Dealing with Back to School Fears

Tamara Fyke wrote this article in August 2021, as students returned to buildings after 18 months of distance or hybrid learning, and offered tips for welcoming them back. The section added below looks at back to school anxiety in 2026: how common anxiety is among children, how to tell ordinary nerves from a problem, and what families and schools can do in the first weeks.

Back-to-school time is usually a mix of nervousness and excitement. This year students may experience more anxiety than usual after 18 months of either distance or hybrid learning. To return to “normal,” we must watch and listen closely to the unspoken needs of children and their families for Back to School Fears.

COVID-19 has forever changed us and our way of life, including education. Let us first acknowledge that there is no return to “normal”. Our “normal” passed away in March 2020 when the world went into lockdown. What we are entering into now is the familiar. It is familiar to go to in-person school, complete with lunches in the cafeteria and crowds at sporting events. It is familiar to walk down the halls and see the full faces of students and teachers instead of just eyes and eyebrows. It is familiar to hear each other speak rather than try to decipher muffled voices. The familiar brings us comfort and confidence.

For some students and families, the pandemic has meant a slower pace of life. More time together equals family dinners and game nights. For others, the economic shutdown created greater instability, including hunger and homelessness. Job loss, which occurs across all sectors of society, is a significant risk factor for child abuse. The psychological impact can impact for years to come (Lawson, Piel, Simon, 2020).

The truth is that despite our best efforts to connect with children during their time away from school, we do not know the full extent of what they endured. We won’t know the mental or academic impact until they come back into the building. There are indications that suicidal ideation among youth has increased (Hill, 2020) and that students have experienced a three-month learning loss in math and one-and-a-half months in reading (McKinsey & Co, 2020). Additionally, disparities in access and achievement for students of color have been highlighted while simultaneously, abuse and harassment of Asian Americans have increased (U.S. Dept. of Education, 2021). We have all been living through multi-dimensional global trauma.

How do we help our students transition back to the familiar? Firstly, we must prepare ourselves. Not only do we equip ourselves with the resources needed to engage students in a nurturing and supportive environment, but we also must give ourselves time and space to recharge. Whether that means routine exercise, healthful eating, time with friends, and a creative project, we must be sure that our cup is full before heading back into the classroom. Likewise, self-care needs to be a part of our daily schedule. Remember, we can’t give what we don’t have.

Secondly, we must create time and space for connection with our students and their families. Education is the business of caring. Caring is showing concern for the well-being of others; taking the time to let others know they are important. This can happen by offering coffee to parents at drop-off and carving out time for a morning meeting with students. Creating opportunities for authentic connection and meaningful conversation requires intentionality. This goes far beyond purchasing a digital license to a curriculum. It means embracing systemic change to improve the culture and climate of the school community.

Lastly, after more than a year of isolation and screens, we must coach our students on how to build relationships with one another. There’s an age-old saying, “To have a friend, you must be a friend.” Let’s share with our students the basics of learning someone’s name, smiling, looking at people in the eye when we speak, inviting someone to sit with you at lunch, playing with others at recess, and asking about what they like to do out of school.

The pandemic experience gives us common ground. We are in this together. Let us, therefore, affirm the resilience of our students and their families and work to rebuild a safer, healthier, and more just future for all.

Here are some tips for helping students deal with their back-to-school fears

• Invite students and families to visit the building before school starts. – Host tours and meet-and-greets with principals, school counselors, and teachers.

• Talk with students and family members about the first-day experience. – Introduce them to the schedule and routine, so they know what to expect.

• Be open, respectful, and kind. – Welcome all students, families, faculty, and staff, including office staff, bus drivers, janitorial staff, administrators, and other parents.  Your leadership shows that each individual in the community is valuable.

Sources:

Lawson, Monica et al. “Child Maltreatment during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Consequences of Parental Job Loss on Psychological and Physical Abuse Towards Children.” Child abuse & neglectvol. 110,Pt 2 (2020): 104709. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104709

Ryan M. Hill et al., Suicide Ideation and Attempts in a Pediatric Emergency Department Before and During COVID-19, PEDIATRICS, at 3 (2020), https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2020/12/15/peds.2020-029280.full.pdf.

Emma Dorn et al., COVID-19 and Learning Loss—Disparities Grow and Students Need Help, MCKINSEY & CO. (Dec. 8, 2020), 

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/20210608-impacts-of-covid19.pdf

This article was originally published on the Learning Counsel with the title, “Helping Students Get Back in the Swing of Things”

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Back to school anxiety in 2026: how to tell ordinary nerves from a problem, and what helps

Back to school anxiety is common every year in August and September, and its causes in 2026 are broader than the return from closures that Tamara Fyke described above. Fyke’s advice to prepare adults first, build connection with students and families, and teach students how to make friends remains sound. This update adds what current health sources say about when worry is a normal part of a transition and when it needs more than a friendly welcome.

How common anxiety is among children

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, on its children’s mental health data page, that 11 percent of children aged 3 to 17 had a current, diagnosed anxiety problem in 2023 to 2024 data, with 10 percent of boys and 13 percent of girls. The page adds that diagnoses do not capture all childhood distress: some children have symptoms without meeting the criteria for a diagnosis, and others meet the criteria but are never diagnosed. In a classroom of twenty-five children, an 11 percent rate works out to between two and three children, and others may be carrying worry that an adult does not see.

Ordinary nerves and signs to act on

The CDC page Anxiety and Depression in Children describes the signs of anxiety as so many fears and worries that they interfere with school, home or play activities. Anxiety can also make children irritable and angry, and trouble sleeping, fatigue, headaches and stomachaches can accompany it, and some children keep their worries to themselves, so symptoms can be missed. A child who is nervous on the first morning and settled by the second week is having the ordinary experience Fyke describes. A child whose distress continues, grows or leads to missed days is showing a different pattern.

The CDC recommends that the first step be an evaluation by a health care provider, and it notes that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends anxiety screening for children aged 8 to 18. The same page says behavior therapy for anxiety may involve helping children cope with and manage symptoms, names cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as one form of therapy used to treat anxiety or depression, and links to Community Preventive Services Task Force recommendations on school-based CBT.

When worry turns into avoiding school

Some children do more than worry: they refuse or struggle to attend. In a September 2022 post, Jennifer Herren, a staff psychologist at the Pediatric Anxiety Research Center and clinical assistant professor at Brown University, wrote on the Brown University Health blog that school refusal is commonly linked to anxiety and fear-based conditions and can be triggered by transitions such as returning from a break, starting a new school, moving up a grade or returning after illness or remote learning. Avoidance brings short-term relief, which strengthens it over time.

Herren’s guidance for parents is to ask the child why school is being avoided instead of assuming the reason, to have a pediatrician rule out physical illness first, and to contact the school early, because the longer a child misses school, the harder the return becomes. For schools, the same post suggests arranging support for transitions, designating a counselor, social worker or other staff member the child can go to for breaks, and adjusting schoolwork through reduced workloads, extended deadlines or tutoring. The post describes gradual exposure in small steps, such as driving by the school one day, sitting in the parking lot another day and later walking through the school with an escort. This is a clinician’s practical account, not a controlled study, so a family should use it alongside advice from their own provider.

What a school can plan for the first weeks

• Keep Fyke’s welcome steps and add a named adult. Building tours, a clear description of the first-day routine and visible kindness from every staff member help, and a single named adult for students who struggle gives families someone to call.
• Watch the first absences. Two or three missed days in the first weeks may be an early sign of avoidance, and the advice to contact the school early applies to staff as well as parents. The edCircuit chronic absenteeism guide covers how schools track and respond to missed days.
• Prepare a re-entry plan before it is needed. A short meeting with the student, family and one staff member to agree on a gradual return is easier to arrange in September than in November.
• Teach the connection skills Fyke lists. Learning a name, inviting someone to sit together and asking about interests cost nothing, and the edCircuit social-emotional learning guide offers more ideas for routines that build belonging.

A student of any age who talks about wanting to die or to harm themselves should be taken seriously at once. In the United States, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can be reached by call or text to 988 at any hour.

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