Making Educator Wellness a Top Priority for Teacher Retention

Teaching is one of the most demanding yet rewarding professions. However, the daily stresses educators face, including long hours, heavy workloads, and emotional burnout, can negatively impact their mental and physical health. This often leads to high turnover rates, with up to 30-50% of new teachers leaving the field within their first 5 years.

Making educator wellness a top priority is critical for school districts looking to retain talented, experienced teachers. Beyond retention, prioritizing wellness allows teachers to be at their best in guiding and nurturing students. Here are some impactful ideas administrators and teachers can implement to support staff wellness.

Districts Must Lead The Charge for Educator Wellbeing

School districts play a pivotal role in making wellness central to their culture. They have the power to implement policies, programs, and resources that support teachers holistically. Specific strategies include:

• Offer 4-5 mental health days per semester and actively encourage staff to use them for self-care without guilt. Extra time off can relieve overwhelmed educators before they reach a breaking point.
• Providing fully or partially subsidized gym memberships and local fitness classes. Access to workout facilities and instruction promotes stress relief and physical well-being. Consider providing stipends teachers can use towards sports leagues, gym memberships, or fitness expenses.
• Hosting wellness seminars monthly or bi-monthly on topics like stress management, nutrition, mindfulness, work-life balance, and positive psychology. Bring in experts to teach healthy coping skills and recharge. Offer credit towards salary increases for participation.
• Setting clear expectations around email and work availability after hours and on weekends. Create policies to prevent burnout from overwork.
• Conduct anonymous wellness surveys quarterly and share results with staff. Ask about mental health, job satisfaction, workload, work-life balance, and factors causing undue stress. Use findings to shape support programs.
• Hiring a dedicated wellness coordinator to organize initiatives, provide mental health resources, and support struggling staff members one-on-one. Teachers need someone compassionate to look out for them.

Schools Can Help Teachers Thrive Daily

While districts establish infrastructure, schools themselves are vital for cultivating wellness in teachers' day-to-day work experience. Principals must make this a top priority through:

• Beginning faculty meetings, PD sessions, and staff gatherings with short mindfulness activities like breathing exercises, yoga stretches, or guided visualization. Center teachers mentally and relieve anxiety before diving into agenda items. Even 5 minutes makes a difference.
• Facilitating optional group activities outside school to build community and prevent isolation. Ideas include staff yoga classes, walking/running clubs, book clubs, potlucks, paint nights, and more. Make time for fun and friendship.
• Adjusting schedules when possible to give teachers time for medical appointments, childcare, and other family obligations without taking sick/personal days. This flexibility goes a long way.
• Creating calming spaces in the lounge for relaxation during free periods, prep time, and lunch. Provide comfortable seating, snacks, soothing music, fragrance diffusers, and positive affirmations.
• Encouraging regular screen breaks, fresh air breaks, and movement throughout the day to replenish mental and physical energy.

Individual Teachers Must Care for Themselves

While districts and schools create systems of support, each teacher must prioritize self-care. Small daily practices make a difference:

• Setting boundaries and saying no to extra unpaid duties that would cause excessive stress and cut into personal time. Guard against overcommitting.
• Taking a true 30-minute lunch break free of work. Step away from your desk, nourish yourself, decompress with colleagues, and move your body. Don't work through lunch.
• Developing personalized stress relief routines. Yoga, breathwork, cardio exercise, music, journaling, meditation, and more can activate the relaxation response. Start slowly and build habits.
• Ensuring adequate sleep of 7-9 hours per night. Lack of sleep severely exacerbates burnout. Keep a consistent bedtime and limit electronics use before bed. See a doctor if insomnia persists.
• Reaching out for help when needed. Seek support from administrators, colleagues, mentors, family, friends, therapists, or support groups. We thrive when supported.
• Reflecting on the positive impacts of your work and the joys of teaching. Revisit your purpose when you feel overwhelmed.

Schools can support educators holistically by working collectively across all levels. Teacher wellbeing and student learning go hand in hand. Investing in staff means investing in children’s growth.

By making educator wellness a priority, schools can retain passionate, mentally healthy teachers who have the energy and motivation to provide students with the best education possible. It's a critical investment in supporting staff so they can support children.