Fearless Schools: Building Trust, Resilience, and Psychological Safety

by Douglas Reeves

In a clinical study, anxiety was associated with heart disease, and depression with asthma, persistent cough, hypertension, heart d...

teachers and school administrators have faced exceptionally stressful conditions. Surveys reveal that teacher morale declined dramatically and that the emotional toll taken by the students they see, especially by the students with whom they are not in contact, is devastating.

it is inescapable that with more than 92% of COVID-19 deaths affecting those age 55 and over, and almost 30% of the teaching population over age 50, concerns for personal health also contribute to teacher stress.

When things are overwhelmingly stressful, it is worth recalling the students and families we have helped. I have friends who, during the COVID-19 shut down, have taken out keepsakes, such as pictures and letters from former students, to remind them of how important their work is.

we can bring to mind those times when our resilience brought us through exceptional challenges.

focused on a sense of meaning and purpose that they had nurtured for a very long time, in many cases since childhood.

focus on the present.

two inboxes. One is filled with things we can control—the feedback we provide to students, the ways we engage with colleagues, the new ...

People with internal locus of control • tend to be less influenced by the opinions of other people;

Conversations, email chains, and meetings that lead you to perseverating on an external locus of control must be avoided.

The fourth way of bouncing back from stress is to practice gratitude. Some people keep a gratitude journal, while others simply begin the day by reflecting on the people and things for which they are grateful.

Stress is a reality for the vast majority of educators and leaders, but so is resilience. Bouncing back from stress requires a focus on our sense of mission. Children, families, colleagues, and communities depend on us, and thus we lead lives of meaning and purpose no matter the stressors of the day.

When we choose to focus on the things we can control, then we can enjoy the psychological balm of the internal locus of control.

we bounce back from stress by practicing gratitude. We contemplate and express gratitude not only for the people and things around us but also for the memories of friends and loved ones of the past.

Stress is typically a reaction to external conditions—work, relationships, and social and community pressures.

Anxiety is a person’s specific reaction to stress, and its origin is internal

Anxiety is characterized by a persistent feeling of apprehension or dread in situations that a...

Anxiety, on the other hand, is the same gripping fear toward every car,

anxiety is the response to every new colleague, new supervisor, new job, or new professional practice. The automatic response is fear and dread, sometimes to a paralyzing degree, rather than an inquiry into the reality of the situation.

(PTSD) that arises due to traumatic events...

anxiety can impair their ability to lead a rich, full, and joyful life if they are not able to distinguish the past from the present.

Yoga and meditation share in common an effort to remove distractions and a focus on breathing and the body, and these techniques are available to anyone with an open mind.

Ask a teacher when was the last time they had lunch just to have a break rather than combining lunch with tutoring students, grading papers, or meeting with colleagues. Indeed, almost 40% of American workers felt that they were not encouraged to take breaks for lunch, and almost 20% reported that their supervisors would think that they are less productive if they took a lunch break. There is thus a deep irony in an administrator demanding that teachers give up their lunch time to listen to a presentation

Breaks do not have to involve eating, walking, or exercise, though all of these activities are worthwhile. Do not underestimate the power of a breathing break for just one minute.

While stress and anxiety are often associated with specific events and causes,

depression can be pervasive and long-lasting, often caused not by a specific event, but by chemical imbalances in the brain

Characterized by an overwhelming sense of listlessness, loneliness, and despair, depression can have effects ranging from occasional sadness to incapacitating paralysis.

Bouncing back from depression falls into two separate categories: mental and physical.

severe depression, 40% were able to recover fully and achieve what the researcher called complete mental health, compared to 78% of the non-depressed population, with a combination of regular physical exercise and a mental health regimen that included some involvement in spirituality

physical exercise as a part of the recovery program.

psychotherapy, and in particular, cognitive behavioral therapy, is effective in treating depression.

exercise works as well as antidepressants (Harvard Health Letter, 2019). Consistent low-intensity exercise not only improves mood but also has an observable impact on regions of the brain associated with improved mental health.

select something that can be sustained over time.

While not all educators and leaders are clinically depressed, I have never met one who is free from stress or anxiety.

What is your mission, and how does it help you cope with stress? What differences do you find between your personal mission and that of your school or organization?

How have your personal experiences with loss informed your ability to deal with stress?

What are the factors that influence your health and happiness that, in your judgment, are clearly within your control right now?

Gratitude is a key to recovery from stress. What are three things for which you are most grateful right now?

“Organizational resilience is the ability of an organization to anticipate, prepare for, respond and adapt to incremental change and sudden disruptions in order to survive

In the context of educational systems, this requires that schools not only embrace technology but also maintain one-to-one relationships between students and teachers with and without new technologies.

technology advocates noted that internet connectivity was the key to equity

Educational systems cannot rely on superhuman efforts that burn out teachers and administrators.

For the one in seven children in the US facing food insecurity, they are more likely to receive consistent and nutritious meals at school than at home

In many cases, students are also safer in school than at home

parents—especially working single parents struggling to make ends meet—cannot drop their job obligations and stay home. Leaving young children at home, sometimes under the supervision of other children, is a recipe for danger

the greatest long-term cost of shutting students out of school is the enduring decline in literacy skills that will inevitably increase the dropout rate and its accompanying costs of unemployment, poverty, greater medical needs, and increased involvement in the criminal justice system

Here are five disruptions leaders should contemplate for the years 2021 through 2030:

Work Stoppages Large numbers of staff members refuse to come to schools and other buildings that they regard as unsafe.

Financial Distress Revenues from local property taxes, state sales taxes, and state income taxes, on which many school districts depend, could decline drastically. The likelihood of local voters to approve bond issues and tax hikes will be negligible.

administrative ranks will be the easiest targets for personnel costs, and districts that are accustomed to having a set of assistant superintendents, executive directors, and directors will be left with