CBS 6 continues to look at the mental health challenges plaguing students.
The American Medical Association found at least one in six young people have a condition like anxiety or depression, but only half receive any mental health services.
We've previously reported on how the Biden administration is aiming to combat the rising number of kids experiencing anxiety, depression and even thoughts of harming themselves.
In the Schuylerville Central School District, educators say trained therapy dog Hamilton is making a big impact.
Nicknamed "Ham," he celebrated his fourth birthday Thursday. The school board adopted the policy allowing the therapy dog in the high school.
For his birthday, he got to hang out with students. There was also a representative from the Saratoga County Animal Shelter to talk to students about pet ownership and Stewart's Shops donated enough ice cream for 450 people to celebrate.
The fact that Hamilton gets to be on campus shows the renewed, post-pandemic focus on putting more mental health resources actually in-school, especially with conditions like anxiety and depression skyrocketing since the return to in-person learning.
School Board President Michael Bodnar says this is a seemingly small step, but it has brought great results:
"We can kind of take a small step of one that's really popular with the students, as you can see, without they love the dog and something to that can really help to reduce anxiety that they face while in school, and really just one other step to kind of help address the mental health challenges that we are... we know all the students face coming out of the pandemic with the isolation involved," Bodnar tells CBS 6.
Hamilton has also spent time with middle schoolers during the recent "National Screen Free Week," a campaign to get kids off their phones.
As we've previously reported, the U.S. Surgeon General has issued a warning over the health dangers posed by those screens, specifically social media.
Crisis in the Classroom is a weekly segment in which CBS 6 investigates issues faced by educators, students, and families. Send any tips to our team by emailing or by calling (518) 288-6034.