Attention school administrators: Teachers think you could be creating a better work environment—and they have suggestions for how to do it.
Teachers want leaders to trust them with autonomy in the classroom. They want time to collaborate with colleagues and take care of themselves. And they want support in handling student misbehavior, teachers said in a recent survey from the EdWeek Research Center.
In short, wrote one of the respondents, “teachers need to know that administrators have their back.”
The findings come from the third annual Merrimack College Teacher Survey, which asked nearly 1,500 public school teachers and 131 private school teachers about their job satisfaction and mental health.
This year’s results paint a sobering picture: Compared to survey results in 2023 when morale showed signs of improving, more teachers say that they’re dissatisfied with their jobs. A greater share in 2024 report that a raise would help reduce their financial stress. Just under three-quarters say that more support for dealing with student misbehavior would improve their mental health.
But they also think there are steps school leaders could take to support teacher well-being. In more than 950 open-ended responses, teachers outlined what they wished school leadership programs would teach budding administrators about fostering environments that support staff members’ mental health.
Many of these suggestions echo similar themes from past surveys. Teachers wanted school and district leaders to listen to their concerns.
“When staff cries out for help, most educators need it and are not exaggerating the issue,” one respondent wrote.
They also asked administrators to avoid saddling teachers with too many additional responsibilities. “The more you put on the teachers’ plates without removing items off of it, the worse the mental well-being of the teachers. We are exhausted!” one respondent wrote.
But a few new trends emerged, too. Read on for insight into how teachers want their leaders to be prepared to support them. The following are direct quotes from survey respondents.
Help manage student discipline, especially when teachers’ safety is at risk
- “[Administrators] should focus at least a little bit on how their treatment and approach to student behaviors influences the mental health and safety of their teachers. Students who don’t ever have consequences often accelerate their behaviors. Teachers are on the front lines when those behaviors boil over.”
- “Check in on teachers especially after emotional or scary incidents with students (i.e. after breaking up fights or injury to the teacher).”
- “Listen and act quickly when a student is being unsafe in the classroom or is (repeatedly) disrespectful.”
Give teachers autonomy
- “Trust the experienced teachers to know how to teach. Don’t keep pushing out new programs. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”
- “Listen to your teachers. You hired them because you trusted them. Let them teach and don’t micromanage. If they have suggestions for areas that need improvement, try them out instead of dismissing them.”
Schedule more collaborative planning time
- “Teachers need time and opportunities to engage and interact with one another during the school day. Lunch times that overlap varying grade levels, planned [professional learning] times, principals/administrators MUST be available to staff.”
- “They need to give teachers opportunities to talk to each other, problem-solve situations, and work together.”
- “We are overwhelmed and overworked. We need more time to prep and collaborate with colleagues, not more staff meetings and [professional development].”
Provide teachers with the tools to address student mental health
- “We need training on how to best address students with various mental health needs. While we know there might not be one method that works for all students, it would be helpful to delineate strategies for [attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder], autism, stress, anxiety, etc.”
- “There should be more programs on adolescent behavior/psychology.”
- “Student welfare is key to student learning and growth.”
Respect teachers’ time off
- “Teachers should not be made to feel guilty for using a personal day. We earned these days and need them for our mental health.”
- “Whether [administrators] mean to or not, it is frowned upon to take sick days and personal days. Treat employees like they are adults; never say, ‘we don’t let the children … so you cannot … ’”
- “Physical and mental health are tied together. If you don’t allow teachers the time they need to recuperate from illness both physical and mental health will diminish.”
- “Please no micromanaging of sick days.”
