Dayton Chronicle - Your Hometown News Source

By Sen. Perry Dozier

OLYMPIA–Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and government shutdowns, depression and anxiety rates have rapidly increased in our young people. We also learned that our public schools have seen a 4 percent enrollment decline, or a loss of approximately 40,000 students statewide since the pandemic hit in 2020.

These shutdowns led many parents to turn to home and pri...