Teacher and Director Well Being

Supporting Teacher Mental Health 

Now more than ever, the need to support  teacher-well being is paramount. Being with children through traumatic times is emotionally draining and evocative! Working to give children what they need socially and emotionally as well as cognitively can challenge teacher’s own equilibrium in the best of times, and we are not in the best of times!

Previously, Schools That Heal offered an afterschool school based component for teacher support group services, but encountered low attendance due to conflicts with individual schedules and after school commitments. 

While this service is no longer being offered as part of Schools That Heal, beginning in September 2025, there will be a monthly upper west side based teacher support group for pre-K-3rd grade teachers who wish to enroll on their own. In addition, Lesley is facilitating support weekends in Marlboro Vermont in early May and early October. To  see  information about the May event, Click Here.

When teachers are invited to have an expressive voice for their experiences, they may feel less burdened, more available and more joyful as they interact with the social and emotional lives of children.

Supporting Directors and School Leaders: Our Directors Forum

Our Directors Forum meets quarterly at the West Side Montessori School on the Upper West Side. This group allows school leaders to come together to share experiences with children, parents and teachers as well as be in the “good company” of others who know the demands of the work. Leadership can be isolating. The Directors Forum can diminish emotional and social isolation through sharing within a therapeutic environment and an emotionally responsive framework provided by the facilitator.