Children with anxiety may struggle to learn or even attend school. The school environment, pressure to fit in, and academic demands can feel overwhelming. While some nervousness about new school experiences is normal, school anxiety goes further. When it starts to interfere with a child’s grades, social life, or family life, they need extra support and strategies to manage their anxiety about school.
In this post, we’ll explore:
- The root causes of school-related anxiety and why it’s so common among students today
- Strategies to help children understand and navigate their anxiety, at school and at home
- How Fusion Academy supports children with anxiety in traditional school settings
The one-to-one learning methodology at Fusion Academy helps children with school anxiety rediscover their passion for learning. Fusion Academy has over 80 middle and high school locations across the country, as well as the online Fusion Global Academy for remote online learning. Find out more here.
Why Do Children Experience Anxiety About School?
“School anxiety” is an umbrella term for anxiety about attending school that goes beyond the normal nervousness children might feel before a test or when they return to school after a break.
It’s difficult to pinpoint a single cause, since anxiety can look very different from child to child. Still, there are common triggers tied to the school environment and the expectations that come with it:
- Separation anxiety: Most common in younger children, who may feel unsafe or distressed being away from their primary caregiver for much of the day.
- Social anxiety: As children navigate friendships, adjust to different teaching styles, or cope with bullying, the school environment can feel overwhelming.
- Performance anxiety: Tests, assignments, presentations, and even extracurriculars like sports or recitals can heighten fear of failure and add pressure.
- Transition anxiety: Especially common in older children and adolescents. A new school, grade, or activity (like a club or field trip) can be a significant source of anxiety weeks before it actually happens. Even daily transitions during the school day can be a source of stress for some children, particularly for children with learning differences such as autism or ADHD.
The challenge with identifying school anxiety triggers is that school life isn’t neatly compartmentalized.
When we spoke with psychologist Dr. Marta Shinn on Fusion’s Learning Differently Podcast, she summed up the situation in a single word: multilayered.
“We’re whole humans, so things are always happening in layers to us, there are always multiple factors that are contributing to our current emotional state.”
Children who experience school anxiety often face more than one trigger at the same time. For example, the transition from elementary to middle school can bring worries about a more complex schedule, a larger campus, unfamiliar teachers, and an increase in (perceived) academic pressure.
Stressful situations at home — such as the loss of a family member, illness, or moving to a new place — can also manifest as school anxiety, showing that triggers aren’t always tied directly to school.
Anxiety may also be more acute in children with diagnosed or undiagnosed learning differences. A child with dyslexia, for instance, might feel heightened anxiety around written assignments or adapting to a new environment. Similarly, a student with sensory processing disorder may struggle with generalized anxiety during parts of the school day (or even the school year) when the environment becomes overstimulating.
The reality is that many students experience anxiety. According to the NIMH, 32% of 13–18-year-olds have an anxiety disorder, and for 75% of them, school is the number one stressor. Yet when it comes to identifying the root cause of anxiety — or even encouraging a child to put it into words — there’s no single, universal answer.
How Can Anxiety Affect a Child’s Learning?
Even if we can’t pinpoint a single cause of school anxiety, we can clearly see how it affects a child’s ability to learn.
Dr. Shinn describes anxiety as “hijacking” a child’s brain. When school feels like a threat, the fight-or-flight response is triggered. Cortisol levels rise and stay elevated, making it difficult to focus, listen, and process information. For some children, anxiety also affects physical health, causing symptoms like stomachaches, nausea, a racing heart, or dizziness.
While mild anxiety can sometimes sharpen focus, school anxiety goes far beyond that helpful zone. In these cases, meaningful learning becomes nearly impossible — and without support, it can spiral into a damaging cycle.
Many students at Fusion Academy have experienced overwhelming anxiety in their previous schools. When they describe its effects, the impact of school anxiety on their academic performance — as well as their mental health and well-being — is clear:
“7th and 8th Grade were really great. I felt like I really knew what I was doing. And then in 9th and 10th grade, because there were so many kids in the class, it was hard to make sure that I really understood what I was doing and getting the help I needed.”
– Maddy Tessel, Fusion Academy graduate“A lot of the issues were fuelled by the dark side of social media and societal expectations … I couldn’t properly learn the way I needed to. When you see that number going down in the grade book, it definitely makes you question, ‘Am I as smart as I think I am?’”
– Nora, Fusion Academy graduate
“I felt left behind … like it’s teachers vs. students.”
– Ian Scheel, Fusion Academy graduate
“I was bullied a lot … I was going down this downward spiral because I had no friends, and I couldn’t do my homework, because I was stressing out because I had nobody at school.”
– Laila Wemusa, Fusion Academy graduate
“One thing that I really remember is hearing all the pencils going really fast around me. And just standing there looking at my paper … and thinking ‘How are they doing this?’ I just didn’t understand why I couldn’t do what they were doing around me.”
– Madelyn, Fusion Academy student
You can view more testimonials here.
In every way it can manifest, school anxiety disrupts a child’s education:
- When anxiety manifests as shyness and reluctance in class, a child may seem calm and regulated, but underneath they’re panicking. Dr. Shinn points out that this situation can be especially difficult for schools to recognize because these students are typically quiet and “non-disruptive,” making it harder to identify their anxiety and get them the help they need.
- When anxiety manifests as avoidant behaviour, the child attempts to “protect” themselves by pushing tasks aside. But when schoolwork isn’t completed, they begin to fall behind their peers.
- When anxiety manifests as overpreparation and perfectionism, the child can burn themselves out and bring their school anxiety home with them at the end of the day.
- When anxiety manifests as dropping activities they enjoy, like hobbies or extracurriculars, the child loses a potential avenue to build their confidence and regulate themselves.
- When anxiety manifests as anger and aggression, relationships with teachers and peers can break down, leaving the child isolated from potential support.
- When anxiety manifests as school avoidance or school refusal, even getting out of bed can feel impossible. Over time, missed days can turn into missed weeks, and students lose significant parts of their education.
Children may not always have the vocabulary to describe these experiences. But when they begin to feel “out of control” in one of these areas, it’s a clear signal to seek new ways of support — whether by using strategies at home to help them feel more prepared for school, or by turning to professional and mental health support.
Strategies to Support Children with Anxiety About School
Just as there’s no single reason school anxiety develops, there’s no one-size-fits-all “cure.” That said, combining different strategies can help a student with school anxiety feel safe, regulated, and ready to learn.
Look for Patterns in Behavior
Children with school anxiety may not be able to explain what’s wrong, but they often show non-verbal signs that something feels overwhelming or dysregulated. When parents or teachers notice when these signs are most pronounced, it becomes easier to identify triggers and use strategies that help ease the child’s anxiety.
For example, if a child is especially resistant to a music lesson at the end of the week when they’re already tired, moving it earlier — when their “social battery” is fuller — could ease the stress and help them keep a hobby that actually reduces their anxiety.
Build Predictable Routines
School anxiety often stems from feeling overwhelmed and out of control. One of the best ways to ease this is through routine and predictability.
Take a child’s morning routine, for example. If they’re already dreading school, the day often starts with resistance. Add in a rushed schedule, a forgotten assignment, or last-minute chores, and suddenly they’re scrambling just to get out the door. By the time they arrive at school, they’re already overwhelmed and upset — hardly in the right mindset to learn.
Now picture a morning routine where they get up at the same time every day, have a balanced breakfast, know exactly when to leave, and feel ready because they packed their bag the night before. With a calmer start, the morning feels less rushed, and they leave the house feeling more prepared for the day ahead.
Model Calm and Courage
There’s a common myth that children are anxious because they pick up on their parents’ anxiety. While this isn’t necessarily true (as Dr. Shinn says, “anxiety is individual”), parents can play a powerful role in co-regulating and modeling calm.
Without assuming your child’s experience mirrors your own, it can be helpful to:
- Talk about how you handle stressful situations in your own life.
- Affirm the steps your child is taking to build self-confidence.
- Encourage the child to speak about the progress they’ve made.
- Model positive self-talk, so they can learn to reframe anxious feelings as feelings — not reality.
Dr. Shinn sums it up like this: “Behind every moment of school refusal or overwhelm is a student who just wants to feel safe, seen, and supported.” That support starts at home, with the way parents build their children up and position themselves in relation to their child’s experience.
Teach Grounding and Relaxation Exercises
As much as you can coach a child and give them the vocabulary to name their feelings, they ultimately have to navigate the school environment for themselves.
Practicing grounding and relaxation techniques at home gives them tools to fall back on if the school day becomes overwhelming. For example:
- Box Breathing: A deep breathing technique where you inhale for a count of four, hold for four, exhale for four, and hold for four. This breathing exercise is easy to remember, and it can be especially helpful if a child tends to get breathless or dizzy when they feel anxious.
- 5-4-3-2-1 Senses Exercise: A grounding technique where the child names five things they can see, four they can touch, three they can hear, two they can smell, and one they can taste. This helps break the spiral of anxiety when a child starts to feel overwhelmed.
- Hand Tracing: A technique where the child puts their hand flat on a surface and uses their index finger to trace around their fingers slowly. As they trace up, they breathe in, and as they trace down, they breathe out. This helps regulate breathing and focus attention and can be used discreetly in any school setting.
Look for Smaller, Structured Environments
Sometimes, it’s possible to work with a child’s school to make the environment less overwhelming — especially if you’ve identified specific areas where they need more support.
For instance, placing a child in a smaller class can make it easier for them to build stronger connections and feel less isolated.
As Dr. Shinn explains: “Decreasing the number of learners in an environment makes it easier for the educator to tune into differences, to learn behavioural patterns, and to notice if something is particularly different about that student.”
This change helps students feel less pressured, while also making their environment more predictable and less distracting. Smaller classes also benefit educators, who can more easily recognize signs of anxiety and make adjustments to help students feel calmer.
In the next section, we’ll look at how Fusion Academy — where students learn one-on-one or in very small groups — applies this approach to support students with school anxiety.
How Fusion Academy’s Personalized Learning Helps Students with Anxiety
Fusion Academy is a nationally accredited private middle school and high school. At Fusion, students are taught one-on-one, with one teacher working with one student, or in small groups of 2–5. This is a natural fit for students with school anxiety, particularly if they’ve struggled with the learning environment in a traditional school.
Fusion’s programs work so well for students with school anxiety because we offer:
- Personalized, one-on-one teaching: Fusion teachers adapt lessons, pacing, and focus areas to each student, adding support and mentoring where needed. This approach helps close learning gaps and build self-confidence.
- Spaces for studying and socializing on campus: Fusion campuses are intentionally small — usually 100 students or fewer. This helps build a tight-knit community where children can find belonging more easily than in a traditional school.
- Flexible scheduling and learning methods: Students can learn in person, online through Fusion Global Academy, or in a hybrid model designed to match their comfort level.
Together, these approaches help children with school anxiety reengage academically and socially.
Fusion’s programs include:
- Full-time middle school and high school education
- Classes for credit, with 300+ core and elective options
- One-to-one tutoring and mentoring to support learning
- Summer programs offered individually or in small groups
To learn more about Fusion Academy, connect with us here.
How Fusion’s Programs Are Personalized for Students with School Anxiety
For children with school anxiety, the best programs are:
- Tailored to their skill level and subject mastery
- Flexible to evolve with their progress
- Taught in a safe, supportive environment that encourages engagement
At Fusion, we tailor every aspect of a student’s learning — from their schedule to class content to the classroom setup.
When a student first arrives at Fusion, we take time to thoroughly assess their needs. We look at where they excel, where they struggle, and their past school experiences — from their point of view and their family’s. We also recommend standardized assessments, such as MAP® testing (to assess language usage, mathematics, and reading) and Mindprint Learning (to better understand their cognitive processes).
With this information, we build a personalized plan that supports their academic goals as well as their social and emotional needs. Fusion teachers then use that plan to adapt the curriculum for each student.
“The one-to-one student/teacher ratio makes school less daunting and has relieved so much of my child’s previous school-related anxiety. We love the school’s administration, faculty, creative curriculum, and teaching style. The facilities are warm and welcoming, as are the people.”
– Hope Herman, Fusion parent
For example, if a student’s MAP® test reveals gaps in foundational English skills, the teacher will target initial lessons to close those gaps. Thanks to Fusion’s one-to-one model, the student can keep working on the subject until they achieve mastery, while feeling confident asking as many questions as they need.
Fusion also offers remedial classes in math and reading.
As teachers get to know each student, they adapt lesson material to match their interests. For instance, in English class, a teacher might replace longer text passages with a graphic novel covering the same themes if it helps the student stay more engaged.
For children with high anxiety levels, this personalized system is helpful because:
- It reduces the feelings of pressure, performance anxiety, and social anxiety that can come with a crowded classroom of 30+ students. Fusion’s one-to-one approach gives students the space to participate fully, ask questions, and work through material at their own pace — with a teacher’s undivided attention.
- The environment is safe and trusted. One-to-one teaching helps students and teachers build connections quickly, while also allowing teachers to pick up on non-verbal cues. In addition, Fusion teachers have the freedom and experience to adjust lessons on the spot if a student’s anxiety is particularly high that day — for example, by dimming the lights, sitting or standing in a different place, or making the lesson more hands-on.
- There’s a support system among teachers. At Fusion, teachers log daily notes to share with a child’s family and with their other teachers. This approach allows us to truly achieve an ecosystem of care for each student, which is completely tailored to their individual needs.
- The material can be adapted to a student’s learning differences. For example, if the underlying cause of a student’s school anxiety is ADHD or a sensory processing disorder, teachers can adapt both the learning materials and the learning environment to meet their needs and help them learn more effectively.
“The enthusiasm and love for school my son now has, I didn’t even think were possible. I’ve seen gifted teachers go above and beyond so that my child feels important. They are constantly applying his unique interests and experiences into his personal lessons. Fusion lets him know he is valued, which I love.”
– Julie Grainge, Fusion parent
Spaces for Studying and Socializing on Campus
Fusion campuses are designed to help students feel grounded and connected. Unlike traditional schools, which can be loud and overstimulating, our campuses are intentionally small.
With fewer students moving between rooms, there are no crowded hallways, no overwhelming noise, and far less sensory overload. Even daily routines like lunch are calmer and more predictable, helping students feel safe, settled, and ready to learn.
Students with anxiety also find it easier to make social connections at Fusion. As part of our focus on student experience, we offer a variety of clubs and activities based on students’ interests.
Examples of clubs at Fusion campuses include:
- Running Club
- Documentary Club
- D&D Club
- Drama Club
- Writer’s Club
- Student Government
- Yoga Club
These clubs give students the chance to explore their interests, make new friends, and build self-confidence. Teachers are always present during club meetings to provide support if a student begins to feel overwhelmed.
Student life at Fusion also includes the Homework Café, where students have scheduled time to complete their assignments. They can get extra support from supervising teachers or collaborate with peers. This also means students don’t have to bring homework home, so they can fully decompress once the school day ends.
“The social Homework Café offers me the opportunity to make friends. Since Fusion is smaller, it is easier to create relationships with students and staff.”
– Matt O., Fusion student
Beyond academics, the Homework Café is a hub for connection — a place to share meals, make friends, and join weekly student meetings where everyone can participate. Fusion also offers a Global Homework Café, providing academic support and virtual hangouts so students from campuses across the country can build meaningful peer-to-peer connections.
Flexible Scheduling
As Fusion, it’s not just the curriculum that’s personalized — the schedule is too. This can be particularly beneficial for students with school anxiety, giving them a sense of control and the reassurance of planned downtime when they need it.
For instance, if we learn during initial meetings that a student has struggled with a core subject like math, we can adjust the timing of that class to reduce stress and build confidence. A student might choose to have math:
- More frequently, for extra practice and faster progress.
- Less frequently, to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
- Earlier in the week, to get it “out of the way”.
- Right before or after another class they enjoy, to balance nervous energy with success.
- Right before or after a break, for rest or preparation time.
With this range of options, every student can have a schedule that feels comfortable and puts them in the best frame of mind to learn.
“The entire staff is supportive in so many ways, and they are flexible, creative problem solvers. Teachers are always responsive and willing to discuss concerns. I love how they don’t view kids as problems — they work to accommodate everyone, and they challenge and support them at the same time.”
– Susan, Fusion parent
Fusion’s flexible scheduling also benefits students with anxiety by making room for the activities they enjoy.
We often meet student-athletes who love their sport, but feel anxious in the classroom. We also hear from families whose child gave up hobbies or extracurriculars because of school anxiety — losing a valuable outlet for stress relief, friendship, and confidence.
Fusion’s scheduling recognizes the important role these passions play, giving families the flexibility to arrange classes around the activities that help students feel balanced and supported.
Discover the Difference Personalized Learning Can Make
At Fusion Academy, our entire team is committed to helping students excel emotionally, socially, and academically. We believe our one-to-one education is an ideal fit for students with anxiety about school.
To learn more about Fusion, you can read more of our student and parent testimonials or contact us to request more information today.
