Educator Well-Being: Back-to-School Resources to Prevent Burnout
Explore free educator well-being resources to prevent burnout, support mental health, navigate digital well-being and advocate for healthier schools.
A new school year brings fresh energy – new students, new lesson plans, new goals. It also brings back the familiar pressures many educators know too well: heavy workloads, staff shortages and the kind of chronic stress that can lead to burnout before the first grading period even ends.
Why Does Educator Well-Being Matter?
Educator well-being is the foundation of a healthy, stable and effective learning environment – and it's directly linked to student outcomes. A 2023 review of research found positive relationships between teacher well-being and student well-being in 93 percent of studies, and between teacher well-being and student learning and achievement in 84 percent of studies. When educators thrive, students do too.
That connection was front and center at the 2026 AFT convention, where delegates passed a resolution calling for robust investment in educator well-being – including mental health support, full staffing with credentialed professionals, reasonable workloads, mentorship, employee assistance programs, and workplace practices grounded in trauma-informed and restorative approaches. The resolution also underscored something just as critical: protecting educator voice and professional autonomy, so educators can teach with integrity and without fear of retaliation.
As you head back into the classroom, explore these free educator well-being and teacher and school staff wellness resources from Share My Lesson. They can help you recognize burnout, support mental health, navigate digital well-being, build supportive school communities and advocate for the working conditions that make sustainable teaching possible.
Educator Burnout: Warning Signs and Solutions
Burnout isn't a personal failing; it's a response to real structural conditions – staffing shortages, unmanageable workloads and insufficient support. AFT's Beyond Burnout report, developed in partnership with Educators Thriving, found that when educators receive meaningful, system-level support through structured labor-management collaboration, the results are measurable: a 97 percent educator return rate the following year, a 10 percent decrease in emotional exhaustion, and gains in job satisfaction across the board.
Explore Share My Lesson webinars on recognizing the signs of burnout and emotional exhaustion:
Mental Health Resources for Educators and Students
Rising student mental health needs, paired with a persistent shortage of counselors, social workers, psychologists and other specialized instructional support personnel, have left many educators stretched thin trying to fill gaps outside their training. Supporting your own mental health while supporting your students' is necessary.
Look for Share My Lesson materials on:
Trauma-informed and restorative practices for the classroom.
Supporting connection, joy, and well-being for yourself and the students you serve.
Student Screen Time, Cellphones and Digital Well-Being
Excessive screen time and addictive social media algorithms have well-documented effects on student mental health, contributing to anxiety, depression and diminished engagement. As of this April 2026, 43 states and Puerto Rico had adopted laws or policies on K-12 classroom cellphone use – a sign of how urgently schools are grappling with this issue. Educators bring essential, experiential knowledge to these conversations.
Share My Lesson offers resources to help you:
Show students how to consume digital content safely, think critically and create responsibly.
Build student connection, engagement and social skills in a digital age.
How Schools and Districts Can Support Educator Well-Being
Individual coping strategies matter, but they can't substitute for the systemic changes that actually reduce burnout: manageable workloads, safe and respectful school climates, stable staffing and leadership that fosters trust and autonomy. The AFT convention resolution calls for exactly this kind of investment – and for educator voice to remain central in shaping what well-being support looks like at the school, district and state level.
This year, take care of yourself the way you take care of your students. Explore these resources on Share My Lesson, connect with your local union and remember: your well-being isn't separate from your students' success, it's essential to it!
Join the Health & Wellness Community
We are bringing fitness instructors, social-emotional and mental health leaders, and nutritionists together so we can collectively “workout” and de-stress our bodies and our minds.
Natalie Dean is the Associate Director of affiliate engagement for Share My Lesson at the AFT. She manages the site's outreach strategy and national contests, while promoting its value to AFT members to more than 3,000 local AFT affiliates.
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