Case Study: Monona Grove High School

Many teachers at Monona Grove High School struggled with serving their students, managing their stress, and balancing their lives. While most teachers knew how to support their wellbeing, they struggled to implement the strategies and practices within the course of their workday. They found themselves setting their own self-care aside in order to meet the needs of their students, ignoring what they knew was best in order to “push through” and setting aside long term success for short term task completion.

After discussing the struggles teachers experienced, examining the rhythms and patterns to their workdays, and diving into the research on teacher stress, we developed a plan specific to the needs and issues of teachers at Monona Grove High School. We created a pilot group and developed a 6-month plan, with a specific theme and series of actions each month to stack on current teacher practices.

We provided weekly communication via email and video of the what and why of the new habit, along with an exploration of how the practice connects to each teacher’s individual purpose. We also created a community of support so teachers knew they were in it together and could rely on one another.

Even though the six month plan was interrupted by COVID-19 and the beginning of virtual learning, teachers still experienced successes. They noted that it is possible to make important and helpful changes and that the changes mattered.