{"data":{"ID":1426,"Class":"Conversation","Created":1757973397,"CreatorID":79,"RevisionID":null,"Status":"Accepted","Title":"The Oxygen Mask First: Rethinking Staff Wellness as Intentional Practice","Handle":"the_oxygen_mask_first--rethinking_staff_wellness_as_intentional_practice","ShortDescription":"What if staff wellness was treated as central to student success? In this conversation, we\u2019ll explore how intentional structures for educator wellbeing can reduce burnout, strengthen school culture, and transform sustainability. Together, we\u2019ll reimagine how schools can proactively support the adults who hold them up.","Description":"Schools often center student wellness while unintentionally overlooking the wellbeing of the adults responsible for creating safe, thriving learning environments. Yet, educator burnout and attrition are at crisis levels, undermining stability and equity. In my role as a school-based counselor for staff, I intentionally support educators with individualized and group wellness practices, reducing secondary trauma, building resilience, and strengthening retention.\r\n\r\nThis conversation invites us to rethink how schools can prioritize the adults at their core. What would it look like if staff wellness was not an afterthought but a deliberate design principle? How might we embed intentional practices\u2014counseling, reflective groups, wellness spaces, and community care\u2014into the DNA of a school? And most importantly: how might this shift ripple out to benefit students, families, and entire communities?\r\n\r\nGrounded in my school\u2019s experiment with this unique role, I\u2019ll share what has worked, what challenges remain, and what possibilities lie ahead. Participants will leave with concrete strategies and collective inspiration to design school systems where staff wellbeing is not optional, but essential to meaningful educational transformation.","Link":["http:\/\/www.southbronxcommunity.org"],"Audience":["High School","Middle School","Elementary School","All School Levels"],"Practice":"Participants will discuss their biggest pain points as educators, what personal experiences (not related to their roles as educators) inform this tension, and what practical support looks like in their contexts. Participants will leave with mental health resources and a proposal for their school leaders related to their own wellness.","Presenter":["Jeannette Bautista","John Clemente"],"PresenterAffiliation":["South Bronx Community Charter High School"],"PresenterEmail":["jeannette.bautista@southbronxcommunity.org","john.clemente@southbronxcommunity.org"],"ScheduleSlotID":189,"ScheduleLocationID":32,"SubmitterID":79,"AdditionalComments":null,"LiveChannel":null,"Hashtag":null,"VokleID":null,"RecordingURL":null,"ConferenceID":13}}