 | KEY MESSAGE: Disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the mental health of teachers and other educators in Colorado – which contributed to teacher stress, burnout, and resignations. Supporting the well-being of educators and staff is a top priority for districts. |
 | Connect educator support to student success. Having a stable, well-supported educator workforce is essential to the success and well-being of our students. Communication strategy should emphasize this important in order to explain why pandemic recovery funds are being prioritized for this purpose. |
 | Be prepared to talk about sustainability. Some investments in educator and staff stability and well-being may be one-time expenditures and other may require ongoing resources – some of which may even extend beyond the availability of ESSER funds. Talking about sustainability reinforces the district’s strong accountability and transparency. |
 | Know who the services where available to AND who received services. |
| How were students identified for support, especially those who were disproportionately impacted by COVID? |
| If funds were passed onto schools, how were school funds determined? |
A theory of action, or logic model, is a tool to help you explain and talk about the reasons why resources were deployed as they were. The following graphic illustration of the relationship between a program’s resources, activities, and its intended effects is meant to help you speak about this investment priority. Logic models clearly and concisely show how interventions affect behavior and achieve a goal.
Download the graphic as a template you can edit.
Resource links related to research on this investment priority:
- Department of Education, (2021), ED COVID-19 HANDBOOK Roadmap to Reopening Safely and Meeting All Students’ Needs, Volume 2, https://www2.ed.gov/documents/coronavirus/reopening-2.pdf page 42
- Lever N, Mathis E, Mayworm A. (2017), School Mental Health Is Not Just for Students: Why Teacher and School Staff Wellness Matters. Rep Emot Behav Disord Youth. 2017 Winter;17(1):6-12. PMID: 30705611; PMCID: PMC6350815.
- Byrne JJ (1998). Teacher as hunger artist: Burnout: Its causes, effects and remedies. Contemporary Education, 69, 86–91. https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Contemporary+Education&title=Teacher+as+hunger+artist:+Burnout:+Its+causes,+effects+and+remedies&author=JJ+Byrne&volume=69&publication_year=1998&pages=86-91&
- Oberle E, & Schonert-Reichl KA (2016). Stress contagion in the classroom? The link between classroom teacher burnout and morning cortisol in elementary school students. Social Science & Medicine, 159, 30–37. https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?journal=Social+Science+&+Medicine&title=Stress+contagion+in+the+classroom?+The+link+between+classroom+teacher+burnout+and+morning+cortisol+in+elementary+school+students&author=E+Oberle&author=KA+Schonert-Reichl&volume=159&publication_year=2016&pages=30-37&pmid=27156042&
- Diliberti, Melissa Kay, Heather L. Schwartz, and David Grant, (2021), Stress Topped the Reasons Why Public School Teachers Quit, Even Before COVID-19. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2021. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1121-2.html.
This section contains templates to support messaging of ESSER investments related to supporting educator and staff well-being.
