During the pandemic, our schools have remained operational due to an extraordinary amount of day-to-day effort by educators. Illness and quarantine has led to short staffed buildings. The overall workload has increased significantly with extra duties, such as the need for more supervision during lunches and recesses to keep students separated and socially distanced. Fewer people and more work means that everybody is doing more. And this is in a context of high levels of stress and trauma as a baseline during a global pandemic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Teaching was already one of the most stressful professions<\/a>. The last couple of years have caused widespread burnout<\/a> and left many teachers questioning whether teaching is a viable long-term career<\/a>. Laura Thomas drew upon the work of Kim John Payne to try to understand why so many educators are at their breaking point<\/a>:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n High social complexity (lack of clarity around the social expectations, cultural norms, and how to navigate the expected social realities of a situation) + low form predictability (confusion about what is going to happen moment to moment, day to day, week to week) = stress reactive behaviors (fight-flight-flock-freeze-appease or signs that the amygdala, the lizard brain, has taken control and the prefrontal cortex\u2014the part that learns and plans and creates\u2014isn\u2019t fully engaged).<\/p>\r\nLaura Thomas in EduTopia<\/cite><\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Thomas suggested that educators acknowledge current challenges, try to make things as predictable as they can, extend grace to each other and themselves, and slow down to the greatest extent possible.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n There\u2019s one thing that can help educators slow down and take some of the pressure off: more time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n KESD district and school administrators came up with the idea of finding more time for teachers because they were worried about them. Curriculum Director Theresa Pollner recalled that they were hearing cries for help that were significantly different than the last couple years of pandemic schooling.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n People were telling us, this is beyond anything I\u2019ve ever experienced. I\u2019m not just going to shake it. We need something from the outside to help us.<\/p>\r\nTheresa Pollner, KESD Curriculum Director<\/cite><\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The administrative team and instructional coaches brainstormed possibilities. The existing time set aside for professional learning still felt important, since most of it was devoted to collaborative work time that most educators greatly valued. It would be difficult to convert full days because the state had already signaled that waivers would be unavailable for offering fewer school days to students.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The Superintendent tasked Theresa with preparing a request for the School Board. She knew that she would need to make a solid argument.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The proposal to the School Board<\/a> highlighted the district\u2019s priorities related to academic learning as well as social and emotional health. The text included links to several articles about teacher burnout and wellness for context. The proposal was first shared with a sub committee of the board, the Academic Excellence Committee. This committee was instrumental in supporting and advocating for it to the full board.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Theresa explained that while principals and other leaders were doing all they could to create supportive environments, there were few things as concretely supportive as more time. If educators were going to build relationships with students and do the hard work of creating an environment full of care and rich learning opportunities, they needed to be cared for and grounded themselves.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The rationale aligned with Alex Shevrin Venet\u2019s thinking about trauma-informed practices during the pandemic<\/a>, which emphasizes a systems-level approach, including attention to working conditions for adults.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n [Venet] refers to trivial moves towards teacher wellbeing as \u201ccutesy wellness\u201d practices because they don\u2019t actually address the sustainable changes teachers need in order to experience long-term positive mental health. Venet champions time, money, autonomy and support as ways school leaders can show up for their teachers.<\/p>\r\nNimah Gobir, in MindShift<\/cite><\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The School Board unanimously supported the proposal. They granted ten additional early release days even though they were only asked for eight days. Clearly the rationale was persuasive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n KESD had strong community connections in place through their experiential summer learning program<\/a> and the Kingdom East Afterschool Program (KEAP). In order to ensure the burden of the additional early release days didn\u2019t fall on families, KESD extended the KEAP program to provide programming during the times that students would typically be in school.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Carving out time in the calendar<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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A rationale that rests on learning and wellbeing<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Optional programming for students<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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