System-wide Implementation of K-12 Workplace Well-Being
System-wide Implementation of K-12 Workplace Well-Being
Some ideas from B.C. and Alberta
By: Dr. Charlie Naylor, Brian Andjelic
Date: October 5, 2022
Many workplace well-being initiatives in Canadian school districts originally developed approaches focusing on the individual, such as mindfulness, improving sleep patterns, doing more exercise, and improving diets. This approach was critiqued as limited by those who felt such a focus ignored systemic factors, like class size and workload, that can impact teacher and staff well-being. As Chelsea Prax, programs director of children’s health and well-being at the American Federation of Teachers, said in an Education Week article:
“You can’t deep-breathe your way out of a pandemic; you cannot stretch your way out of terrible class sizes; you cannot ‘individual behavior’ your way out of structural problems. Those are effective coping measures, but they don’t change the problem”
(Will, 2021).