Ted Remsnyder reports for Columbia-Greene Media that a student brought a toy gun to Catskill Middle School on March 17. “No one was ever in any danger, and no threat or criminal intent was involved,” Catskill Central School District Superintendent Ronel Cook wrote in a letter to parents. “I would like to remind our families that students should not bring toys or other items to school that could cause a distraction from their learning.” Catskill police were contacted and investigated the incident. Cook said that in recent weeks Catskill schools have seen an increase in student behavior that violates of the district’s code of conduct. Catskill is not the only district confronted with troubling student behavior in recent weeks. Germantown school officials are dealing with bathroom vandalism. On March 16 the Times Union reported swastikas drawn on wall at Shaker High School. On March 21, a social media threat led to a remote day for Poughkeepsie High School and Middle School. There was also a physical altercation March 21 at Bethlehem Central High School allegedly followed a verbal threat by one student to another, The Upstater reported. National Public Radio recently reported, "Recent studies show that the pandemic exacerbated an already growing crisis in youth mental health. CDC data shows that the proportion of mental health emergency visits for kids started going up early on in the pandemic. In the fall of 2020, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Children's Hospital Association and the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry declared an emergency in child and adolescent mental health."