The Truth About Educator Burnout

Burnout is a public health crisis in education. Season 2 of Taught returns with evidence-based strategies to address teacher burnout, support educator well-being, and create healthier school systems.

In this powerful trailer episode kicking off Season 2 of Taught, host Amy Schamberg—school psychologist, board-certified health and wellness coach, and Total Worker Health® specialist—introduces a bold new direction for the podcast: from burnout stories to systemic solutions. Drawing from over 15 years in public education and mental health, Amy unpacks why educator burnout is not a personal failing but a predictable outcome of broken systems. She lays the groundwork for a season dedicated to rethinking workplace wellness in schools, spotlighting evidence-based strategies that prioritize employee health, student outcomes, and organizational sustainability. If you're ready to move beyond surface-level fixes and address the root causes of burnout in education, this podcast is for you.

Chapters

• 0:00 The Educator Burnout Crisis
• 0:50 Impact on Students and Schools
• 1:28 Why Wellness Initiatives Fall Short
• 2:15 Introducing TAUGHT Season 2
• 4:01 Season Launch and Mission Statement

Transcript

Amy Schamberg: 0:07

Across the globe, professionals and education are burnt out. Teachers, administrators, counselors, psychologists and special education providers consistently experience unmanageable workloads, time pressures, emotional demands and, increasingly, safety concerns, and with one of the highest burnout rates of any profession educator health and well-being isn't just a personal issue to solve. It's a workforce crisis. Research shows that chronic workplace stressors result in serious health consequences, increased risk of mental health conditions, low retention rates, poor student achievement and soaring financial costs for schools and districts. And when teachers are highly stressed, students often absorb that stress, disrupting the entire school system. Let's be clear Educators are sick, dying and leaving the profession in droves, and our students are suffering because of it. Meanwhile, there is clear evidence that prioritizing employee health and wellness directly impacts the health of an organization and in schools. It enhances teacher retention, improves student outcomes and fosters a more positive and resilient school climate. The workplace wellness industry is booming. We've thrown perks, programs and platitudes at the problem, but we're still missing the mark. And despite all the buzz around wellness, the stress management trainings, the mindfulness apps, the EAPs and self-care checklists apps, the EAPs and self-care checklists while they do have a place, these initiatives only treat the symptoms and to add insult to injury, instead of addressing the root causes, we're really just placing the burden of change on individuals and we're sending a message that says your burnout is your fault and it's your problem to fix. But here's the thing no one can self-care their way out of systemic dysfunction. Until we start building systems that truly support health and well-being, nothing will change.

Amy Schamberg: 2:16

Hi, I'm Amy Schamberg, a school psychologist, board-certified health and wellness coach and total worker health specialist who, as I'm sure you can tell, is deeply passionate about improving the systems that shape employee health, safety and well-being in education and beyond. After 15 years in public education and mental health and helping hundreds of professionals recover from burnout, I'm excited to expand my reach into the world of podcasting with the relaunch of TAUT, as a way to share what I've seen, learned and still question, because educator well-being deserves real solutions. Originally created by Melissa LaFleur, taut began as a space to name educator burnout and in this next season, we're shifting from burnout stories to burnout solutions. What I hope to show you is that burnout is not a personal failing. It's a predictable outcome of organizational conditions, and if we want to retain educators, protect student learning and create healthier school communities, we must treat burnout and chronic stress as systemic risks to workforce health and safety.

Amy Schamberg: 3:31

Taut is the podcast for global changemakers in education who are ready to move beyond surface-level fixes and advance real, evidence-based solutions that make schools safer, healthier and more sustainable for the people who teach, lead and care for our students. Each week, I'll bring you expert interviews, practical insights and actionable strategies that will help you understand what's driving burnout and, importantly, what we can do about it. Season 2 officially launches on Monday, june 16th. So hit, follow and get ready to rethink what workplace wellness and education really means, because it's time we stop fixing people and start fixing systems. Thank you for watching.