Introduction
Today, teenagers grapple with challenges unseen before – with societal pressures, COVID-19 pandemic ramifications, academic stressors, and the pervasive influence of social media contributing to a concerning rise in mental health issues. According to Mental Health America, the nation’s leading nonprofit dedicated to the promotion of mental health and wellbeing, in 2023, over 2.7 million youth were experiencing severe major depression 1 .
Additionally, 16% of youth reported suffering from at least one major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year 2 .
In a society battling depression, isolation, and a growing gap in shared experiences, school spirit emerges as a powerful antidote. What ties together kids from across the country, from different backgrounds, who are handling these challenges best is school spirit and the sense of community it creates. At the core of every educational institution, school spirit serves as a dynamic force, influencing the quality of the student experience and the trajectory of their lives. As students engage in spirited activities, particularly through extracurricular involvement, they embark on a transformative journey that fosters a sense of community, builds character, and cultivates essential life skills. As an update to our 2014 white paper, which explored the connections between school spirit and student achievement, Varsity Brands has taken a proactive step to explore this vital subject further. The findings outlined in this white paper prove that school spirit contributes to students’ overall success. Students with higher school spirit perform above average academically, are more likely to pursue higher education, are more resilient to obstacles, and develop lifelong skills such as leadership and relationship building.
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