As spring settles in and the school year rounds its final corner, a familiar fatigue begins to spread, not just among students, but among educators, too. Recent data indicates that 44% of K-12 teachers in the United States report feeling burned out often or always. This burnout doesn't just affect teachers; it has a ripple effect on students. Studies have shown that teacher burnout is associated with lower student performance, well-being, and mental health outcomes. These findings underscore the importance of supporting teachers to ensure student success. If we want students to stay connected, inspired, and engaged, then we must start upstream. We must ask: What are we doing to sustain the ones creating the environments where we want students to thrive? This is where school leaders come in, not just as policy makers, but as partners, allies, and motivators.Support Builds TrustToo often, support for teachers comes in the form of evaluation checklists and vague affirmations. What educators need, especially during this critical season, is meaningful partnership. That begins with school leaders shifting their mindset from oversight to alongside. When administrators model vulnerability, show up in classrooms, and genuinely ask teachers, “What do you need right now?”, it doesn’t just boost morale, it builds trust. And trust is the foundation for every ripple that follows.Action Step: Create weekly “wellness check-ins” with different departments within the school building, not to evaluate performance, but to listen, collaborate, and share solutions. Use these moments to spotlight what's working and support teachers in areas of need.Recognizing ImpactIncentives aren’t about free donuts and casual Fridays (at least not by themselves). Real motivation comes from feeling seen, valued, and empowered. Teachers are deeply mission-driven, but mission alone can’t fight burnout. Administrators can create incentive systems that affirm effort, celebrate innovation, and open pathways for professional growth, especially when tied directly to student success.Action Step: Launch a “Ripple Recognition” program, where teachers nominate each other for actions that had a visible impact on student engagement. Celebrate these stories school-wide to reinforce the link between teacher effort and student transformation.Creating ConnectionsWhen teachers are energized and supported, they have more bandwidth to focus on what matters most: connecting with students. Especially now, when disengagement spikes, students need consistent, caring adults who notice when they start to fade. But teachers can only notice if they’re not drowning in paperwork, test prep, and endless to-dos. Administrators can lighten the load by prioritizing relationship-building over rigid scheduling.Action Step: Encourage teachers to use their advisory/homeroom blocks intentionally to check in with students showing signs of disengagement. Administrators can support this by streamlining non-essential meetings and reducing redundant paperwork or data entry tasks that take away from student-facing time. This allows teachers to focus on relationship building which has a doubling effect of counteracting fatigue in students and teachers alike.Building CommunityThe most effective schools aren’t powered by isolated heroes, they thrive as collaborative communities. When administrators create systems that help teachers care for themselves and each other, they model the very culture they hope students will inherit. Teachers who feel emotionally safe are more likely to take emotional risks, try new strategies, and extend that confidence to their students.Action Step: Implement a peer coaching initiative focused not just on instructional strategies, but on emotional resilience and classroom climate. Pair this with short PD sessions centered around trauma-informed practices and culturally responsive teaching.Investing in Teachers is Investing in StudentsAt the heart of it all is the student who’s one discouraging moment away from disengaging entirely. Every ounce of energy we invest in teachers multiplies in their classrooms. Every time we empower an educator to stay connected, we increase the chances that a student will stay connected too. This is the ripple effect in motion.It can be difficult for school leaders to keep a pulse on every teacher, every classroom, every student. That’s where MirrorIM can help, designed to give administrators and educators real-time insight into teacher and student engagement. With MirrorIM, you can identify where support is needed most, track progress, and ensure that no teacher, or student, falls through the cracks.As the school year winds down, don’t just ask your teachers to push through, walk beside them. Invest in them. Build systems that fuel their fire. Because when we support our teachers, we transform the whole school community!
The DMC Learning Success Team has over 30 years of combined experience in education, teaching in K-12 settings, and supporting learning success in college/university settings. Drawing from these experiences, DMC is committed to providing resources and tools related to our current work, which involves helping educational partners improve their culture through intentional and scalable solutions.
