Serving the Whole Person: Coaching for Teacher Wellness

by Katie Maciulewicz

There’s a lot of talk in education about social-emotional learning in classrooms and teaching the “whole child” – but what about teachers? What about that invisible, yet powerful force that tells teachers that taking a sick day is an act of betrayal? We all know it. It's the anxiety over leaving at 4:00 PM because the perfect teacher wouldn’t leave until all the papers were graded. It’s the deep sigh when there isn’t enough time to create a Pinterest-perfect extension activity for every single gifted student. It’s the omnipresent, all-consuming Teacher Guilt.

As instructional coaches, our core mission is to empower educators. But we can’t talk about pedagogy and learning goals without first addressing the human being sitting across from us. If a teacher is running on fumes and overwhelmed, it's basically impossible for them to engage in deep instructional growth. Our job is to serve the whole teacher, and that includes being a support for their mental health and helping them crush that insidious teacher guilt.

The Coach's Toolkit for Teacher Wellness

As coaches, we have a unique position to influence teacher well-being. Our one-on-one relationships give us the opportunity to listen, empathize, and provide targeted support. Let's explore some of the tools we can use to help teachers prioritize their own needs.

• Active Listening: The simplest and often most powerful tool is a listening ear. When a teacher comes to you feeling overwhelmed, simply giving them a safe, confidential space to vent can be incredibly therapeutic for them. Don't offer immediate solutions. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is to just hear them out.
• Empathy and Validation: It's a common misconception that instructional coaches are just for fixing problems. A huge part of our role is validating teachers' feelings. Phrases like, "That sounds incredibly stressful," or "I see why you'd feel that way," can help a teacher feel seen and understood. Validation is a great step toward building trust and a foundation for meaningful work.
• The Power of Permission: Teachers are often their own harshest critics. As coaches, we can give them permission to be human. Permission to not be perfect, to leave school at a reasonable hour, to ask for help, or to simply take a moment to breathe. This might be the most valuable gift you can give a teacher.

Beyond the One-on-One: Building a Culture of Wellness

While individual coaching is vital, our influence doesn't stop there. We can also help create a school-wide culture that values wellness and actively works to dismantle guilt.

• Facilitating Peer-to-Peer Support. Isolation is a major contributor to burnout. We can help break down silos by creating opportunities for teachers to connect and share. This could be a structured PLC focused on a specific challenge, a "coffee and collaboration" hour to just chat about the week, or even a simple suggestion to a struggling teacher to talk with a colleague who has been through the same thing. Knowing they aren’t alone in their struggles is a huge step in alleviating guilt.
• Reframing Data for Growth, Not Guilt. Test scores, progress monitoring, and other data points can be powerful tools for instructional improvement, but they can also fuel feelings of inadequacy. As coaches, we can help teachers reframe data conversations. Instead of focusing on what's "missing," we can analyze the data to find patterns, celebrate areas of growth, and pinpoint the next logical step. By using data to inform next moves rather than to assign blame, we can turn a stressful metric into an empowering tool.

Giving Permission to Be Human

So, how do we actively help teachers dismantle the guilt? We give them permission to be human.

1. Set and Model Boundaries. Show teachers that it’s okay not to work every weekend out of guilt. We can coach teachers on practical boundary-setting:

• Helping them create clear end times for their workday.
• Suggesting they avoid answering emails or grading during personal time. You can even help them set up office hours in the settings in your school’s communication tools or focus settings in their iPhone, which will block notifications outside of specified hours!
• Coaching them to use simple efficiency tools, like creating self-grading assignments or using the school's LMS for collecting work, to cut down on administrative tasks. Sometimes a tech tool can simplify a process and give them back crucial time.

2. Shift from Perfection to Progress. When a teacher feels guilty about what they didn't do, encourage them to make a quick list of what they did do and celebrate that progress. 
3. Actively Support Self-Care. This shouldn't be another item on their to-do list; it should be integrated.

• Suggest quick, actionable self-care: five minutes of quiet time after students leave, or listening to an uplifting or funny podcast while driving.
• Provide resources for stress management, like breathing exercises or mindfulness apps.

Remember: sometimes the best coaching isn't about the curriculum. It’s about meeting people where they are and giving them the support they need during stressful times.

As instructional coaches, we are champions of continuous improvement, and that includes the continuous improvement of well-being. By incorporating wellness into our coaching, we ensure that we are not just helping educators master a new teaching strategy, but empowering them to thrive as whole human beings. 

💾 Want more? 

• 📚 Read
• Domain 2 of the Core of Coaching Framework: Sustainable Change
• Leading the Whole Teacher by Allyson Aspey
• 🔊 Listen to the Restart Recharge podcast
• Building and Sustaining Educator Communities
• Reflections and Connections (New Coach Edition)
• Giving Feedback to Teachers: The End of the Compliment Sandwich
• 🎬 Watch (EDU Coach Network All-Access Members only)
• ROUNDTABLE: Leading from Within: Coaching for Teacher-Driven Change
• WEBINAR: Coaching in the Midst of Crisis
• WEBINAR: Supporting New Teachers Beyond Orientation