexibility, Nathoo said. 鈥淏ut now what we’re seeing come bubbling up is just: Pure quality is a top concern.鈥�

Alessa Giampaolo Keener, who directs the Maryland Homeschool Association, said the pandemic 鈥渃hanged a lot about homeschooling,鈥� including the number of families willing to give it a try: In March 2020, just before widespread school closures, she counted fewer than 28,000 homeschoolers statewide. That figure now stands at about 45,000.

Keener noted that the recent uptick, especially in Black homeschoolers, stems from many public schools being caught 鈥渃ompletely unprepared鈥� in 2020. Educators 鈥渁bsolutely did the best that they could, given the circumstances. But it was a hot mess for a lot of kids.鈥�

Tracking homeschooling is a bit slippery. The National Home Education Research Institute about 6% of school-aged children, or 3.1 million students, homeschooled in the 2021-2022 school year, up from 2.5 million in spring 2019.

The journal Education Next, using Census Bureau data, that the percentage of U.S. households with at least one child being homeschooled essentially doubled from spring 2020 to fall 2020, from 5.4% to 11.1%.  

Many of these parents said they were finding education at home 鈥渢o be an exhausting undertaking.鈥� One-fourth said they didn鈥檛 plan to continue.

But Alex Spurrier, who studies policy at the consulting firm Bellwether, said recent polling shows the pandemic has helped break a kind of psychological link in parents鈥� minds between education and a five-day, in-person school week. For many families, learning from home 鈥渨orked really well and probably opened their eyes to a different way forward.鈥� 

As a result, he said, 鈥渋t doesn’t look like we’re on a path to heading back鈥� to pre-pandemic ideas about homeschooling.

One-on-one attention, bullying trump religious reasons

Michael McShane, director of national research for the research and advocacy group EdChoice, said the Outschool findings his organization has done recently.

鈥淲hen we asked people why they homeschool, things like religious reasons or political reasons, those were at the bottom of the list,鈥� he said. At the top: School shootings, bullying, school violence, and wanting more one-on-one attention for their children.

McShane said his school choice work has changed his outlook on things like the socialization that homeschoolers enjoy. His conversations with their parents shine a light on the often 鈥渢remendously negative鈥� experiences many students have had in school. 鈥淚 can’t tell you how many parents were like, ‘Let me tell you about the socialization my kid got: It was getting the crap beaten out of them,鈥欌�� he said.

Homeschooling researchers have also long noted that a top reason Black families often give for turning to homeschooling is in schools 鈥� particularly against young boys of color. Black homeschoolers, McShane said, often say they 鈥渏ust didn’t think their schools were respecting them, or respecting their kids, or treating them fairly. And so they wanted to kind of strike out on their own.鈥�

Bellwether鈥檚 Spurrier said more families are likely interested in more flexible learning environments like homeschooling or microschools if the barriers to entry are lower. He鈥檚 keeping an eye on places like Arizona and , which are both experimenting with generous education savings accounts for families. 

Singing, dancing, being kind

In Atlanta, Brooks has discovered an focused on helping Black homeschoolers thrive 鈥� she has even begun posting humorous videos that encourage other Black homeschool moms. 鈥淚t’s been awesome, just being able to talk to people that look like me, that are probably going through the same thing.鈥�

Like many families find, homeschooling has allowed her kids to focus less on grades and more on interests.

Brooks now posts joyous TikTok and Instagram videos of herself and her kids as they ,,, and meet people like Georgia gubernatorial candidate at public events. They鈥檝e lately been trying out in an informal family .

Brooks said she鈥檚 also able to focus more on character education, a top priority that she said doesn鈥檛 get much love in school.

鈥淲e learn how to have conversations with each other,鈥� Brooks said. 鈥淎nd I’ve seen from the beginning of the school year til now that they’ve changed drastically. They’ll catch themselves if they’re not being nice to their sister. They’re like, 鈥業’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell like that.鈥� Those kinds of things are happening without me telling them. And so I just know for sure it’s working.鈥�

]]> /article/does-your-school-have-a-slander-account/ Wed, 25 May 2022 20:01:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=589552 Even at Stuyvesant High School, one of the most academically rigorous and sought-after public schools in New York City, teenage gossip is, well, teenage gossip: who鈥檚 crushing on who, who just broke up, who鈥檚 the cutest in the grade.

But rather than comments whispered in hallways, students frequently share those juicy nuggets through anonymous online 鈥溾�� accounts on Facebook and Instagram that much of the student body follows religiously.

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鈥淧eople will be talking about it, like, 鈥楧id you just see the new confession?鈥� 鈥� said Samantha Farrow, a junior at Stuy.

Many confessions are harmless 鈥� complimenting a classmate鈥檚 smile or admitting apprehension about prom 鈥� but others target and bully students. In Farrow鈥檚 freshman year, a post called her and two peers overweight and unattractive. Dozens of students came to their defense, she said, reassuring them the insult was completely untrue. But still, the post affected her.

鈥淚 was mad and I was upset,鈥� Farrow remembered. 鈥淚t was very degrading to my self-esteem as a 14-year old.鈥�

Accounts like Stuy Confessions are hardly rare, students across the country report. Though the pages , lockdown may have increased their popularity and influence as teens lost the ability to connect in person for months on end.

When schools en masse shifted online, much of young people鈥檚 socializing also migrated into virtual spaces like Discord servers, Google Hangouts and TikTok. Now two years later, even as pandemic restrictions have fallen across the country, many online communities remain, students say, and impact K-12 classrooms in ways that adults fail to understand.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really going over [educators鈥橾 heads,鈥� Farrow told 社区黑料. 鈥淪o much stuff happens on Facebook and Instagram, the confessions accounts, and they have no idea.鈥�

鈥淲hat people post on social media kinda seeps into the classroom,鈥� she added.

In fall 2021, when Diego Camacho鈥檚 Los Angeles high school returned to in-person learning, students began taking pictures of their peers 鈥� sometimes eating, sometimes of their shoes under the bathroom stall 鈥� and posting them online anonymously without consent, he told 社区黑料. 

He and other students 鈥渨ere constantly looking over our shoulders, looking around when we ate and some [of us] refused to use the bathroom out of fear [we] would end up on the pages,鈥� said the high school senior. 

It took school administration two months to shut down the account, he said. While the page was active, it 鈥渃reated a lot of distrust between students,鈥� said Camacho.

At Mia Miron鈥檚 middle school in nearby Pomona, California, Instagram pages of a similar style continue to pop up despite old accounts getting banned on numerous occasions, she said. With page titles based on the phrase 鈥淟orbeer Lookalikes,鈥� a play on their school鈥檚 name, users send photos they took of classmates to the accounts via direct message, and the page administrator then posts the images without indicating who submitted them.

鈥淚 just followed it to make sure nobody that I know would get hurt by not knowing their photo was on there,鈥� explained Miron. 

Twice, the accounts have shared pictures of her sitting at her desk. The eighth grader doesn鈥檛 know who runs the account, she said, and did not give consent for those images to be posted. 

鈥淚 wouldn’t like my photo to be on there without my permission,鈥� she told 社区黑料.

While Miron says she hasn鈥檛 taken the posts personally, a friend of hers was cyberbullied on the page, she said, which took a toll on the middle schooler鈥檚 mental health. 

社区黑料 spoke with eight students in 6th through 12th grade and one college student about their experience of social media鈥檚 impact on education post-COVID. Most agreed that lockdown initially forced them to lean more heavily on online platforms to stay connected with peers and that some of those habits have since stuck around.

But the proliferation of online content and connection has also delivered some positive effects, students emphasized.

Kota Babcock, a senior at Colorado State University, said his roommate joined a pandemic Discord server they still use for weekly horror movie screenings. High schooler Ameera Eshtewi, of Portland, Oregon, hones her programming skills as a member of the online community . And Joshua Oh, a Gambrills, Maryland middle schooler, said Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter helped him and his peers quickly spread the word to wear pink in support of victims of an alleged sexual assault at a nearby high school.

Circulated within Oh鈥檚 student body, a satirical TikTok account pokes fun without crossing a line, the teen said. The 鈥渟lander鈥� page posts videos about students and teachers that he finds 鈥渇unny when they are true.鈥�

One of a cowboy coughing heavily and falling down on a train track is captioned, 鈥淲hat Lois thinks will happen if she doesn鈥檛 have gum for 00000.1 seconds.鈥� Another video with the caption 鈥淏randon trying to convince his ex to take him back鈥� features a man in the rain to a Lil Nas X song. 

In a key difference from the pages at Miron and Camacho鈥檚 schools, none of the videos include images of actual students. 

And in Pomona, as a counter to some of the online toxicity within Miron鈥檚 middle school, a student also created a school-based TikTok account featuring an 鈥渁ppreciation post for the girls that got put down on that other Lorbeer account.鈥� The pictures students鈥� smiling faces set to B.o.B鈥檚 Nothing on You.

Instagram and other social media can have degrading effects on youth mental health, including eating disorders and suicidal ideation, particularly for teen girls bombarded with unhealthy body image standards. Facebook (now Meta), Instagram鈥檚 parent company, has tracked the harms for years, internal documents reported by the , but implemented few measures to curb the addictiveness of its app, as teen users have driven much of its popularity.

Even when students use accounts to uplift each other, ZaNia Stinson, a high school student in Charlotte, North Carolina, said that she and her peers鈥� dependence on social media often makes them less present IRL 鈥� in real life. 

Teachers often collect phones during class, she said, and when the devices get returned afterward, 鈥渨e don鈥檛 pay attention in the halls so we bump into people, like our heads are glued to [our] phones.鈥�

During free periods at Stuyvesant, said Farrow, students will often sit next to each other in the hallway without saying a word, just scrolling. The tendency, she believes, to ignore human contact in favor of digital has worsened since COVID. From time to time, she herself pulls up Instagram during class without the teacher knowing, she admits.

Yet one online outlet has provided consistent solace for her since early in the pandemic. In June 2020, the high schooler created a Twitter stan account, or fan account, for K-pop megastars BTS, who she jokingly described as her 鈥渂iggest passion in life.鈥� She has fun chatting with other fans of the group and appreciates the low stakes because she doesn鈥檛 know any of the other users in real life, she said.

Social media is 鈥渁 good outlet if you know how to use it the right way,鈥� said Farrow. 鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 think a lot of people do.鈥�

This story was brought to you via 社区黑料鈥檚 Student Council initiative, an effort to boost youth voices in our reporting. America鈥檚 Promise Alliance helped in the recruiting of our diverse 11-member council and the idea was conceived as part of Asher Lehrer-Small’s Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism Fellowship.

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