Recently, Education Week, published an article, Don’t forget the adults: How schools and districts can support mental health by Madeline Will & Denisa R. Superville.  In 8 days, we will be reaching a significant milestone in this pandemic when on Friday, March 13, 2020, our schools and our communities were shut down indefinitely. Since that date, two years ago, our educators have been under increasing stress to continue to educate our children the way they used to, pre-pandemic, while trying at the same time to address students’ ever changing social and emotional needs. However, in order for teachers to successfully teach our students, building leaders need to take care of our teachers, and district leaders need to take care of our building leaders. Each level, including our district leaders need to have their own mental health needs addressed.

The article states that 1 in 4 teachers said they were experiencing symptoms of depression in an early 2021 survey by the RAND Corp. In a different RAND survey, most secondary school principals were experiencing frequent job-related stress—and one of their big stressors was supporting teachers’ mental health and well-being. The article continues that if these mental health needs are not addressed, we will see a mass exodus of educators in an already depleted field of qualified professionals. This will have a major impact on educating our children.

The impact will create a ripple effect in a classroom. A teacher who is experiencing symptoms of depression will not have the energy to plan their lessons effectively and create engaging small group lessons where students will most benefit. They will miss more school due to illness and substitute teachers, which are also in short supply, will be educating students more often. Whole group instruction and unengaged learning will become the norm leading to students not feeling connected to their adults. When students do not have adults that they feel connected to in school, it leads to their own social and emotional issues.

In an Ed Week survey done in February, 2022 of over 900 principals and district leaders, 44% said that they have increased professional development offerings on self-care. Other areas where teachers are being supported include adding counselors/mental health support (33%), support groups (13%), or additional time off (10%). Conversely, 17% stated that they did not offer any new supports to address mental health needs even though their supports were inadequate.

Leigh McLean, an assistant research professor at the Center for Research in Education & Social Policy at the University of Delaware has been researching this topic and has come up with some findings. McLean’s research has found that teachers’ mental health and commitment to their career is better protected when they experience more support and autonomy from school leaders. Having colleagues whom teachers can turn to for help also boosts mental health, she said. Furthermore, Dr. McLean stated that the most vulnerable teachers who are struggling with their mental health more than others are teachers of color, early-career teachers, and those in high-needs schools.

Based on the information provided in this article, here are some key takeaways:

1. Even though there is significant pandemic federal funding available to school districts right now to address mental health needs, one of the biggest issues is that there is a dearth of professional counseling staff and counseling services available to address the needs. The resources that are available are usually assigned to the student needs.
2. If counseling and other supports are going to be provided for staff, time needs to be carved out to make this a priority. This should not be considered an additional “assignment or task” for staff. Other initiatives may need to take a back seat for these supports. Using existing inservice or professional development days for this purpose would send a powerful message as to the importance of providing social emotional support.
3. Superficial programs will not work. Teachers and administrators need meaningful supports, not superficial programs that will allow districts to check off a box to say that they are doing it. This will create more frustration among staff.
4. Confidentiality is critical. If one on one or small group counseling services for staff will be available, they must be independent and not tied to supervision or evaluation. For this reason, some districts use an Employee Assistance Program through their health insurance programs or a third party to provide this support.
5. Principals and Superintendents can create an environment in which teachers and principals know they can go to their bosses and say they need to take a break. The gift of time can go a long way in support mental health of our educators.

Unfortunately, the mental health issues will get worse before they get better. As we transition from a pandemic to an endemic, more and more issues will begin to be exposed as both students and adults enter a more “normal” school day. It is critical that the social emotional needs of our adults and children get addressed or our student learning will never fully recover.