5 tools for cultivating educator well-being

Educators’ wellness is critical to student success. I’ve seen this consistently throughout my years in this field and across every grade level. When support for educators is built into our systems, including opportunities to strengthen their own internal resources, they have the capacity they need to do the deep work that’s being asked of them every day. 

In our building, we serve fifth through eighth grade students. That means our kids are facing at least two major shifts during their time with us: the developmental shift from fifth to sixth grade and the transitional year from middle to high school. The work that our educators do has a profound impact on our students, precisely because we’re working with them during these essential transitional years when they’re developing not just content skills and concepts, but also their executive function and ability to self-manage. Students’ impulse regulation, organization, time management and emotional regulation – all those aspects factor into the kind of deep support they need at this point in their lives and in their academics. 

To me, that means cultivating educators’ wellness, joy and ability to serve students from a space of abundant capacity must be central to my leadership practice. To that end, I organize my efforts around a few key pillars to help ensure my team can pour from full cups. 

Lead from a place of empathy. 

I’m a teaching principal. Tonight, I’ll review my lesson plan to prepare for my class tomorrow. I want to make sure that I’m modelling and upholding the same standards we want to see across every classroom, and providing the kind of fun and engaging learning experiences we know make a consistent positive impact for kids. It’s a tall order! And maintaining my own teaching practice keeps me deeply connected to what educators’ daily experience is truly like. However you can, cultivating deep empathy for the work of being in the classroom every day – of each unique school year – is essential for responding to the real needs and opportunities that come forward. 

Set clear parameters and stick to them. 

From my vantage point, I can often see multiple areas to address at the same time. But trying to touch on every aspect of our work together, at every opportunity, can dilute or even undermine my efforts to provide meaningful support for educators. For instance, it might seem efficient to combine a professional learning opportunity or coaching session with a more wellness-focused conversation. But, ensuring that each of these areas has their own dedicated time allows educators the space they need to prepare, and the clarity they need to engage fully and reap the intended benefits. 

Go deeper. 

Messages of appreciation, staff spotlights, fresh coffee or snacks – these are all on my list of go-tos for showing educators I care and giving our team a quick boost of energy. Alongside these gestures, I challenge myself to go deeper to either strengthen or create systems of support that can help educators sustain their energy throughout the year. One of the ways we do this is through weekly resilience programming. This provides a dedicated space for educators to cultivate deep internal resources they can rely on as we navigate challenges together. 

Run a few experiments each year. 

I’m not afraid to experiment. I change quite a bit every year, because I want to provide a better experience for educators. Recently, we’ve explored flipped meetings, which have really allowed us to protect our face-to-face time for problem-solving and in-depth discussions and professional learning. I see educators more consistently engaged, because they see the intentionality behind this structure and that it’s set up to respond directly to their input. So whether it’s our communication norms, meeting structures or our approach to collecting student data, finding space to test out a new routine can be a significant benefit to the team. 

Support connections between educators and families. 

When parents know how much dedication educators bring to their work, they’re more likely to be invested in collaborating to support kids’ academic success. But I’ve found it helpful to go a step further and include parents directly in supporting educators’ wellbeing. That might look like one-on-one conversations to promote shared understanding or recruiting parent volunteers to support wellness initiatives in the building. Grounding in the understanding that we’re all on the kids’ team, I can then welcome the ways families can pour back into educators, so we can continue to support students’ success together. It’s a whole-community effort after all. 

To bring each of these practices to fruition in your building, consider what data you have available. Where are some of the gaps in information around educators’ experiences? What’s one thing you might try to give you renewed insights that could make a meaningful difference for your team’s well-being? Bringing that persistent curiosity together with a commitment to care continues to be a core part of my practice, and I’m confident this approach will continue to bear fruit throughout the year.