New Hampshire School Districts Move to Ease Teacher Stress, Burnout

New Hampshire Public Radio

Many educators are experiencing stress and mental health issues, with some, such as teachers of color, more affected than others. In response, school districts across the country are taking steps to support teacher mental health. In New Hampshire, a group of teachers attended a recent training to prevent burnout. Other states, such as Georgia and Delaware, are hiring mental health staff to support teachers and help them navigate social and emotional challenges in the classroom. A New York City program called Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education (CARE) has found improvements in teacher well-being through stress reduction exercises, such as breathing and meditation. “Your stress level can rise without you even realizing it because your attention is so outwardly directed at everything else that’s going on around you,” said Tish Jennings, a University of Virginia education professor who led the development and study of CARE. “So, what these practices do is build the capacity to be more aware of how you’re feeling at any given moment, so that you can be proactive.”

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