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It was late in the school day when a veteran teacher stopped by during one of my regularly scheduled 鈥淩eal Talk鈥� open conversations with staff. A space and time reserved for my team to share their concerns, introduce themselves or just make a connection with the Superintendent. For years, teaching had filled her with a deep sense of pride and purpose. But now, she said, the same work felt heavier.

鈥淚 used to be able to hold it all,鈥� she whispered. 鈥淭he lesson plans, the IEPs, the midnight emails. I loved it. I really did.鈥� She paused. 鈥淚 do not know why I can鈥檛 anymore.鈥�

She was no stranger to pressure. She had weathered curriculum changes, budget cuts, and remote learning. But something deeper had shifted. The classroom that once felt like home now felt harder to recognize. She still loved her students, yet the weight of the work had begun to erode the energy it required.

Her story remains with me, not because it is rare, but because it is becoming more commonplace. Surveys and national reports tell the same story in numbers rather than words. We are leading in an era of pervasive fragility.

The Emotional Temperature of Our Time

According to Gallup鈥檚 most recent State of the Global Workplace Report (2024), only 21 percent of employees worldwide describe themselves as 鈥渆ngaged鈥� at work, marking the first sustained decline in more than a decade. Educators feel this even more intensely. Steiner and Woo (2024) found in the State of the American Teacher Report that teachers are about twice as likely as other adults to experience frequent job-related stress or burnout and roughly three times as likely to report difficulty coping with stress.

The American Psychological Association (2024) suggests that more than three-quarters of adults view the future of our nation as a significant source of stress. Rates of anxiety and depression remain well above pre-pandemic norms. These are not abstract numbers; they are the backdrop against which our teachers, staff and leaders now serve.

Rethinking the Leadership Playbook

In moments like these, it can be tempting to tighten accountability or double down on performance metrics. But when emotional reserves are already depleted, pushing harder may break more than build.

The challenge before us is to lead with resilient compassion, maintaining high expectations and empathy in equal measure. This is not softness or lowered standards. It is the recognition that our children deserve adults who are well-supported, emotionally resourced, and able to bring their best selves.

We cannot expect exhausted educators to create joyful, rigorous learning environments. The path to better outcomes for children runs directly through the well-being of the adults who serve them. Compassion and excellence are not opposites; they are inseparable.

Since leading in Allentown, I have placed an emphasis on supporting people differently. When someone falls short, I ask what they need before asking why they have not met the goal. When fatigue spreads, I look for the system beneath the symptom. Are we over-scheduling? Have we made time for collaboration and joy? Do our policies support recovery or quietly punish it?

A Framework for Leading Through Care

From both research and lived experience, four commitments have become anchors for me:

• Listen Deeply. Create rhythms for honest conversation. Not just surveys or check-ins, but authentic dialogue about workload, purpose, and wellbeing. Listening is the first act of healing.
• Build Psychological Safety. Harvard researcher Amy Edmondson (2018) has shown that psychological safety, the belief that one can express concerns or mistakes without fear of humiliation, is crucial for high-performing teams. This is not about lowering standards; it is about creating the candor and trust that high standards require.
• Anchor in Purpose. Remind people daily that their work matters. Purpose is a renewable form of energy; when the outer world feels chaotic, inner meaning keeps us steady.
• Create Structural Supports. Build systems that protect well-being rather than erode it, including realistic workload expectations, collaborative planning time, access to mental health resources, and leadership practices that model boundaries and self-care.

These commitments require discipline, humility, and the willingness to model the resilience we hope to cultivate in others.

Remembering Our Shared Humanity

When we balance high expectations with deep compassion, we create the conditions for the courage our students need.

We are leading people who are carrying more than anyone can see. Our task is not to shield them from hardship or excuse underperformance, but to meet this fragile moment with humanity, to model what it means to be both strong and kind, decisive and compassionate.

Systems will always matter. But systems do not teach children; people do. When we honor their fragility, we help them rediscover their strength. When we balance high expectations with deep compassion, we create the conditions for the courage our students need.

In a time when the world feels brittle, leadership rooted in empathy is not optional; it is essential. Every act of understanding, every moment of grace, every leader who chooses to see the whole person rather than the problem at hand helps restore the hope of public education in which our democracy depends.

References:

American Psychological Association. (2024). Stress in America 2024: A nation in political turmoil.

Edmondson, A. C. (2018). The fearless organization: Creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation, and growth. Wiley.

Gallup. (2024). State of the global workplace 2024 report.

Steiner, E. D., & Woo, A. (2024). State of the American teacher 2024. RAND Corporation.