Upcoming New York State School Board’s Association Event: Promoting Educator Well-being

By, Kristen C. Wilcox, Associate Professor, University at Albany & Director, NYKids & Aaron Leo, Assistant Director, NYKids

What do we know about educator well-being during the pandemic and what can School Board members do to ensure that schools are safe and inviting places to work as we move past it?

The New York State School Board’s Association (NYSSBA) represents more than 5,200 members and is a valued NYKids’ advisory board member. This year, NYSSBA invited NYKids to share our most recent research at their summer “Leadership in Education Event.”

This two-day session beginning July 28^th at the Desmond Hotel in Albany will seek to “understand and address some of the most urgent challenges facing public schools today.” One such urgent issue is educator well-being.

As reported in previous NYKids’ blogs and presentations, the pandemic impacted educators in a variety of ways. In our survey study, for example, we found:

• Educators who identified as educators working with students with disabilities and English learners experienced greater levels of stress during the first year of pandemic-related disruptions;
• Reported levels of job dissatisfaction were greatest among educators working in schools serving the greatest percentage of economically disadvantaged students;

In the second phase of our study, we investigated six schools with relatively better educator responses to the pandemic and two of these are located in the Whitesboro Central School District. NYKids is delighted to partner with Dr. Brian Bellair, Whitesboro Central School District Superintendent, and Dave Russo, Whitesboro Central School District Assistant Superintendent, to share lessons learned at the NYSSBA event.

Below is a preview of some of the “stand-out” practices from Whitesboro Central School District we will share at the NYSSBA event.

• Encourage Proactive, Conscientious, and Caring Leadership
  How to do this?

• • Staying accessible physically, emotionally, and digitally
  • Supporting staff with caring and conscientious messaging
  • Backing up words of encouragement with tangible resources such as technical supports

• Encourage Problem-Solving and Innovative Mindsets
  How to do this?

• • Openness to innovation with clear expectations to be child- and family-centered
  • Maintaining norms of collaboration around solving problems

Our session will be offered on Friday July 28^th from 3:30-5:00 pm. We will engage participants in learning about leadership strategies that encourage staff educator well-being especially during times of unusual change or even crisis. One point of emphasis we will make is on the connection between well-being and empowerment. The interactive component of this presentation will invite participants to assess their own leadership strategies with regard to empowerment and encourage discussion about specific ways to encourage educator well-being and empowerment now and into the future.

As always, thank you for your interest in NYKids!

If you seek any support in using these or other evidence-based strategies – NYKids is here to help. Just reach out for a virtual meeting with one of our research staff or fold us into your school-based improvement planning by calling our University at Albany office at (518)-442-5171 or email us at nykids@albany.edu.

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