The Complexity of School Avoidance: What Every Educator Should Know to Re-Engage Students (Series Begins Jan. 7, 2026)

For this webinar series, participants will automatically be enrolled in all 5 sessions.

SpeakerS
  • Sheilah Gauch, LICSW, M.Ed., Principal and Clinical Director, Dearborn Academy
  • Hannah Sycks, M. Ed., High School English Teacher, Dearborn Academy
Description

School avoidance is a particularly complex challenge for educators to address and support. We will discuss the social emotional causes of school avoidance, focusing specifically on anxiety. We will identify best practice interventions, including why utilizing empirically backed practice is essential. We will also explore why teamwork is a critical part of helping students (and families!) re-engage in school and discuss ways to ensure we are all working together effectively.

To receive PDPs and CEUs, participants must attend all 5 sessions and successfully pass a quiz following Session 5. Within 24 hours of the live webinar, registrants will be emailed a link to view the recorded webinar. The recording will be made available for 7 days after each session.

At the root of school avoidance is social/emotional distress – particularly anxiety. In this session, we will review the basics of the neuroscience of anxiety, stress and trauma. We will discuss why the anxiety sometimes is not well understood, the importance of diagnostic clarity and teaming with outside providers to support students.

School Avoidance is particularly challenging for caregivers. The caregiver index burden for this group is not well known – but the level of stress they face cannot be minimized. Caregivers become the point of contact for their students and teaming with them is essential if we hope to have students re-engage in school. This session will look at the stress this type of caregiving causes, the barriers caregivers face and how we can lead with empathy and understanding to help them (and therefore their children!) best. 

Re-engaging in academics can be challenging – and often requires different levels of support and interventions, including understanding exposures, to best re-integrate students into the classroom.  In this session, we will discuss what academic supports and approaches can be most helpful as students re-engage in learning.

If a student is not able to re-engage with school – we must be open to learning new things, thinking outside the box and wondering what has been missed. When we are working with students with what appears to be treatment resistant school avoidance, we should always consider that we may have missed an underlying medical issue. This session will discuss the signs and symptoms of immune mediated disorders, such as PANS/PANDAS, and understand how identifying potential missed cases can support schools during this crisis and allow students to regain health.

This session will review what we have learned and put it into practice through some case examples.  We will also address how we persevere in transition planning, something we still must do regardless of school avoidance. We will discuss how we ensure these students are prepared to not only re-engage with school – but move on to the next step!

About the SpeakerS

Sheilah Gauch, LICSW, M.Ed., (she/her) holds a Masters in Educational Organizational Management and is licensed as a Principal, Special Education Administrator and School Adjustment Counselor through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Sheilah has been working with children with significant mental health needs for over 20 years. She is currently the Principal of Dearborn Academy, a Chapter 766 Private Therapeutic Day School. Dearborn Academy serves students with significant social/emotional and learning challenges. She has supported the school in the creation of a robust academic and clinical milieu to support students with the highest level of need.

Sheilah began her career working with children, ages 5-18, in an outpatient treatment setting. She then moved to work as a clinician at a residential treatment program, where she stayed for close to ten years. From there, she moved to join a public school setting as a Special Education social worker. Here she supported students in sub-separate programming and went on to develop and oversee the district’s Tier 3 off-site transitional program.

Sheilah is an active advocate for PANS/PANDAS awareness. She co-founded the Massachusetts Coalition for PANS/PANDAS legislation. This group led the grassroots advocacy effort in Massachusetts that supported the passage of S2984, a health care bill that included both the creation of a PANS/PANDAS Advisory Council and a mandate that insurance companies must provide coverage for the disease.

Hannah Sycks, M.Ed., (she/her) is a Special Education and English teacher at Dearborn Academy. She holds a master degree from Lesley University, where she focused on literacy and social-emotional learning. Hannah started working at Dearborn as an assistant teacher, but quickly became passionate about helping students feel successful at school in order to return to their public schools. Hannah also advises the Gender and Sexuality Alliance, and believes strongly that building relationships with her students is key for them to feel comfortable and successful in her classroom.

Membership Information

Most MPY webinars are available ONLY to current staff from member districts and organizations. Public school memberships include police and fire personnel. Former and retired employees and members of committees, including but not limited to, PTO/PTA, PAC, School Improvement Councils, Health Councils, Drug/Alcohol Councils, and school volunteers, are not considered MPY members.

PDPs and CEUs

MPY is an approved Professional Development Provider through the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (Provider No. F20180079). Professional Development Points (PDPs) are offered for most MPY professional development webinars. PDPs are issued in 10 hour increments, per DESE requirements.

Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available for clinical staff through the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Massachusetts Mental Health Counselors Association, Inc. (MaMHCA). The NASW and the MaMHCA approve each event individually. CEUs may be given in hourly increments.

To receive PDPs and CEUs, participants must pass the quiz.

Event Cancellation Policy

If you are unable to attend a MPY webinar you must cancel, through Bonnie Mullen at bonnie@mpyinc.org, one business day before the webinar.

For MPY hybrid conferences, the date in-person registration closes will be posted on MPY’s website. Virtual conference registration will close one business day before the hybrid conference. You cannot cancel or switch your registration from in-person to virtual after in-person registration closes. Please email Bonnie Mullen at bonnie@mpyinc.org with any questions regarding registration.

 

Register

FREE
MEMBER PRICING
Register Now

If you are seeking to receive CEUs and/or PDPs, please click Register Now. Once you complete the webinar series, you will be able to take quizzes for CEUs and/or PDPs. Upon completion of each quiz, you will receive a certificate.

All sessions are 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm.

  • Session 1: January 7, 206, The Anxiety Associated with School Avoidance Behavior
  • Session 2: January 28, 2026, Caregivers Are Essential – And Terrified!
  • Session 3: February 11, 2026, School Avoidance and Reengaging in Academics 
  • Session 4: March 4, 2026, When Nothing Works: What May Have Been Missed?
  • Session 5: March 25, 2026, Putting It All Into Practice – And Next Steps