Provide universal schoolwide supports for educator wellbeing through peer-to-peer structures, leader actions, and shared community norms¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The brief recommends schoolwide policies, practices, and programs that make educator wellbeing a core organizational value with collective responsibility. Peer-to-peer supports include professional learning communities dedicated to adult SEL, induction and mentoring for early-career teachers, trained psychological "first responders," and Mental Health First Aid training. Leader supports include building adult SEL into professional learning, open communication about stressors, and regular wellness surveys.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• School leaders organize buildings and routines so that collective responsibility for peer wellbeing becomes a core organizational value
• Dedicated time and space, such as PLCs, for attending to adults' social and emotional learning

Constraints¶

Target Learners¶

• school leaders
• teachers and school staff
• early career teachers

Target Learning Goals¶

• adult social and emotional learning
• recognizing and responding to distress in colleagues

Related Strategies¶

• Embed practical stress-management and self-care strategies into existing daily routines
• Target school-climate improvement within individual schools and communities, using schoolwide behavior systems, social-emotional learning, and compensatory supports
• Provide targeted intensive supports for educators at elevated risk, including check-ins, buddy systems, and fast-access mental health services
• Address educator wellbeing structurally: institutional policies and collective responsibility rather than individual enforcement

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Browning, A., & Romer, N. (2020). To create safe and healthy schools during a pandemic, prioritize educator wellbeing. WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED610071