Communal Care: Why Educator Wellness Must Be A Schoolwide Priority

When we talk about compassionate classrooms, we cannot limit that compassion to children alone. Compassion must live in the hallways, lounges, and staff meetings. It must be extended to the very people tasked with shaping young minds—our educators.

In many early education and public school settings, teachers are expected to model emotional regulation, patience, and joy in environments that do not nurture their own nervous systems. Some child care centers don’t even have a proper staff lounge. Educators eat lunch surrounded by toys, supply bins, and unfinished lesson prep. There is no door to close. No music to unwind to. No space to reset.

This is not sustainable.

We Need Spaces That Heal, Not Harm

Teach Zen Inc. recently partnered with Delaware Urban Greens during Teacher Appreciation Week to host mini wellness retreats inside Wilmington Learning Collaborative schools. These pop-up experiences included cold-pressed juices, smoothie bowls, and sound bath sessions—all delivered directly within the school building.

Teachers shared:

"I feel like a new person. Stress instantly left my body."

"We as educators have a need for this. We need vessels of peace, strategies for maintaining balance, and a calm place. The room meets that need."

These words weren’t just reactions—they were revelations. Many educators had never experienced peace within their own workplace. And that peace matters.

Wellness is Nervous System Work

The educator’s body remembers the tension of escalated behaviors, short-staffed days, and skipped lunches. When school becomes a daily stressor, the body associates the building itself with anxiety, panic, or burnout. This can show up as chronic fatigue, detachment, or even depression.

But what if schools could retrain the body’s relationship to the workplace?

By offering sound baths, nourishing food, and moments of stillness, we are telling educators' nervous systems: You are safe here. You can exhale here. You are valued here.

This is communal care—when a workplace wraps itself around the needs of its people.

Tips to Build a Culture of Care in Your School

Start with community.

• 💚 Find staff who already care about wellness—let them lead walking groups, yoga sessions, or guided journaling.

• 👨👩👧 Engage parents—invite them to co-curate potlucks, smoothie bars, or mindfulness events.

• 🧘🏽♀️ Create a Zen Room (or Zen Cart!)—a quiet space or rolling setup for breathing, music, or dim lights during a staff member's lunch break.

• 💡 Start Focus Groups to gather staff ideas for self-care-centered initiatives.

• 🤝 Bring in partners—local wellness businesses are often eager to support educators.

The Heart of the Matter

Communal care is not a perk—it’s a practice. It’s a commitment to designing workspaces where rest, reflection, and regulation are built into the day—not squeezed in when there's a spare moment. It means recognizing that when we support the nervous systems of our educators, we are actively shaping safer, more joyful classrooms for children.

The health of a school is reflected in how it holds its people—all its people. Let’s build school cultures that care out loud.

Visit www.teachzeninc.org to bring more zen to your school building.

*MIni Retreats were providing in social impact partnership with Delaware Urban Greens and the Wilmington Learning Collaborative