100% Parent-Only Safe Space3rd Year Running

Your Friends and Family May Not Get It.
We Do.

The private parent-to-parent community where you can drop the mask, speak openly, and find real support from families navigating the exact same school avoidance journey, surrounded by people who get it, free from one-size-fits-all clinical lectures, judgment, or textbook advice that fails in the real world.

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Join Now, $17.99/mo
  • Parent-Led, Zero Lectures: Live biweekly support calls run by parents who understand what mornings actually feel like, not clinician presentations.
  • 100% Parent-Only Sanctuary: Built on pure empathy, genuine care, and mutual understanding, a compassionate space where every win is celebrated, every setback is understood, and you can share as much or as little as you want.
  • Zero Pressure to Participate: Feel free to listen in with your camera off. No one will ever call on you; speak only if and when you want to.
  • The Hard Topics No One Talks About: Real conversations on feeling defeated, managing partners who disagree, and handling the heavy emotional toll.
Instant access Private Cancel anytime
500+
Parents Inside
10 Years
Leading School Avoidance Education
3rd Year
Live Peer Support Group
24/7
Community Access

As Featured In

CBS News logoCBS News
The Washington Post logoThe Washington Post
Education Week logoEducation Week
EdSurge logoEdSurge
ADDitude Magazine logoADDitude Magazine
CBS News logoCBS News
The Washington Post logoThe Washington Post
Education Week logoEducation Week
EdSurge logoEdSurge
ADDitude Magazine logoADDitude Magazine
Trusted On Stage & In Practice

Where the Alliance's founder teaches, presents, and trains.

A decade of speaking to clinicians, schools, and parent communities — the same expertise that shapes everything inside the community.

INSA — International Network for School Attendance logo
INSA — International Network for School Attendance
Keynote Speaker
National Center for School Mental Health logo
National Center for School Mental Health
Featured Speaker
University of Iowa, Scanlan Center for School Mental Health logo
University of Iowa, Scanlan Center for School Mental Health
Professional Training
Georgia Department of Education logo
Georgia Department of Education
Professional Training
Institute of Child Psychology logo
Institute of Child Psychology
Webinar Host
Anxiety Institute logo
Anxiety Institute
Professional Training
Mental Health Goes to School logo
Mental Health Goes to School
Featured Guest
Authentic Parenting Podcast logo
Authentic Parenting Podcast
Featured Guest
NYC Bar Association logo
NYC Bar Association
CLE Speaker
What's Inside

One place for everything you can't find anywhere else.

When your child stops going to school, you don't need more generic advice. You need people who've lived it, experts who've treated it, and a clear path forward. That's what this community is.

Live Peer Support Group

Our highly praised signature offering, real parents, real conversations, facilitated live. In its third year, and available only here.

Expert-Led Masterclass & Resources

Built on our School Avoidance Masterclass and a decade of trusted relationships with global experts, so the guidance and resources you find here are grounded in real clinical and educational expertise.

Curated Resource Library

Articles, videos, and guides written by school avoidance experts. No internet rabbit holes. No generic parenting advice.

504 & IEP Guidance

Most school-avoidant kids qualify for accommodations, and most parents don't know it. We simplify the process step by step.

Success Stories

Real families. Real returns to school. Because you need to see that this ends well, and it does.

Why This Exists

Built by a parent who lived it.

The School Avoidance Alliance wasn't started by a company. It was started by a mom whose son couldn't get to school, and who spent years navigating a system that didn't understand, didn't help, and often made things worse.

Five years of uncertainty. Tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and private programs. Countless nights searching for answers that didn't exist yet.

So she built the resource she wished she'd had. A decade later, the Alliance has educated thousands of families and hundreds of schools, and this community is its beating heart.

You don't have to figure this out alone. We already did the hard part.

Jayne Demsky, Founder of School Avoidance Alliance
Jayne Demsky
Founder
Expert Credentials

Our Experts Work at These Prestigious Organizations

The clinicians, researchers, and advocates behind this community come from leading institutions and professional associations.

Prestigious Educational Organizations

Iona College
CUCARD
Columbia University
Anxiety Institute
NewYork-Presbyterian
Sussman Greenwald & Wesler

Prestigious Associations

American Psychological Association
ABCT — Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies
ADAA — Anxiety & Depression Association of America
The Reality

If any of these feel painfully familiar, this was built for you.

01

Nobody around you gets it.

Friends, family, even school staff often have no concept of school avoidance. "Just make them go" doesn't work, and hearing it hurts.

02

You can't decode what's wrong.

Kids can't always articulate what's causing their distress. We help you understand the root causes, because the behavior is the symptom, not the problem.

03

You feel helpless.

You've tried everything you can think of. We share what actually works, and celebrate every win, however small.

04

The school system feels like a maze.

504s, IEPs, attendance letters, truancy threats. We show you exactly what your child is entitled to and how to get it.

05

Every morning is uncertain.

The heartache, the unpredictable days, the pressure from school. We're here for the hard mornings too.

06

You've lost hope.

Kids do get back to school. Parents in this community watch it happen every month. You will feel hopeful again.

07

You're drowning in internet rabbit holes.

Hours of searching, contradictory advice, forums that scare you more than they help. Everything here is curated by experts and parents who've lived it — so you can stop searching and start acting.

08

You don't have a plan.

Who do you contact first? What do you ask for? What are your rights? We turn the overwhelm into a clear, step-by-step path forward.

09

Nobody hears your voice.

Schools dismiss you. Systems fail your child. Alone, it's exhausting. Together, we advocate for change — and for each other.

10

The blame lands on you.

Truancy letters, judgmental looks, the quiet suggestion that this is a parenting problem. It isn't. And here, nobody will ever make you feel like it is.

Parents on a live biweekly peer support call
3rdYear Running
Our Signature Offering

The Live Peer-to-Peer Support Group

Now in its third year, our live peer group is where isolation ends. Live biweekly support calls with parents who truly get it, facilitated conversations that turn overwhelm into action.

This is where parents share the small victories, the patient wins, and the stories of kids walking back through school doors.

  • Live biweekly support calls with parents on the same journey
  • Facilitated, never chaotic, never just venting
  • Every experience level welcome, from week one to year five
  • Available only to community members, no substitute exists
Reserve Your Seat
Real Words From Real Parents

Stories From Inside The Community

Hundreds of parents have found their way back to school with this community behind them. Here are just a few of their words.

"Back to school for a few weeks now. I know this may be a roller coaster, but it's a good ride right now! We think what we learned in the Master Class and the peer support group enabled him to start going again."
PCPatricia C.Mom of 13-year-old · PA
"I hated missing the support group last night as I found it so incredibly meaningful. To be in a community with others about this challenge, including others who have kids younger and older than my 12-year-old, is such a rare and wonderful thing."
PDPam D.Mom of 12-year-old · MA
"It's made ALL the difference for us and our situation. I can't imagine where we'd be without it."
CBChristine B.Mom of 15-year-old · NY
"Knowing there is SOMEONE who understands what I am going through and that my kids and I aren't BAD or intentionally doing anything wrong is so incredibly appreciated."
SMSarah M.Mom of two · OH
"In the past four years, not a single person — lawyers, advocates, family, or friends — has offered the kind of support and understanding that this parent community has given me. For the first time in a long time, I feel truly validated and hopeful."
AMAnonymous MemberMom of 16-year-old · IL
"The 504 walkthrough alone was worth the yearly membership ten times over. I finally understood what to ask for."
JKJenna K.Mom of 10-year-old · CO
"My husband didn't 'get it' until he sat in on one call. Now he tells other dads about this community."
MTMelissa & Tom H.Parents · VA
"I stopped Googling at 2am. That alone gave me my sleep back."
PSPriya S.Mom of 12-year-old · WA
"After a truancy letter, I panicked. Within an hour someone here talked me through exactly what to write back. That kind of help doesn't exist anywhere else."
KLKaren L.Mom of 14-year-old · GA
"My daughter is back in school three days a week. Six months ago that felt impossible. This community made it possible."
RMRobin M.Mom of 15-year-old · MN
"I've been in three other online groups. This is the only one that isn't just a venting space — it's actually a path forward."
NBNicole B.Mom of 12-year-old · MI
"I cried on my first peer call — not because it was sad, but because for the first time I wasn't the only one in the room who understood."
ADAlicia D.Mom of 10-year-old · AZ
"Worth every penny, and I would have paid ten times as much."
BWBeth W.Mom of 16-year-old · CT
"I was told to 'just make him go.' Here I finally learned why that phrase makes things worse — and what actually helps."
KVKirsten V.Mom of 11-year-old · TN
"Not one professional in our life had heard the term 'school avoidance' before I found this community. Now I'm the one educating them."
WGWhitney G.Mom of 13-year-old · NC
"This community is the reason my family is still standing."
AMAnonymous MemberMom of two · MD
Membership

Everything you need. One membership.

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Parent Community

Full Membership

Everything you need, in one place.

$17.99/month

Month-to-month

  • Live peer support group (3rd year running)
  • Expert-led masterclass & resources
  • Complete resource & video library
  • Advocacy forum for systemic change
  • 24/7 access, late at night, mid-crisis, anywhere
  • Cancel anytime, no contracts
Start Now, $17.99/Month

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FAQ

Questions? We Have Answers.

This community is designed for parents of children who avoid or refuse school. It provides expert advice, peer support, and practical resources tailored to your needs, whether you're at the very beginning or years into the journey.
Child confidently walking to school

YOU DON'T HAVE TO CARRY THIS BY YOURSELF.

You've read the articles. But there's no one to actually talk to when you're overwhelmed, when a setback undoes weeks of progress, when you're dreading how you're going to do this again tomorrow, or you just want to sit down and cry.

Sometimes you just need to hear how someone else took a step forward. That's what this community gives you. Parents who've been exactly where you are, experts who understand what's really happening, and real stories of families who found their way through, not just advice, but proof that it's possible.

Your child and your family deserve support from people who've actually been through this.