DA Magazine Explores the Benefits of SEL for Teachers and Administrators with Director of Development Jill Molli
District Administration Magazine (DA Magazine) featured Conscious Discipline Director of Development Jill Molli in a Thought Leadership Q&A this month. The topic of administrator and teacher retention is often discussed, but the solution may not be one most expect. In this article, Jill explains how Conscious Discipline helps reduce turnover and improve wellness for teachers and administrators. “Helping adults establish healthy practices like self-regulation is no longer optional; it’s 100% essential if we want any of our other educational initiatives to be successful.”
An Insider’s Look at DA Magazine’s Recent Thought Leadership Feature
The March/April issue of DA Magazine provided a forum for Jill to further the important message about the benefits of professional development plans that trend away from traditional rewards and focus instead on teachers’ and administrators’ internal self-regulation and wellness practices.
Intense Stress Requires an Intense Focus on Community
Educators and administrators have been operating under varied stages of burnout and overwhelm for years. The challenges they face daily can lead to stress, anxiety, and depression. This kind of school environment has a trickle-down, negative effect on the students they serve. Traditional education methods place the students at the center of improvements. However, creating a healthy school culture conducive to ending the cycle of exhaustion and advancing staff wellness must focus on the adults’ skillsets first. Conscious Discipline’s insightful practices and evidence base does just that.
With Conscious Discipline’s guidance, teachers and administrators can discover self-regulation practices that soothe nervous systems, enabling them to notice and acknowledge their own needs and emotions before effectually turning outward. If teachers and administrators are to stay, a connected culture built on practices that help them navigate both immediate and long-term upset, high expectations, significant challenges, and mounting pressures is essential. “We show teachers how to coach themselves and to recognize and regulate their own emotions,” says Jill, “and we focus on building a community of teachers who support each other in this approach. The whole culture of a school changes as a result.”
Professional Development Plans that Support Authentic Self-Care and Wellness
Traditional models for building morale to increase and/or maintain staff retention and student success do not work. External incentives such as dress downs days are fine in the moment, but do not lead to long-term job satisfaction. A singular focus on data perpetuated by academic performance also misses the mark. “A typical professional development plan focuses on academics, says Jill, “But we work with schools to create PD plans that include a focus on the teacher’s self-regulation skillset and overall wellness.”
Self-care has become a buzzword that holds little actionable meaning. The wellness component of Conscious Discipline puts boots on the ground with applicable strategies built directly into PD plans with measurable results.
“A PD plan with us might include asking how they (teachers) are going to prioritize their own health. The administration leads with their commitment and asks teachers to make a commitment too. Then, when admin checks in on academics, they also check on how the teachers are doing emotionally, mentally, or physically. With small but meaningful shifts like this, teachers start feeling safe, connected, valued, and appreciated. And that feeling travels down to students and up to administration, touching every member in the educational community.”
Award-Winning e-Courses and Events for Administrators
Aside from personalized professional development plans unique designed for your school or district, Conscious Discipline offers a variety of resources, school leadership events, and materials meant to support educational administrators’ well-being, thus increasing job satisfaction and retention.
Stress to Success for Elementary Leadership delves into self-regulation from an adult-first perspective with a direct focus on elementary education administrators. This eCourse shifts mindsets and transforms lives as Jill Molli and Principal Jordan Williamson engage in a powerful conversation about the current state of education administrators. Discover how to build stronger relationships, handle conflict, navigate healthy boundaries, and establish a Conscious Discipline practice that empowers with the skillset and mindset to grow both you and your team.
Our Conscious Discipline for Administrators event will empower you with the skillset and mindset necessary to be confident in your ability to meet the needs of your staff, your students and yourself. Join us for two days of Conscious Discipline instruction that will show you how to create an emotionally safe school environment that fosters mental health and academic success from the top down, even during the most difficult of situations; April 9-10 in Myrtle Beach, SC.
From this month’s DA Magazine Thought Leadership Q&A, to events specifically geared toward administrators, to the Stress to Success eCourse, Conscious Discipline paves the way for resilient, empowered and connected communities.
Join us in learning more.
Other Resources:
- The DA Magazine Article
- Handling Upset: The Adult-First Mindset Shift
- DISTRICT SUCCESS
- Managing Anxiety: Name, Claim and Tame Your Way Through Anxiety Without Medication
- 2018 Breakout Session: Creating a Safe Place to Practice Self-Regulation
- Elevate Keynote: More Than an Intervention: How to Build Sustainability and Create Fidelity
- Webinars: Creating Emotionally Intelligent Schools with Jill Molli
- District Administration Magazine Nov/December Issue
Jenny Shannon
Jenny Shannon has a B.A. in English, an M.A. in Educational Leadership, and an abiding commitment to believing that what you focus on, you get more of. With a strong background in education and communications and the love of a good story, she is thrilled to work on Conscious Discipline’s Marketing Team as copywriter. She lives in a 200-year-old home in northern New Jersey where she moonlights as chauffeur for her two daughters, can be caught singing showtunes in the kitchen and has strong opinions on the best place to grab a cup of coffee.
