Staff burnout is spiking student incidents

Staff morale

2.8/5 3.9/5

+39%

ODR spike

+35% +8%

-77%

Turnover intent

18% 6%

-67%

The Problem

March through May was the school's worst stretch every year. Staff morale cratered, behavioral incidents spiked, and 2-3 teachers would resign before the year ended. Leadership assumed the student behavior problems and the staff burnout were separate issues. They weren't. When the school finally looked at student behavioral event data alongside a simple staff wellness survey, the pattern was obvious: classrooms where teachers reported high stress had 3x the behavioral incidents. The burnout was causing the behavior spike, not the other way around.

The Plan

1

Monthly anonymous pulse survey

One question: "How sustainable does your workload feel this week? 1-5." Paper slip in mailboxes, tallied in 10 minutes.

10 min/month

Data Wall
2

Track building-level wellness alongside student data

Post the aggregate score on the data wall next to monthly student behavioral event counts. The correlation becomes visible.

Data Wall Events See example

Data Wall → Staff Wellness Factor

Staff Wellness + ODR Correlation

SepOctNovDecJanFeb

↑ Trending positive — on track to meet target
3

Respond when the score drops below 3.0

Coverage days, workload review, appreciation gestures. When the score is 3.5+, acknowledge it publicly.

Data Wall See example

Building Events → Wellness Response

Staff Wellness Pulse: March
Building average: 2.6/5. Below threshold — response triggered.
Mar 15 · Office Manager

Response: Coverage days scheduled
Admin covering 3rd/4th grade classes Friday. Planning time restored.
Mar 16 · Principal