Here’s an idea you should steal: Hold a district “unconference” to determine which responsibilities you can take away from teachers so they can continue to put their students first.
This 30-minute brainstorming event, which takes place in March at Stafford County Public Schools in Virginia, is all about sharing actionable ideas to increase teacher wellness, Superintendent Thomas Taylor says. “We’ll come together to solve one problem,” says Taylor, who is now entering his third month as Stafford County’s superintendent. “What can we take off your plate without losing service to students? How do we lessen the load in a really complex environment so you can focus on the stuff that really matters?”
The unconference is just one tool Taylor is using to prioritize staff physical and mental health as districts across the country grapple with teacher burnout and shortages two years into the COVID pandemic. Here is a look at some of Taylor’ other teacher wellness initiatives:
1. Bolstering employee assistance programs: These services haven’t always gotten sufficient attention in many districts, Taylor says. Administrators should work to reduce the stigma of seeking help while also carving out time for school mental health professionals and counselors to provide teachers with some of the same services that are being offered to students.
2. Clear and frequent communications: Teachers and staff want to know what’s going on, even when a leader has to deliver bad news. Administrators must share the reasoning behind budgets, schedules and other big decisions. “They want to feel like they’re a part of the conversation and have a window into your thinking,” he says.
3. Supporting staff financially: Teachers may actually be getting taking home less salary than they were in 2007 due to the lingering effects of the Great Recession, inflation and rising healthcare costs. So Taylor is working to have the district absorb more of those healthcare costs. “About half of my teachers are technically low-income for the community,” he says. “They are professionals with master’s degrees and we know in our hearts they should be in the high-income bracket, or they should at least be in the moderate-income bracket.”
4. Wellness days: Stafford County is converting some three-day weekends into four-day weekends to give teachers extra time to recharge. It has also created four-day weekends just for students to provide teachers with an extra day for planning, collaboration and professional development. “As a classroom teacher and a principal, I always thought my professional learning community gave me tremendous prof value but, until the pandemic, I overlooked how much my PLC or the PLCs I supported also provided personal value,” he says. “If it’s just a group of people you’re forced to work with to get lesson planning done, you’re probably going to get those things done but it’s not going to be nearly as fulfilling as looking at it through a different lens.”
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5. The danger of ‘toxic positivity’: Teachers and staff will disengage if leaders pretend everything is fine and are reluctant to confront problems. “You have to show the warts,” Taylor says. “You have to be clear about what is not working so you can fix it. People will rally behind that.”
What about teacher appreciation days?
It’s important for district leaders to realize that not all teachers are going to experience stress in the same way (even during a pandemic) and some will need more help than others. That means central office and building administrators must be systematic in assessing which of their teachers are most likely to struggle, says Chris J. McCarthy, a professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. “Teachers who feel everyday demands are equal to their resources, to their personal abilities, and to what they have in the classroom, those are the ones who aren’t as vulnerable to stress,” McCarthy says. “The ones who consistently say I don’t have the resources I need to do my job, those are the ones who are vulnerable.”
Administrators should pay special attention to the needs of novice teachers, who are more likely to leave the field if the job becomes too demanding. But stress can be reduced by giving teachers more autonomy and ample time to work with mentors, coaches and their peers. Providing teachers with classroom aides can also boost resilience, he said.
And while gratitude is also key, blanket teacher appreciation activities may fall flat. Administrators would do better to praise teachers for specific accomplishments, such as for connecting with students during online learning. Taylor, of Stafford County Schools, agrees, adding that flexibility—such as by allowing staff to work from home when necessary—will have more of an impact on wellness.
“When folks feel heard and feel supported that has had more of an impact than ‘Friday Jeans Day,'” Taylor says. ” I hate to say it like this, but if you’re still managing Friday Jeans Day you have completely missed the boat, and congratulations on your 50% attrition rate.”
