I spent ten years working in the public school system as a school counselor. Eight of those years were in the same building. I loved that job. I still love public schools. My daughter goes to one.
This isn’t a post about criticizing schools.
If anything, it’s about how much they are being asked to carry.
Educator burnout is real. And it’s not just about being busy or having a full schedule. It’s the emotional weight of the job.
When I was working as a school counselor, there were years when we lost students to traumatic deaths. Sometimes at least one every year. I would go home exhausted, not just physically tired but emotionally drained, worrying about what the next day would bring. Wondering how students were coping, how staff were coping, and how we were all supposed to keep moving forward.
It took a toll on my entire life.
And the thing is, I still loved the work.
Most educators I know feel that same tension. They care deeply about their students. They want to show up. They want to help.
But the system they’re working inside of is stretched thin.
Funding is a huge piece of that.
When I left, my position was cut due to funding. The school I worked at went from having three full time counselors to one counselor covering two campuses.
One.
That isn’t a reflection of how much the school valued the work. It’s the reality many districts are facing. When budgets get tight, support roles are often the first to go.
But the needs of students haven’t gone down. If anything, they’ve increased.
Many kids today are navigating anxiety, trauma, ADHD, sensory differences, learning disabilities, and other forms of neurodivergence. What used to be considered outside the norm honestly isn’t that outside the norm anymore.
Yet we still ask kids to sit quietly for long periods of time, move through rigid schedules, and regulate their bodies in ways that can be really hard for developing brains.
Even in elementary school there often isn’t enough large movement built into the day. Kids are expected to sit, focus, and manage their bodies in ways that many adults struggle with.
When a system isn’t built around how kids actually learn and regulate, both students and educators feel it.
Another piece of this conversation that doesn’t get talked about enough is the lack of mental health professionals in schools.
School counselors, social workers, psychologists, nurses. There simply aren’t enough of them.
Many schools try to fill the gap by bringing in outside therapy programs. Those programs can help, but they often rely on insurance. That means some families can’t access them. And the therapy itself is usually short term and fast paced because of insurance requirements.
Sometimes kids need more time than that.
None of this is rocket science. I’m not teaching anything new here. These are just thoughts from someone who spent a long time working inside the system and still cares deeply about the people in it.
If we’re going to talk about professional development for educators, let’s make it meaningful. Not another generic workshop that everyone forgets two weeks later.
Let’s talk about mental health.
Let’s talk about neurodivergence in the classroom.
Let’s talk about the importance of body movement and regulation.
Let’s give educators tools that actually help them understand the kids sitting in front of them every day.
Because when educators understand the why behind behavior, everything shifts.
Kids aren’t problems to fix.
They’re humans trying to function inside systems that weren’t always designed for how their brains and bodies work.
And educators deserve the support, training, and resources to meet them where they are.
~Rachael
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