TOLEDO, Ohio — Students face all kinds of problems in school, not just those on math tests.
For school counselors, helping students deal with difficult situations ranging from anxiety to grief to depression is the backbone of the occupation.
Jaime Brown, a school counselor at McTigue Elementary School, has worked as a school counselor and social worker for 20 years.
She oversees about 500 kids at the school from kindergarten to eighth grade and said positivity is of the utmost importance.
"We're not here to learn everyone's business, we're not here to dish the dirt on everybody but we're here to support them, give them coping skills, life skills and really just how to be kind humans and get along with each other," Brown said.
While most conversations with young students are about handling friendships, there are plenty of conversations about mental health, family and social pressures as well.
"When you hear some of their stories, it's very hard," Brown said. "You have to grow a thick skin over the years because you'd take them all home and I'd have lots of the kids at home with me because you just want to see them safe."
Another conversation topic that has been cropping up between students and counselors is violence, specifically against youths.
Three of the five homicides in Toledo in 2023 have been teenagers.
Brown said it's "scary" that those conversations about violence are happening at a young age for many students.
She attributes social media as a factor of the changing climate in classrooms.
"As we've gotten through not just the pandemic, but a lot of things happening in our community, definitely a lot more aggression and anger," Brown said.
Toledo Public Schools counselors and psychologists gathered recently to talk to high schoolers divided by grade about what's happened in the community and teach them about trauma and coping methods, she said.
"We talked through how they feel about the violence, what help they need and what supports can we provide them," Brown said.
McTigue Principal Tiffany Turner said kids are experiencing increasing amounts of trauma and having someone to help with their emotional well-being is valuable.
"I think when people send their kids to school, they're thinking academics," Turner said. "But its more than that. It's the social and emotional piece and it's just as important as the academics."
Turner said being able to deal with their mental health in school is a part of the education process and having a counselor has become a great resource for students.