News 12's Elizabeth Hashagen was joined by Mount Olive Township School District Superintendent Dr. Robert R. Zywicki and Freehold Regional High School District Superintendent Dr. Chuck Sampson to discuss how our schools and children are doing.

How are things going right now in school?

When will school mask mandates end for children?

After months of remote schooling and limited social interaction, teens and young adults are reporting higher rates of depression and anxiety. Many are also coping with academic setbacks suffered during online schooling.

While young people are falling behind in school, they're also behind on the skills needed to cope with stress and make decisions.

Now that they are back in school, this lost time is showing up in the form of increased violence at schools, poor academic performance, cheating and widespread mental health issues among students.

Social skills that were lost include foundations of kindness, of conflict resolution, of time management and of building concern, care and compassion.

New data on academic performance for first through eighth grade students this fall in reading and math show that across the board, students are not doing as well as their peers were before the pandemic. The declines were particularly bad in math.