School stress affects students, teachers, and parents alike. Learn how to manage stress during the back-to-school transition.
Author: Matt Clements, Ed.M, C.A.S.
Back to School Stress: Support for Students, Parents, and Teachers
It’s early September. Summer is turning into fall and for many of us this means going back to school. The first few weeks of school can be an exciting fresh start. They can also lead to heightened levels of school stress for students, parents, and teachers.
For certain people, this might mean more anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and challenges adjusting to the increased demands on our time. But school stress will look very different depending on your role.
School Stress for Students at the Summer to Fall Transition
For students in K-12 schools, a new school year means readjusting to routines and adapting to the academic rigor of a new grade level. But school stress goes beyond just academic stress.
Just making the move from vacation back into the school year causes a significant increase in anxiety and depression symptoms in students.1 One study showed that challenges at school can lead to low mood in students throughout the school year. But anxiety, depression and feelings of distress related to challenges at school typically peak during transition times for many students and are usually significantly lower during vacation times.2
So it’s not your imagination: the very act of going back to school in and of itself is a challenge for our students. It increases levels of school stress, anxiety, and even depression, particularly for adolescents.
Back to School Stress for Parents
This time of year is not only stressful for those of us who are returning to school buildings this fall. The transition back to school is difficult for parents as well. A recent parent survey found that going back to school can be “one of the most stressful events during the year.” 3
Parental stress during the back to school period can be even higher for parents of students diagnosed with ADHD.3 This might be a result of the particular challenges that students with this diagnosis face at school. Interestingly, parents’ stress can intensify symptoms of ADHD in their children. This might suggest that parents and children’s stress can have a big impact on each other, especially at the start of the year. It’s certain that this part of the year is tough on parents.
Teacher’s Back to School Stress Affects Us All
Let’s not forget our teachers, of course! In recent years, teacher stress and burnout have hit an all-time high. A recent survey revealed that a shocking 78% of teachers have considered leaving their jobs over the last 5 years.4
It won’t surprise you that moving from a vacation back into the school year increases teacher stress. But it might surprise you how disruptive vacations can be for teachers. After a school break, teacher stress fluctuates, teachers can experience ups and downs of exhaustion and negative mood for a whole month after a vacation.5
This means that the academic calendar itself with all its stops and starts can put a strain on our teachers’ mental health. The effects of teacher stress and burnout goes far beyond its impact on individual teachers. It has even been shown to decrease teachers’ effectiveness in the classroom.6
Tips for Supporting Ourselves and Others at the Beginning of the School Year
So, what can we do to make this back to school season a better experience for us all? First off, let’s make sure to give ourselves some self-compassion. It’s a stressful time of year and if we don’t have everything under control or are feeling some extra anxiety, let’s avoid blaming ourselves and instead focus on finding support when we need it. Second of all, let’s recognize what other people in our school communities might be going through and extend some of that same compassion to them as well.
Students can lower school stress in general by creating and following consistent routines, especially around sleep.7 To avoid academic stress, students can organize a separate space for completing homework.7 Keeping our time and space organized in this way can provide structure during this hectic time.
Parents, try opening up the lines of communication with your children to allow them to express how they’re feeling during this time of change. Sharing vulnerably about your own experiences as a child can be a great start.7
For teachers, advice about how to prepare for the school year often centers on logistics and prep. This year, let’s focus on our own wellbeing by assertively setting boundaries, building our own routines, and finding time to reach out to friends, family, and colleagues for social support.8
If this time of change is too much to handle, reach out for support from a specialist. My colleagues and I at Authentic Care Counseling are here to support you through this transition and beyond. Our team wishes all of you, students, parents, and teachers, a calm beginning to the school year and the strength and resilience to navigate its ups and down.
Footnotes:
1 Ju Y, Yang Y, Yuan R, Chen Y, Liu J, Ou W, Li Y, Yang S, Lu Y, Li L, Huang M, Ma M, Lv G, Zhao X, Qing Y, Liu J, Zhang Y. Examining the effects of school-vacation transitions on depression and anxiety in adolescents: network analysis. BJPsych Open. 2025 Jan 17;11(1):e19. doi: 10.1192/bjo.2024.806. PMID: 39819964; PMCID: PMC11795178.
2 Verma S, Allen NB, Trinder J, Bei B. Highs and lows: Naturalistic changes in mood and everyday hassles over school and vacation periods in adolescents. J Adolesc. 2017 Dec;61:17-21. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2017.09.001. Epub 2017 Sep 12. PMID: 28915403.
3 Hernández-Otero, I., Doddamani, L., Dutray, B., Gagliano, A., Haertling, F., Bloomfield, R., & Ramnath, G. (2014). Stress levels experienced by parents of children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder during the back-to-school period: results of a European and Canadian survey. International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 19(1), 8–17. https://doi.org/10.3109/13651501.2014.961928
4 Reinke, Wendy & Herman, Keith & Stormont, Melissa & Ghasemi, Farshad. (2025). Teacher Stress, Coping, Burnout, and Plans to Leave the Field: A Post-Pandemic Survey. School Mental Health. 17. 32-44. 10.1007/s12310-024-09738-7.
5 Horan S, Flaxman PE, Stride CB. The perfect recovery? Interactive influence of perfectionism and spillover work tasks on changes in exhaustion and mood around a vacation. J Occup Health Psychol. 2021 Apr;26(2):86-107. doi: 10.1037/ocp0000208. Epub 2020 Jun 25. PMID: 32584120.
6 Gorain, Shishupal & Kalhotra, Satish. (2024). Does Teacher Burnout and Academic Stress Influence Teacher Effectiveness – A Systematic Review. Journal of Education Method and Learning Strategy. 2. 253-266. 10.59653/jemls.v2i02.782.
7 Brown, A.: (n.d.). Preparing for back-to-school at every age. Harvard Graduate School of Education: Making Caring Common Project. https://mcc.gse.harvard.edu/whats-new/3-tips-new-school-year
8 Mental Health America. (n.d.). Teachers: Protecting Your Mental Health. Mental Health America. https://mhanational.org/resources/teachers-protecting-your-mental-health/
