Whole-School Wellbeing: How Education Leaders Can Create a System Where Students and Teachers Thrive

Wellbeing, or the experience of contentment and purpose, is foundational for student learning, teacher satisfaction, and mental and physical health. Nevertheless, there are many signs that schools are not places where students and teachers feel good. Across the country, schools grapple with low attendance rates. A 2022 Gallup poll found that 44% of K-12 educators experienced burnout at work — higher than any other profession.

At a time when so many other schools are struggling, this report tells the story of two public charter schools in Washington State that cultivated whole-school wellbeing: Catalyst Public Schools and Lumen High School. Both opened in the midst of the pandemic. They serve diverse student populations and are fully inclusive of students with disabilities.

Drawing on the schools’ experiences, researchers developed a model that conceptualizes whole-school wellbeing as meeting student and teacher needs of autonomy, competency, and connectedness. This broad framework helps schools assess and reorient organizational choices, pedagogical techniques, and school practices.

We offer case studies of how the two schools in our study adjusted practices, allocated resources, and used data to create schools where students and teachers meet the needs of autonomy, competency, and connectedness, which occurred alongside experiences of wellbeing, student learning, and teacher retention.