Breaking the burnout cycle with a sustainable teaching environment

It’s no secret—teachers are burning out in schools across the country.

“I don’t know a teacher right now that’s not struggling, and I know a lot of teachers,” says Micaela DeSimone in a video produced by Brief But Spectacular. “I have decided to leave teaching after this year, because it is at the point where my mental and physical health can’t sustain this profession anymore. It’s a grieving process. I’m mourning the loss of a life I expected, and I am mourning the loss of a future I’d always imagined for myself.”

This sentiment is not uncommon. Research from McKinsey & Company says that since 2013, “the annual teacher turnover rate has hovered around 8 percent nationally and is more than double that for schools designated for Title 1 funding.” 

And in 2023, 23% of teachers reported they were likely to leave their job by the end of the academic year. While this marks an improvement from 2021 and 2022—when the pandemic was putting an unprecedented strain on educators—teachers continue to self-report worse well-being than the general working population. 

“When kids are absent, [the administration] just wants you to keep moving forward,” says Kaitey Yanes-Belanger, Special Education Teacher at Map Academy, about her previous experience working in a traditional high school. “You’re constantly trying to balance teaching the kids that haven’t come to school, teaching the kids that were absent, and keeping the rest of the class on track, while also completing a ton of other projects.”

In addition to these large workloads that can take a toll on their wellbeing, teachers report leaving their jobs due to a lack of opportunities for peer collaboration, poor compensation, and inadequate support for new educators (according to data gathered by the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy in a 2024 report).

Data and anecdotes like these point to larger, profession-wide problems that leave teachers stressed, overworked, and disempowered. 

“Schools and the education system are in deep trouble because we’re not listening to the teachers that have been saying that the situation is unsustainable for quite a long time,” explains Carolina Artacho, a STEM Teacher at Map. “I feel like a lot of us are in teaching because we care, but it cannot cost our mental health and well-being. If you pair that with not having livable wages, then that’s just not a proposition, no matter how much you care.”

These contributing factors are undeniably complex, requiring nuanced, often system-wide solutions. But a student-centered and collaborative approach to teaching and classroom management can help schools empower teachers and prevent burnout.

Map Academy is an example of a more sustainable model for students and staff alike. Map is a free, alternative, public charter high school that’s intentionally designed so students can learn at their own pace and in ways that work for them. In turn, teachers are able to focus on individual student growth rather than class-wide academic or behavioral standards.

“Instead of just tracking how many parent phone calls I made that week, or how many behavior plans I wrote—before, that’s what I was tracking, it was a lot of paper—here, it’s all about student engagement,” Kaitey (Special Educator Teacher) explains. “[At Map,] we’re tracking their reactions to revisions, how they’re reacting when they do get revisions and they have to make corrections … This time [at Map] seems like it’s so much more well-spent.”

A teacher feeling their time is well-spent isn’t just a perk of a student-centered teaching model like Map’s—it’s a major contributor to retention. When asked their top reason for remaining in the profession, teachers overwhelmingly replied “meaningful work.”

Reflecting on her past experiences at other high schools, Kaitey explains that keeping a large class on the same page is complicated when there are behavioral issues at play, which are often caused by things going on outside of school.

“There’s no assistance, and one teacher is left to try to balance all of that. It’s chaotic sometimes,” she recalls. “It can be a lot to absorb emotionally because a lot of times as a teacher, you feel what the kids feel. When you’re trying to juggle so many things all day and keep chaos contained to your room, and then you come back the next day to do it again, it’s definitely tiring.”

To prevent this kind of chaos and the burnout that can follow, Map’s teachers and social workers are constantly communicating and collaborating. 

“Here, everybody has the same mission and everybody is working towards the same thing, whereas in other schools you’re definitely isolated,” Kaitey explains.

And when disruptions or problems arise academically, socially, or emotionally among students, Map’s collaborative model ensures they are addressed quickly and holistically with support from a team of social workers.

“There are a lot of behaviors that are being managed here, but it’s not all on the teachers, first of all, and it’s not all on one person,” says Steve Sell, Assistant Director and Instructional Coach. “It’s not one person’s problem to figure it out.” 

Instead of being assigned to a single teacher, Map Academy students are members of Learning Studios, where they work with an interdisciplinary team of teachers. This model plays a huge role in Map’s collaborative staff culture and ensures flexibility for both students and teachers. 

From day-to-day, hour-to-hour, and student-to-student, teachers on Map’s studio teams are able to adapt and alter their mode of instruction, or even the subject at hand. This personalized, versatile method of teaching and learning serves each student’s unique needs while preventing feelings of stagnancy and disengagement among teachers.

“There’s a lot of flexibility to the time spent in those studios for both staff and for students,” explains Steve. “This is something that staff really appreciate—their day is not organized by the clock, by the bell, or by a schedule.”

At Map, progress is prioritized over perfection and academic and behavioral expectations are realistic. This creates a welcoming, judgment-free learning environment for students while alleviating some of the pressure commonly put on high school teachers. 

“In another setting, you’re almost expected to be perfect in a way,” says Alec Provo, a Special Education and Generalist Teacher at Map. “Your room is meant to be completely in order. If there’s any issue, that’s a problem, you’re in trouble, something has to change. I think the pressure of being expected to make sure that not only you are doing exactly what you’re supposed to be doing but that all of these teenagers are doing exactly what they’re supposed to be doing all the time really eats at people’s minds.”

Unreasonable expectations like these have proven to be a factor when it comes to teacher attrition. When asked what contributed to teachers wanting to leave or having already left their jobs, “expectations” was the third most common answer.

“Here, there’s a lot more room for understanding,” Alec continues. “Everyone’s not perfect all the time. Everyone can’t always do exactly what they’re told.”

“I think there’s a lot of perfectionism in teaching, and there’s a lot of perfectionism in education leadership,” explains Steve (Assistant Director & Instructional Coach). “I think that’s a really dangerous part of our profession. That drive to be perfect and get it right all the time, that’s not sustainable. That’s what leads to burnout.”

Behavior management can also lead to teacher burnout. According to a 2022 nationally-representative study by RAND, around one-quarter of surveyed teachers cited “managing student behavior” as one of their top three causes of job-related stress.

But teachers at Map aren’t expected to police student behaviors like phone use, tardiness, or late assignments, all of which can be a heavy responsibility on staff. Instead, students experience the natural consequences of their actions—which might include falling behind academically and delaying their graduation—while staff focus on building students’ intrinsic motivation.

“Life is about natural consequences and we, as a school, do not exist to control our students,” explains Rachel Babcock, Map Co-Founder and Co-Director. “Over time, the natural consequence of a lack of effort will be a lack of progress, and we can deal with that. But the purpose of school is to prepare our students for life outside of school, and in life outside of school no one is yelling at people to put their phones away.”

And when teachers aren’t burdened with managing behaviors that would be restricted in traditional classrooms, they can focus on what is at the heart of their profession: teaching, learning, and helping students succeed.

“At first, it’s strange. It’s almost like a culture shock,” says Jaclyn Leitao, Math Teacher, about adjusting to teaching at Map. “But over time you’re like, ‘That’s great. I don’t want to talk to them about what they’re wearing … or what they’re doing with their phones. I just want to help them with math and help them reach their goals.”

While there is no one-size-fits-all solution to preventing teacher burnout, the positive impact of Map’s model on its staff is shown through its high retention rates. In addition to the competitive pay and benefits provided to staff, Map teachers report they have the freedom and support to teach students more effectively, are able to grow as educators, and are part of a team that centers the wellbeing of both students and staff.

“The leadership at Map is very protective of teachers—not just professionally, but really the emotional labor that comes with the work of an educator,” says STEM Teacher Carolina. “They are actively making sure you’re not hitting that burnout, and are protective of you as an individual for your own personal emotional wellbeing.”