What is the Temperature of Your Staff?

By Richard Gretzinger

At James Williams Middle School, we work very diligently in pursuing a climate and culture that is both positive and ensures the success of all of our students. This has become extremely more difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic as we navigate virtual and blended learning models. The past nine months have truly proven to be a challenge and have elevated the stress levels of our staff, students, and community. One of the many stressors during this time is due to the obvious concerns of our staff and their families staying healthy throughout the pandemic. However, the emphasis and priority in our professional lives have centered around new learning and providing the same quality of education to our students in new and innovative ways. With this shift in priorities, it is easy to lose sight of our own staff’s physical and emotional well being. In return, unintentionally creating a learning environment that could turn toxic and ineffective.

But how do we not only keep a pulse on the needs of our staff but also respond appropriately to these needs? Well at JWMS we leaned on our prior learning centered around staff and student wellness. In the past couple of years, we began researching and putting into place practices centered around the Character Strong Curriculum. Three of our staff members attended Houston Kraft’s Character Strong workshop. The basis of the program is a paradigm shift in schools to infuse SEL and character into the daily fabric of every classroom. The number one strategy to create a safe school is to put an intentional, consistent focus on relationships. This includes relationships between adults in the building. This past school year, prior to our school being shut down, we successfully infused 2019-20 Character Strong into our homerooms and core classes. This is where the practice reached our students.

We also made a shift to school-wide Wellness Teams made up of every member of our staff. These wellness teams were teams that analyzed and action planned around family and community engagement, restorative practices, character strong implementation, student wellness, student engagement, celebrating students and staff accomplishments, and staff wellness. It was our staff wellness team that began to be intentional in promoting healthy habits and social interactions between staff. This team began planning staff activities but realized in order to plan these activities they needed some type of measure of what it was that our staff needed.

So at the beginning of the 2020-21 school our Support Squad PLC created a “Temperature Check” for staff that was given to them on a monthly basis. This check began with just three questions, “How are you feeling this week?”, “How are you feeling about safety precautions and/or procedures being followed?” and “What are your comfort levels with navigating Level2?”(our current blended learning model). Our staff wellness team analyzed the results of our first temperature check and realized it was apparent that staff were all very stressed in navigating our blended learning model. This team brainstormed ideas that would help staff alleviate stress as well as foster a positive and caring school climate.

This team proposed that during our weekly Wednesday professional development and planning day, there be a time period held sacred for staff wellness activities. This was established for a two week period for one hour. During this time frame staff could choose a game in the gym or dome such as dodgeball, join a walking group, participate in arts/craft activities, or individual activities such as meditation or yoga. The exit ticket included the submission of their activity along with a choice to post a picture and message on a padlet. The results from this exit ticket were very positive and affirmed that this time was a positive investment in our time and energy. The following are a few examples of our exit ticket responses:

“I went on an amazing outdoor stroll with even more amazing coworkers! Made my day!”
“I lifted weights with other teachers and relieved some stress.”
“I meditated using Calm for teachers, which is FREE! The title of the meditation was Before the Day-Pure Possibility. It focused on breathing and a focus of the day ahead.”
“I played dodgeball in the gym (and almost threw out my arm). :)”
“It was so nice to be competitive and get at it. We should do this more often.”
“Relaxing time spent coloring and having conversations with fellow co-workers. Best hour spent in a while.”
“It felt great to get a little exercise and relax my mind from daily stresses. Good to connect on a personal level with co-workers.”
“This was a great group with some fantastic conversation! We laughed, told stories, and had some deep conversation and we made pretty art!”
“An awesome time of being active and getting to enjoy my co-workers’ company outside of "normal" work-related duties. So cool to see their competitive/goofy side!”

This data, along with continued staff temperature checks, demonstrated the demand for weekly wellness time throughout the rest of the school year. Our wellness teams have also established staff recognition activities such a “15 Minutes of Fame” and “It’s 2 O’clock somewhere.” Our 15 minutes of fame is a compilation of staff shoutouts to other staff members including drawings for prizes. Our “It’s 2 O’clock Somewhere” activity is a short staff gathering where staff enjoys some type of treat such as popcorn, rootbeer floats, veggies, etc… Staff follows all of the district mitigation protocols when participating in these activities.