Cartwheel

Students who can't get out of the car at drop-off, frequently end up in the nurse’s office, or panic when discussing school. Attendance data shows the problem, mental health support solves it. Cartwheel's School Avoidance Program treats the anxiety and depression driving chronic absences with weekly therapy, parent guidance sessions, psychiatric support, and more.

When students act out due to untreated anxiety, depression, or trauma, the costs add up fast. → Administrative time investigating and responding → Alternative education placements → Staff overtime and crisis response teams → Legal costs when situations escalate Cartwheel treats the underlying conditions before they escalate.

You've seen these referrals: "Student takes 2+ hours to get ready, misses first period daily" "Physical complaints every morning—vomiting, shaking, 'stomach hurts'" "Won't get out of the car. Parents exhausted, often give up by 9am" This is school avoidance—and it requires clinical intervention, not attendance tracking. Cartwheel's School Avoidance Program treats the cases your MTSS can't: → Treats anticipatory anxiety: The root cause of morning routine struggles → Works with families: Parent sessions teach response strategies that reduce enabling → Builds coping skills: Students learn progressive exposure and anxiety management → Available when needed: Morning appointments, weekend sessions when families need support → Creates school-home consistency: Coordinates strategies between therapist, parents, and school team → Provides psychiatric backup: Evaluates if medication management would help

By Thanksgiving, students avoiding school will have: — Missed enough instruction that catching up feels impossible — Lost critical peer and teacher connections — Developed entrenched patterns that become exponentially harder to treat Cartwheel intervenes early—while students are still attending some classes, before complete disengagement, when treatment has the greatest impact.

Districts spend millions managing mental health crises. Cartwheel helps you invest in treatment that eliminates those recurring costs. Our specialized programs treat the clinical conditions driving your biggest budget categories: — School Avoidance Program → treats clinical barriers to attendance—reducing costs from chronic absenteeism, truancy interventions, and lost state funding — Individual therapy → addresses underlying conditions before they escalate to costly behavioral incidents or alternative placements — Psychiatric services →provide appropriate medication management that counseling alone can't achieve—stabilizing students faster — Family engagement → creates sustainable home support—reducing repeated crises and ongoing district intervention costs