5 Ways Education Leaders Can Support Teacher Well-Being

I remember sitting in my new therapist’s office, describing the weariness I felt after one of my most exhausting years as an educator. I was struggling to identify why I felt so tired, and it was not the kind of fatigue that sleeping all weekend could fix.  

This feeling was more of an emotional exhaustion, which my counselor labeled “Compassion Fatigue.” According to Psychology Today, “People whose professions lead to prolonged exposure to other people's trauma can be vulnerable to compassion fatigue, also known as secondary or vicarious trauma; they can experience acute symptoms that put their physical and mental health at risk, making them wary of giving and caring.” This definition was spot on as I had experienced massive changes in my school environment and looking out for several students going through traumatic events. 

After six years of teaching in an under-resourced community, with students a few grade levels behind, working my tail off, I had begun to see the signs of burnout.  As a teacher, I spent a lot of my emotional and mental energy throughout the day helping students, some of whom needed more than I could offer. It was then amplified when I stepped into a leadership role within my school, supporting educators caring for students. 

Research reinforces what many educators know, “Teachers feel responsible for the social and emotional health of students and often have insufficient training, support, and emotional capacity to feel effective in this regard.” (McCormick 2021) This is amplified when serving students in communities with high levels of adversity.  However, this is not isolated to those communities in need but spans all areas of the country. According to The Merrimack College Teacher Survey in 2023, “close to half (42 percent) of teachers say that their mental health/wellness is negatively impacting their teaching and professional growth this school year.” (EdWeek Research Center 2023)

A Multi-Tiered System of Supports is intended to not only improve student outcomes, it also serves as a way to aid staff as they work with students.  The well-being of staff members often gets pushed aside while working with the students, but it is equally important for leaders to consider ways to support teachers. The MTSS framework also wraps around the work that adults are doing with students, ultimately impacting the whole community. 

1. Nurture Teachers’ Social-Emotional Well-Being

According to Dr. Essie Sutton, Branching Minds Director of Learning Science, teachers' social-emotional well-being is impacted by their work. “Research shows that teaching is one of the most stressful occupations. Not only are teachers highly susceptible to stress, anxiety, and burnout, but they also have a high turnover rate; many teachers choose to leave the profession after only a few years. There is also preliminary research showing a stress contagion effect in the classroom, where teachers’ stress levels can carry over to their students.” (Sutton 2021)

Sutton suggests a few ways for schools to address the challenges teachers face and how to promote teacher wellness.  Investing in strategies to empower and uplift teachers and other adults in the building is not futile but can contribute to a strong foundation for aiding students.

2. Teacher-Focused Coaching and Mentorship

Teacher-focused coaching and mentorship have been shown to improve teachers’ sense of well-being. Some schools may use a professional coaching or mentorship program to come in and work with their staff. 

“The beginning and end of coaching for many teachers occurs in the early years of their careers. Once teachers seem to have everything under control, leaders might allow them to retire to their classrooms and proceed without interference.” (Plotinsky and Norton 2023) The lack of coaching and input for older teachers can lead to isolation or a lack of collaboration and relationships with others on staff.  A staff culture grows stronger with community and relationships among the staff, and this leads to more collaboration and creates a sense of belonging for teachers and for students.

Another option is to provide mentorship internally by pairing up new and veteran teachers within a school.  Mentorship makes a huge difference for new teachers; providing support can prevent new teachers from leaving the profession after their first year. Not only that but the ongoing assistance and mentorship provide leadership opportunities for other teachers and have a positive impact on student performance. Administrators cannot always mentor every teacher, but teacher leaders and those experienced in their roles can collectively impact newer generations of teachers. 

Many districts and states have new teacher induction programs and requirements, but these programs thrive with initiative and organization. The key to a strong mentorship program is establishing procedures for teachers to be assigned a mentor and identifying those teachers to be mentors. Teachers might only sometimes feel comfortable seeking out those opportunities but can be encouraged to step into leadership roles. Mentorship does not always happen organically and requires oversight and investment. 

👉 Learn more about how teachers can learn from each other in the on-demand webinar: “No Teacher an Island: De-privatizing the Classroom.”

3. Build Resiliency Skills

In tough times, with changes in staff, budget cuts, pressures of the community, or the needs of students, educators’ resilience is tested every year. Author Elena Aguilar says, “Resilience is the ability to thrive and not just survive. It is how we deal with adversity—by drawing on our inner resources so that we can emerge from a tough time stronger and better equipped to deal with setbacks or challenges.” (Aguilar 2021) 

There are a few practices that psychologists believe help build resilience. “Focusing on four core components—connection, wellness, healthy thinking, and meaning—can empower you to withstand and learn from difficult and traumatic experiences.” (American Psychological Association 2020) 

Examples of expectations:

• Respecting the boundaries of teachers, in conversations, and of their time.
• Building relationships with staff and building space for community among the staff.
• Reflecting and setting goals for the future
• Remaining optimistic but also realistic about the future. 

As a leader, cultivating a non-anxious presence amid uncertainty or change can be reassuring. This means remaining calm when everyone else is influenced by the anxiety of the day. Leaders should build their own resilience dispositions as they encourage their staff. 

“Resilience is not a magic elixir that will eliminate all of the physical, emotional, or cognitive demands of teaching, but resilience can substantially and dramatically increase our ability to manage the daily stressors and rebound from the inevitable setbacks.” (Aguilar 2018, 13)

4. Promote Collective Leadership

Another way to nurture teacher wellness is by building community within the school and working towards collective leadership.  Collective leadership “refers to the extent of influence that organizational members and stakeholders exert on decisions in their schools.” (The Wallace Foundation 2010). This opens the door for teachers' voices to be heard and provides leaders with insight into what is needed by staff, particularly for their social-emotional health. 

John Hattie’s research about collective efficacy (with a 1.57 effect size) maintains the idea that a strong sense of connection and belief that the staff positively affects students and will significantly influence student outcomes. 

Collective Leadership could mean:

• Creating a Leadership Team comprised of representatives from different roles and grade levels 
• Frequent Surveys collecting feedback on important decisions
• Transparency about decisions that impact multiple teams

5. Create Wellness Expectations

Finally, addressing staff wellness also leads to asking questions about addressing student wellness.  School-wide programs for student wellness are created but only sometimes with many shared expectations and clear guidelines.  Just as teacher burnout and stress can impact students, so does the health and wellness of those teachers, which they model to students.

“The process of collective leadership can be used to bring all educators in a building together to decide how they will hold themselves accountable for supporting the development of their own social-emotional skills and sense of well-being as well as those of their students.” (Sutton 2021)

The goal for establishing these expectations is for the staff to acknowledge and uphold shared social-emotional values and norms, fostering mutual care and respect among one another.  Leaders should pay attention and listen to how teachers feel supported by the leadership team. Using anonymous surveys can be a great starting point in discovering the staff’s perspective. 

It is important to have expectations around:

• Whom to go to with student wellness concerns
• The responsibilities around designing and implementing wellness lessons or curriculum
• Work boundaries for teachers, having protected lunches, and planning times.
• Clear procedures for teachers taking a day off 

Help Teachers, Help Students

When I realized I was struggling, I leaned on a few trusted colleagues to help me. The supportive leaders in my life provided space for me to process and ask for help, which made going to work every day more manageable.  I was able to tap into resilience and provide my students with the same assistance I received from those around me. 

Providing adults with what they need, when they need it, and how they need it reveals the strength of an MTSS program.  When leaders prioritize adult wellness, especially in challenging times, they cultivate a more unified and nurturing environment for staff and students.  Applying wrap-around supports for adults will model and further entrench the mindset of the MTSS framework within a school, ultimately creating a community where students will receive the help they need. 

Before you go...

• Read more about Student Wellness: Finding Balance at the End of the School Year
• Watch this On-Demand Webinar: Supporting Teachers in their own SEL Journey
• Listen to Episode 13 of our podcast Schoolin’ Around: “How MTSS Can Support Positive Behavior With School Psychologist, Trudy Bender”

Key Takeaways:

• Leaders help create an environment that can nurture teachers’ well-being.
• Creating avenues and procedures for coaching and mentoring can build a supportive community for teachers.
• Collective leadership allows all staff's voices to be heard and provide collective decision-making.
• Clear expectations around student and staff wellness go a long way in building teacher trust and a positive culture.