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Navigating Life Through the Pandemic
COVID-19 pandemic mental health
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NAVIGATING LIFE THROUGH THE PANDEMIC
pandemic COVID-19 pandemic mental health
Puppets, stress balls, books, and figurines are among Lauren Eglin’s favorite office supplies. As ULS’s elementary school counselor, fostering a supportive environment means thinking creatively about helping little bodies understand big feelings.
The unique impacts of the pandemic have stretched Eglin to couple new techniques with tried-and-true methods of guiding students through how feelings, thoughts, and actions connect.
She pulls from a bank of 25 years of experience, including time in the classroom as a first, second, and third grade teacher; a master’s degree in school counseling and an Educational
Specialist degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling; and over two decades with ULS. She’s currently working toward certification as a Licensed Professional Counselor.
Eglin partnered with the teachers in each elementary grade to share grade-level guidance prior to students’ full return to campus last fall. She covered the importance of connection among students and teachers, how to have class conversations to facilitate connections, and grounding techniques to use when students are feeling scared or anxious. A proponent of positive self-talk, one of Eglin’s go-to techniques is to couple grounding exercises with saying, “I’ve got this; I’m OK.”
ULS parents Kenneth Brown and Matt Bruno (seventh grader Harper Brown-Rachleff and fourth grader Sawyer Brown-Rachleff) see the important role of school counseling. Brown and Bruno were inspired to increase their support of the annual appeal to ensure the school’s counseling team has resources readily available to explore innovative methods of supporting students’ mental health post-COVID. They shared, “While the focus has been on physical health through lockdowns, mask mandates and social distancing, it’s time to shift focus to our children’s mental health. We need to understand how the consequences of this global crisis delayed children’s cognitive, emotional, and social development. These are the most critical periods of adolescence, and the fallout may follow them for the the rest of their lives.”
Brown explained, “Our family has always had a focus on giving annually towards the concern for children’s health, and Matt and I are blessed to have the opportunity to improve children’s lives. We wanted to show our support for Mr. George, who is heightening awareness that the Lab School is a demonstration school. This is our opportunity to lead by example and create programs with a focus on mental well-being in school. We want children to have the tools they need to process what we have all been through.” Nationwide, school-age students are experiencing heightened anxiety in response to the effects of the pandemic. ULS is not only in line with the American School Counselor Association’s model for school counseling, but Eglin has also expanded the resources available to support students as they face anxiety and help them understand and manage what they are feeling. Her newest project is developing
}This is an important time in our children’s lives, and we have an opportunity to create an environment of mental wellness – to develop healthy, well-rounded students who not only focus on academics but also understand they have a support system, 30 cub roar | fall/winter 2021 ~Brown reflected.
strategies toolboxes for elementary classrooms and the school nurse’s office. Her custom toolboxes will be stocked with the things she finds most helpful for children when they are triggered and feeling anxious. Support from the annual appeal will fund the creation of Eglin’s toolboxes. Brown and Bruno are energized by Eglin’s innovative ideas and said, “The mental health issues our school children face in a post-COVID world will be something our children, and we as parents, will be dealing with well down the road. This program will be a first step in targeting the root of these issues. Parents need a pathway to be heard and know it is OK to ask for help.” Part of Eglin’s vision, also supported by the annual appeal, is to bring Lynn Lyons, a national presenter on the topic of anxiety in general and in the time of COVID, to campus to lead training sessions for parents and teachers. Eglin explained, “She has a great approach for parents, teachers, and counselors to address anxiety and help students become resilient throughout our current challenges.” “This is an important time in our children’s lives, and we have an opportunity to create an environment of mental wellness – to develop healthy, well-rounded students who not only focus on academics but also understand they have a support system,” Brown reflected.
Starting in kindergarten, Eglin teaches ULS students “how people work” by helping them to identify and describe feelings. This leads to an understanding of what causes certain feelings and how they are shaped through “bad guy thoughts” and “good guy thoughts.” Using a common, consistent language offers students the opportunity to continuously weave together what they learn with Eglin during her monthly visits to each class. Eglin describes her approach as “structured to build on itself and meet them where they are.” Such continuity is part of what drew Brown’s family to the school. He remembered, “The Lab School is one reason I felt extremely confident in moving back to Baton Rouge from Los Angeles is 2011. I wanted an environment that supported diversity and inclusion, one that my children could thrive in and be supported. The Lab School checked all the boxes.” In each grade level, Eglin hones in on topics that are especially relevant to that age group, moving from a general understanding of feelings to character, social shifts, and emotional intelligence. A particular area of focus for Eglin is affirmations: positive self-talk, gratitude, and mindfulness. Often, her interactions with students are centered in encouraging them to “show me what their world looks like,” she said. By equipping them with the tools to shape that world, Eglin prepares students to navigate life in and out of the classroom with confidence.
TEACHING CHILDREN POSITIVE SELF TALK WE’VE GOT THIS!
RESEARCH AT ULS:
ULS Graduate Finds Herself Back in a Familiar Classroom, but in a New Role - Researcher
When Abigail Baumgartner graduated from University Laboratory School in 2019 as a full IB diploma recipient, studying at the college level to become a teacher and educational researcher was not on her list of life goals. Fast forward two years, Baumgartner is back at her high school in a familiar classroom with her sophomore year English instructor Emily Peters, PhD, but rather than literature, she is studying the students in a collaborative research project with Dr. Peters and LSU Faculty Mentor Robyn Andermann, PhD.
Now, her goal is to complete her undergraduate degree in English Literature with a double minor in public relations and experimental statistics and to pursue a Master of Arts in Teaching degree. “After my first year of college, I realized through working as a [Volunteers in Public Schools] volunteer, a swim coach and a church camp counselor that I really wanted to be a teacher,” said Baumgartner. And now that she is back in the
Baumgartner plans to present her findings at an upcoming LSU undergraduate research Discover Day Symposium. From there she intends to work with Dr. Peters and Dr. Andermann to ultimately present those findings at a professional conference and pursue publication. Baumgartner’s work at ULS is not only noteworthy because she is an alumna, but also because it is being conducted at a time when research is once again moving to the forefront school’s programming. “A significant part of my vision for ULS is for this school to once again unconditionally realize its founding purpose as a demonstration school for the state of Louisiana and beyond,” said Director Kevin George. “Research like Abby’s and others is the first step in making the necessary improvements that are needed in educational systems. It’s an honor for our students and faculty to be a part of that process and often the first beneficiaries of the knowledge gained.” As far as finding herself in an all too familiar setting to conduct her research, “I remember the lessons the students’ are working on,” said Baumgartner, “but now I fully see the intentionality of what the teachers do here in preparing for those lessons. It gives me a way deeper appreciation of the education that I received, and I want to continue that cycle.” “On a personal note,” Baumgartner concludes, “It is so special and reassuring to come full circle with the very people who have been with me from the beginning of my educational journey.” ~ classroom, that feeling is unreservedly confirmed. “It is interesting to see a classroom in another way as I prepare for that teacher role. Right now, I see myself as in the middle.” The research Baumgartner is conducting is a case study on how students come to see themselves as readers and develop an understanding of the importance of literature in the world around them. While observing class discussions and group projects, Baumgartner documents how the students interpret character identities in literature. As the students follow characters through conflict, change and various social intersections, she notes how the students begin to relate and see literature as a reflection of their own life or the lives of those around them.
LSU student and UHS alum Abigail Baumgartner ‘19 and Dr. Emily Peters. collaborate on their recent research project.
