‘It Is A Big Concern For Educators’: California High School Principal On Student Mental Health Amid School Closures

The Daily Caller’s Jorge Ventura spoke with Chris Fore, a high school principal and president of the California Coaches Association, about the issues of reopening schools, kids playing sports again, and mental health.

The debate about reopening schools is heating up in California as students haven’t seen a classroom since last March. California was the first state to issue a statewide stay-at-home order impacting six million public school students.

“It is a big concern for educators all up and down this state,” Fore said about the negative effects distance learning is having on students.

One of Fore’s students recently committed suicide, he said.

“It’s devastating to families to lose a child that way,” Fore said.

“First 19 years in education, I didn’t lose one kid to suicide, and [I’ve lost] two since May 1st”
I spoke with high school principal and the president of the California Coaches Association on reopening schools, kids playing sports again and mental health. https://t.co/qLczw5kRxa pic.twitter.com/rsmBofUKvA

— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) February 12, 2021

“We partnered with a local counseling agency that is offering group counseling sessions for any kids,” Fore said.

It’s unclear whether public school students will return to the classroom in 2021. The California Teachers Association said they won’t return until all members are vaccinated.

Parents are eager to get their kids to return to school. At Agoura High School, students held a ‘Get Back To School Protest,’ while students in northern California high school protested by doing their online work in the school parking lot. (RELATED ‘We Need Our Lives Back’: California High School Students Protest Lockdowns)

“My peers are killing themselves” just received this email from a 15-year-old on the impact school closures are having on his classmates #mentalhealth pic.twitter.com/DIV3eYtlc8

— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) February 12, 2021

Fore told the Daily Caller that the majority of high school coaches in his association want sports back.

“They look at 47 other states who have been playing or are playing sports right now and they think that we are able to open and operate,” Fore said.”And do in a safe manner.”

Zero offers, zero looks, zero commitments, zero time on campus, zero homecoming, zero prom, zero traditional graduation. What a wasted final year of school. Worked hard and dedicated for absolutely ZERO. Big shout out to @GavinNewsom! You got what you wanted.

— Isaiah J. Navarro (@IsaiahJNavarro1) February 3, 2021

The California Coaches Association put out a statement criticizing the sidelining of high school athletes.

“3 million California children, including 850,000 high school athletes have been sidelined from sports since March 13th. Despite the fact that 43 states played athletics this past Fall, California did not,” the statement said. “Despite the fact that Gov. Newsom has said that schools should open their doors at the metric of 25 infections per 100,00 people, many sports in California cannot start until we reach 1-3.9 infections per 100,000. Let’s face it, this will not happen in time for most sports to play their season this year.”

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