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Teacher wellness has been linked to stability in schools and student achievement.

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As education stakeholders consider improvements to school climate, school safety, and student well-being, many have turned their attention to the role of schools in promoting mental health. While most of this attention focuses on students' mental health needs, it is also essential to explore ways of supporting teachers and school staff who often experience high levels of stress.

Relative to professionals in other sectors, educators experience significantly more stress and suffer more often from mental health problems. In fact, 61 percent of educators reported that their work is "always" or "often" stressful. Failing to address the mental health needs of teachers (concurrent with our focus on student stress and trauma) may affect their ability to address critical needs among students. Teacher wellness has been linked not only to teachers' physical health, but also to stability in schools and to teaching effectiveness and student achievement. Moreover, teachers' emotions and stress levels have been found to influence those of students and other teachers. In Child Trends' preliminary research on creating healthy school environments, students, educators, and policymakers all mentioned teacher wellness as an important factor in the overall health of a school.

Research points to several key sources of stress that can undermine teacher wellness: high-stakes job demands, limited resources and professional autonomy, and negative school climate. Heightened attention to student test scores in recent years has placed teachers under increased scrutiny, as their professional success is measured in large part by student performance on standardized exams. They must also navigate challenging student behavior and complex parent and family needs. Teachers are often expected to drive student success for a diverse set of learners and intervene across a range of challenging situations with limited materials, assistance, and control over school and classroom decisions. In fact, teachers are less likely than any other professional group to report feeling that their opinions matter at work.

Existing research suggests that the availability of supports and resources to address students' needs may affect teacher wellness; preliminary findings from Child Trends research indicate that unmet student needs may be a potentially critical source of teacher stress. When a student experiences trauma at home or lacks sufficient resources to thrive in the classroom, her teacher is often the first to notice that something is wrong and to respond. In the absence of sufficient student support services at the school, or systems that link students with needed services in the community, the teacher may feel helpless to meet the needs of that student. Alternatively, the teacher may become the student's primary support system. Both scenarios are emotionally taxing for the teacher.

While elements of the school environment and structure seem to cause considerable stress for teachers, the mechanisms commonly suggested to reduce teacher stress tend to focus on the teacher's responsibility for self-care. Self-care practices such as meditation, exercise, or participation in a support group are inexpensive and straightforward to implement, and certainly have the potential to alleviate symptoms of stress. However, these practices do not address the root causes of teacher stress and may divert attention from the systemic stressors that exist in schools today. Instead, we should address these sources of stress and embrace a holistic approach to teacher wellness. Promoting teacher wellness requires attention to physical and mental health, professional development and support, and resources needed to be effective in the classroom, among other things.

Any profession is bound to have its stresses, and teaching is no different. But when we accept that an unhealthy level of stress is inherent to teaching, and place the burden of stress reduction on the individual teacher, we limit our ability to improve overall school wellness. We can better shape healthy schools for teachers and students by addressing the underlying causes of chronic stress and cultivating environments that promote teacher wellness. Ultimately, such attention could lead to healthier, more supportive school communities and more positive outcomes for students. When teacher wellness becomes a norm, so too will student success.

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Teacher well-being is a critical and often overlooked part of school health - Child Trends

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As education stakeholders consider improvements to school climate, school safety, and student well-being, many have turned their attention to the role of schools in promoting mental health. While most of this attention focuses on students' mental health needs, it is also essential to explore ways of supporting teachers and school staff who often experience high levels of stress.

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Teaching is a lot more than providing an education. Educators have become students' case workers for support often witnessing the pain, fear and terror of students' trauma stories.

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The more teachers are around people, the more they will be tapped out emotionally and burnt out teaching.

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Investing time and energy in educators' self-care and wellness helps support students over a longer period of time

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Teachers need the support to cope with the emotional weight of teaching students with trauma.

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Honesty, respect, kindness, flexibility, and patience from school administrators.

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Professional development that focuses on practical strategies to use in the classroom.

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Provide a district paid wellness program and counseling.

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Help teachers find ways to be successful within a reasonable workday.

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Thanks to its partnership with publisher Eye on Education, EducationWorld is pleased to present this advice from The Fearless School Leader: Making the Right Decisions, by Cynthia McCabe. In this article, McCabe outlines three steps leaders can take to support their teachers as they undertake the task of improving student learning.

When you set and share the intention to improve student learning, teachers will suddenly feel pressure to get results. To help alleviate some pressure, the drive to improve must be balanced by caring for teachers. If not, the school climate, which may already be suffering due to negative cultural norms or low self-perception, could suffer as staff feel the tremendous weight of higher expectations. School leaders must strive to make teachers' lives more livable. This can be accomplished with three important steps:

1. Get in the trenches.
We've all heard the adage, "You can't lead from your office." And it's true. Leaders have to "get their hands dirty" with teachers. There must be a practical partnership, which requires regular formal and informal conversations with teachers about student progress, as well as being present in classrooms to see firsthand what students are learning and whether or not they master it. A principal needs to observe the implementation of instructional strategies that have been agreed upon by the team in order to give feedback and encouragement.

Since teachers cannot readily watch one another teach, a building leader can provide needed information regularly as todifferences in style and technique so that variations in student achievement from class to class can be better understood and attributed to specific teacher actions. Finally, when students fail to learn, leaders should be connected enough to help teams determine appropriate next steps. Taking these actions breaks down the invisible barrier between principal and teacher and puts everyone on the same team in shared accountability.

2. Protect teachers' time.
If gone unchecked, too much of a teacher's day can be taken up by issues that have little to do with student achievement. Returning emails, planning for non-academic school/community events, handling fundraiser information and money, and dealing with attendance, lunch, and recess issues can quickly dominate precious minutes of planning time.

Find ways to minimize or streamline administrative tasks, while protecting or increasing time to collaboratively analyze data, plan instruction, and problem-solve. I suggest using time already allotted in the school calendar (e.g. faculty meetings, professional development days), as well as substitute time to accomplish this important work.

3. Encourage teachers to balance work life and home life.
Too often, school leaders unknowingly send damaging messages to teachers about how they should use the 24 hours in each day. Teachers who spend 12 hours a day at school are highly regarded and spoken about in glowing terms, while those who leave at their contracted time may be looked down upon.

Instead of passing judgment, we need tohelp teachers find ways to be successful within a reasonable workday, so they may go home at a decent hour and have quality time with family and friends. If this doesn't happen, not only will many schools remain negative places to work, but I predict that teachers will leave the profession at faster rates than they do now. As a building leader, keep a realistic view of life as a teacher and work to improve the quality of their professional lives within your school. This will go a long way to developing real trust with teachers.

Education World®
Copyright © 2013 Education World

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Three Great Ways to Support Teachers | Education World

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Thanks to its partnership with publisher Eye on Education, EducationWorld is pleased to present this advice from The Fearless School Leader: Making the Right Decisions, by Cynthia McCabe . In this article, McCabe outlines three steps leaders can take to support their teachers as they undertake the task of improving student learning.

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1) Maximize your time
2) Take time to build relationships
3) Seek guidance and support from colleagues
4) Practice mindfulness and meditation
5) Build coping strategies
6) Find self-care activities that work for you
-walk, read, watch a movie, talk to a friend
7) Establish a coming home ritual to let go of the worry
8) Help students find kindness, empathy, and compassion

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Prioritize and let go of what is out of your hands.

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This is my seventeenth year of teaching primary age children. I have seen education fads come and go. Some have impacted my teaching greatly and some have not. It's easy to get caught up in the flashy fads but as days turn into weeks, and weeks turn into months, what sticks in the rigorous classroom is what truly works for both teacher and student.

Due to the demands of teaching, teachers have learned to "show off" what others want to see. The true art of teaching happens when no one is watching.

Walk into a classroom unexpectedly on day 148. What you will see is the true teach. New teachers crave to understand it and experienced teachers refine and reflect on it daily.

We begin with the optimistic joy of teaching. It is the twinkle you see in a brand new teacher's eye when she learns she has the first class of her career. It's the experienced teacher's bag bursting with a new week's lessons. We take our joy and love for teaching combined with the true teacher that we are when no one is looking and the result is our classroom life.

There is also an art to teaching. What do the most effective classrooms do? We can change how we teach based on what we learn along the way.

These qualities sum up what I have found in my teaching experience to be effective classroom happenings:

There is a risk free relationship from teacher to student and peer to peer

The teacher maintains a simple predictable structure/routine to the day.

The student's work changes to meet the needs of the student from simple to complex in every subject.

Students can sustain the work they are given because the teacher has given them an instructional level of work.

The teacher makes the best use of time with individuals, small groups, and whole class teaching time.

The student knows what they are learning, why they are learning it, and how they can learn it

The students take part in goal setting and reflection

The teacher uses his/her strengths but also attempts to engage areas of weakness for growth

The students work from his/her strengths but also attempt to develop areas of weakness for growth.

Lessons do not always succeed

Trials and challenges are fuel for learning and not to be avoided but rather put into the spotlight for growth potential

No year looks exactly the same because the teacher creates the classroom climate and culture based on the students present this year.

You can change how you are teaching if it isn't working and your students will move right along with your change.

Students use each other as a resource as well as the teacher

There is undeniable joy for learning

Many times teachers give up the joy of teaching due to all the demands that are
pushed down upon us. We walk into our classrooms and can't see our students through the same eyes any more. We stress out when they need our help. We fuss when they need a loving explanation.
The classroom joy turns to stress and resentment. We rock out an amazing learning week then realize our planning for the next week will consume our weekend. This is a reality
for every teacher I have ever worked with or come into contact with
through my career.

I am humbled when I receive letters
from teachers. These letters ask how to stay motivated. They ask how to stay positive. This is a real issue. New teachers, teachers raising families, veteran teachers: We all struggle with the time and demands. Sometimes I feel like I can answer the letters and other times I am clouded with stress and work and can not read them without tearing up.

The
demands on teachers can steal the art of teaching. Our work day is for students.

Every minute of our day is spent
teaching/interacting/facilitating/disciplining/loving those amazing
students. That's our joy! But what comes at the end of those days requires another full work day without students. We don't have that time. It becomes our evenings and our weekends. This reality leads to teacher burn out.

In order to keep the joy alive here's what I have found that helps keep me motivated.

Close your door, look at your students, breathe deeply, and teach from your heart like no one is watching.

Slow down and listen - Focus on the little hearts and minds in front of you. Does anything else really matter right this second?

Pray for your students, school, and administration every day

Be honest without being negative

Focus on small things to make big changes over time.

Let go of what is out of your hands.

Be the point of positive impact for that student or that team teacher

Find something that brings you joy with your students and be sure it happens often.

Find one area you feel lacking in {we all have those areas} and google it. Research and read all you can until you feel like you have a plan to change one part of what you are doing to make it better. You may even find that what you are doing is actually right on track!

Prioritize and let the rest go

Be yourself because you are amazing...you are a TEACHER!

Have a fantastic week! We are in this together!

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Keeping the Joy in Teaching - Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits

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This is my seventeenth year of teaching primary age children. I have seen education fads come and go. Some have impacted my teaching greatly and some have not. It's easy to get caught up in the flashy fads but as days turn into weeks, and weeks turn into months, what sticks in the rigorous classroom [...]