Teacher, Early Childhood Provider, Faculty, and Staff Well-Being, Professional Development, and Supports

In the wake of the pandemic, PreK-12, early childhood program, and higher education administrators, teachers, providers, faculty, and staff; counselors and advisors; custodians; school bus drivers; and information technology, housing and food service, and other staff mobilized to go above and beyond to support the well-being and safety of all our children and students. This community of educators and education staff continues to rise to the occasion despite many challenges as they continue to help students and staff recover from the pandemic.

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However, teachers, early childhood providers, faculty, and staff are also susceptible to issues such as loss, isolation, significant family challenges, unemployment, or financial distress as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Serving as a support system for students, young children, and families with a wide range of needs while recovering from the negative effects of the pandemic can be mentally, emotionally, and physically taxing and result in compassion fatigue. Teachers, early childhood providers, faculty, and staff may require mental and behavioral health supports, assistance with childcare or eldercare, or other forms of supports.

In addition, pandemic recovery and the return to in-person schooling have presented opportunities for professional development as educators quickly adapt to the shifting needs of students and adopt new and varied educational technology to support engaging and effective instruction to help students recover from significant academic losses. These development-centered initiatives are vital for supporting teachers, early childhood providers, and staff as they do the essential work of helping the nation’s students recover from the pandemic.

The resources on this page share school, early childhood program, and campus strategies to address the social, emotional, health, and other needs of teachers, early childhood providers, faculty, and staff. Teachers, early childhood providers, faculty, staff, schools, districts, early childhood programs, institutions of higher education, other places of educational instruction, and States may use these lessons learned, best practices, and Federal resources to ensure equity within all aspects of their education systems and to provide ongoing supports to those most impacted by the pandemic.

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Impact Stories From the Comprehensive Center Network

This webpage features success stories from collaborations between the Comprehensive Center Network and state and local education agencies across the country. Each story shares key strategies, important lessons, and innovative solutions and celebrates school districts and state education agencies as they work to drive change and make an impact in education. It can be filtered by topic, Center, or state/jurisdiction to gain new ideas and to cheer for the great work happening in the area.

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Selecting Speakers for Professional Development Programs

This tool provides guidance to help education agencies select high-quality professional development opportunities related to educational equity.

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Regional Educational Laboratory Pacific: How To Grow Teacher Wellbeing in Your Schools

This infographic describes how to achieve well-being through social emotional learning-focused activities that promote positive and supportive relationships with colleagues and students.

Submit Your Lessons Learned and Best Practices

Have a lessons learned or best practice focused on helping teacher, early childhood provider, and faculty continue to recover from the pandemic? Visit the Best Practices Submission page to view details on submission requirements, and then e-mail Bestpracticesclearinghouse@ed.gov to share your lessons learned or best practice.

Provide Feedback

Have feedback to share on a resource accessed on the Clearinghouse site? We want to hear from you. Select the button below to share your feedback with the U.S. Department of Education and the Clearinghouse team.

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Developing Educator Expertise to Work With Adolescent English Learners

These modules provide educators with the training they need to support English learners in the classroom. They were created based on a conversation between Aída Walqui, the Director of the National Research and Development Center to Improve Education for Secondary English Learners, and renowned linguists and educators from around the world who have made significant contributions to the study of multilingualism.

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Recruiting and Retaining Teachers - A Resource Brief Collection

This collection contains seven briefs that focus on common issues related to recruiting and retaining teachers from underrepresented backgrounds or with certain certifications and provides resources for addressing these issues.

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National Center on Intensive Intervention: Intensive Intervention in Mathematics and Intensive Intervention in Reading

These online courses provide professional development modules that focus on intensive interventions in reading and math, respectively, for students across K-8. Topics in both series include how to select and implement interventions to meet individual student needs and gauge progress on student mastery of key skills and abilities.


Submit Your Lessons Learned and Best Practices

Have a lessons learned or best practice focused on helping teacher, early childhood provider, and faculty continue to recover from the pandemic ? Visit the Best Practices Submission page to view details on submission requirements, and then e-mail Bestpracticesclearinghouse@ed.gov to share your lessons learned or best practice.

Provide Feedback

Have feedback to share on a resource accessed on the Clearinghouse site? We want to hear from you. Select the button below to share your feedback with the U.S. Department of Education and the Clearinghouse team.