Thousands of American schools have taken days off for various reasons related to mental health in what appears to be a new trend, according to an analysis by a data-crunching company Burbio. The analysis has identified more than 2,500 schools that have canceled school in recent weeks, citing needs for “wellness, “reflection,” and “mental health” as well as countering “stress” and “burnout.” “We started seeing mental health closures around November 1st,” explained Dennis Roche, Burbio’s co-founder, in a Nov. 14 email newsletter. “These are distinct from disruptions caused by Covid-19 cases in school buildings, and from staffing issues that occur on very short notice generally as a result of Covid-19 cases.” The mental health breaks are usually one or two days long, often around a holiday, the newsletter noted. The company has so far identified “65 mental-health closure events affecting 2,535 schools,” Roche said, noting the frequency has increased in …