Managing school stress is an issue for many students; an estimated 31.9% of teens have an anxiety disorder.

Students have their core classes—science, math, history, etc.—but also have to balance electives, such as graphic design, journalism, and orchestra. School stress affects students of all grades.

Freshman Kaia Carillo said, “When classes got hard, I didn’t know how to handle it.”

Carillo has struggled with keeping up with high school. Even a senior, Nicole Rivera, struggles with her classes and grades.

Exams are a big contributing factor to student stress, but that’s not all: the social environment of high school can be rough, no matter the grade.

There are coping skills for this school-based anxiety. Students can prepare for school with planners. Writing in a planner to remember their assignments can help students cope with this kind of anxiety.

Ms. Ruby Alicea, a guidance counselor for House C, thinks that in order to manage stress, a combination of time management, organization, and preparation is needed. She recommends that students prepare their backpack the night before school, so they don’t have to do that in the morning, which can create stress before school even starts.

She says that high school is very different from middle school, and stress may be more impactful on high schoolers than middle schoolers. She also recommends organizing goals and tasks into a daily routine.

Having hobbies can help students recover from stress, while preparing them to better manage it when it arises.

Cramming work into one night isn’t necessary to complete assignments. Instead, being organized and up to date can relieve that anxiety.

Stress is a big issue, but it does have many solutions. School-based anxiety doesn’t have to be relentless. With proper organization, time management, and coping skills, students can be prepared.