Educator wellbeing provides the foundation for the overall wellness of educators, students, and the school community. In this brief, we describe how educator wellbeing is impacted by school climate and culture, educators’ own social and emotional competencies and self-care strategies, and individual histories of trauma and crisis. The brief focuses on a wide range of strategies for educators and school leaders to promote and support educator wellbeing, provides examples of successful implementation of educator wellbeing practices in California school districts, and includes resources to bolster supports for educators.
What Works Brief
Mindfulness-Based Practices for Schools
Mindfulness practices cultivate attention to one’s thoughts, feelings, sensations, and how they affect one’s actions. Mindfulness is a promising approach to teaching educators and students self-awareness and self-regulation skills associated with success in school and through adulthood. It can be taught as standalone strategies for teachers’ own benefit and/or for use with students, and can be integrated into existing school structures and routines.
Research has linked mindfulness-based practices with outcomes indicative of a positive school climate and academic improvement, including:
- Cultivation of compassion and empathy
- Increased well-being, positive emotion, popularity, and friendship
- Improved self-regulation
- Reduced test anxiety
- Increased student focus and concentration on cognitive tasks in the classroom
- Improvement in reading competence
This brief describes the benefits of mindfulness for teachers and students, and shares ideas for integrating mindfulness throughout the school day, identifying evidence-based mindfulness programs to match strengths and needs, helping educators implement mindfulness programs and practices, and providing intensive supports for students facing additional challenges.
A Case Study of San Juan High School’s Safe and Supportive Schools Project
San Juan High School, a low-income, ethnically diverse school struggling to boost student achievement in California’s San Juan Unified School District, demonstrated consistent gains in its School Climate Index (SCI) over the three years of the California Safe and Supportive Schools Program implementation. This case study reflects on the programs and strategies that the school implemented and draws upon data collected as part of the program’s evaluation. Some of the key strategies discussed are:
- Stakeholder engagement and student voice
- Social-emotional learning
- Freshman mentoring
- Restorative justice
- Project-Based Learning
- Intervention efforts
Lessons Learned from California’s Safe and Supportive Schools Project
Over the course of the California Safe and Supportive Schools (S3) Project, the California Department of Education gained valuable insights into strategies that are effective in improving school climate in some of the most challenged high schools in the state. This What Works Brief describes the S3 framework and summarizes six of the key lessons learned:
- Go slow to move fast
- School leaders set the tone
- Empower adults and connect with young people
- Focus on norms first
- Prioritize meaningful actions and “quick wins”
- Changing relationships and engagement takes time and commitment
Social and Emotional Learning
Social and emotional competencies have been shown to be as important—and sometimes more important—than cognitive ability and academic knowledge to success in school, career, and life. These competencies include:
- Self-awareness
- Self-efficacy
- Emotion regulation
- Problem solving
- Collaboration
- Communication
- Empathy
- Goal setting
This What Works Brief summarizes what is known about how to teach and cultivate social and emotional competencies, a process generally known as Social-Emotional Learning (SEL).
Developed through the California Safe and Supportive Schools (S3) Grant, What Works Briefs summarize best practices, strategies, and programs for improving school climate. Based on research and grounded in experience, each brief provides practical recommendations for school staff, families, and community members. They are organized into three sections:
- Quick Wins: What Teachers and Adults Can Do Right Now
- Universal Supports: Schoolwide Policies, Practices, and Programs
- Targeted Supports: Intensive Supports for At-Risk Youth
Proactive and Inclusive School Discipline Strategies
Innovative school leaders have shifted away from punitive school discipline approaches because they generally do not work to reduce the behavior for which they are applied and, more often, have unintended negative and counterproductive consequences. This What Works Brief describes a range of innovative approaches that promote self-discipline and reduce punitive discipline by:
- Explicitly teaching students expected behaviors
- Motivating students to commit to school rules by noticing and encouraging students who follow them
- Addressing underlying conditions that provoke students to break school rules by providing opportunities for feedback and pro-social skill building
Developed through the California Safe and Supportive Schools (S3) Grant, What Works Briefs summarize state-of-the-art practices, strategies, and programs for improving school climate. Based on the most current research, each brief provides practical recommendations for school staff, parents, and community members. They are organized into three sections:
- Quick Wins: What Teachers and Adults Can Do Right Now
- Universal Supports: Schoolwide Policies, Practices, and Programs
- Targeted Supports: Intensive Supports for At-Risk Youth
Subscribe to the California Safe and Supportive Schools Newsletter to receive updates on the latest research, resources, policies, and practices related to school climate, safety, and well-being.
