Teach Learn Thrive Educational Consulting

In a profession as demanding as teaching, whole-self well-being isn’t a luxury—it’s a *necessity* for sustainable success.

Enter the Empowered Educator, where a small cohort of teachers from different schools come together to find greater joy and fulfillment in the work—with some big doses of laughter and connection in between.

This 11-week online learning experience is now enrolling two cohorts grouped by grade-level, and it will fill up!

Cohorts run Jan - April and more info is at the link in bio. Check it out without delay, teacher friends!

🩹Are you practicing “band-aid” self care or pro-active and consistent self care?

🍷Band aid self care is when you need an emergency massage or happy hour because you’ve had “a week.” And it happens week after week because you’re behind the burn-out, not out in front of it.

💙Pro-active and consistent self care is about identifying your specific wellness needs: body, mind, spirit, interpersonal connection, relationship with self, etc…AND arranging your life so that you have space and time to habitually tend to those needs.

‼️And not just during the summer! All year long.

Do most teachers struggle with this? Yes.

💗This is where The Empowered Educator summer cohort comes in. In this two-week online learning experience, you learn strategies and research to help you determine your plan for well-being. You make a deliberate plan for ensuring there is time for the healthy habits you cultivated or restarted during the summer.
And you connect with fellow educators who understand your struggle and support you.

💙You also clear a path for yourself to reconnect with the joy in teaching, so your work fills you up, instead of draining you.

⏳Apply to the cohort which starts June 19 - link in bio for details and application!

👋🏻 Hi, it’s been awhile… I’ve been busy supporting teachers and school leaders, and I’ve missed sharing in this space!

To celebrate the launch of Teach Learn Thrive’s summer course, The Empowered Educator, here’s a a story-behind-the-logo post!

The stars are a nod to DC, but in their arched position I see an inspired hopefulness. ✨

The arch also suggests balance - that thing we can never quite find, between work, play, friends, family, and sleep.

And it will never be perfect - but here’s a reminder that we can always take steps to move *closer* to balance.

We can be both commited to professional excellence AND maintain a wholeness in our lives that allows for health, hobbies, and happiness. Time with friends and family. Weekends without work. Regular exercise, adequate sleep, intentional nutrition, a spiritual practice, or whatever else we need.

Sure, the systems and culture of education may suggest these things aren’t possible - and because of that, we sometimes need help to remember (and act as though) we do indeed have power over our well-being and our joy.

Quick tip: Find an accountability buddy. Plant seeds with a colleague you would like to workout with/leave school at a certain time with/eat healthy lunches with because we do so much better with a friend. Plus, teacher types like us are givers - we are more likely to follow through when doing so impacts someone else.

That is why the Empowered Educator course is an excellent gift to give yourself this summer - it helps set you up for success for the whole year. Link in bio for allll the details.

😱 These photos of some of the amazing teachers in my life *aren’t* what’s most important about Teacher Appreciation Week (although these people mean a lot to me!)

🤔 What IS most important about this one funny week where Starbucks gift cards and a catered lunch attempt to encompass the magic that teachers give the world?

🥰 The key here (IMO) is that if you’re a teacher, you stop to recognize YOURSELF for your dedication and hard work. Pause and think about all the ways you’ve helped your students this year, all the little differences you’ve made in their day, and all the big leaps you’ve made in their development. Bask in that feeling for a moment… I hope it feels good.

😎 And heck yes, treat yourself to the Starbucks or the mani-pedi or new planner or whatever you want because you deserve it and so much more. 💜

Photos: (1) Educators in PD at St. Martin’s School ; (2) this spring’s Teacher Mastermind cohort; (3) Thoreau teacher besties

So grateful for the opportunity to speak at the Mid-Atlantic Catholic Schools Superintendents Retreat last week! The topic is close to my heart: teacher resilience as a path to teacher retention. 💙

Getting to know these leaders showed me how passionate they are about teacher resilience, and it was a joy to help them envision schools where both students AND teachers thrive. 🙌🏻

And yes - I asked them to do a card sort about teacher burnout! 😎They reported that the conversations the activity generated were a highlight. 💥

It’s been an exciting week at Teach Learn Thrive…

So far we’ve had
✏️ Teacher Mastermind session on morning routines* for happier days with some of my favorite teachers

✏️ Principals’ session on telling empowering stories and school branding with

✏️ Attended my first Mindfulness and Meditation class as part of my own PD to better support teachers (Spoiler: tearfully realized I needed it for myself most of all 😭 🧘🏻‍♀️)

✏️ Working behind the scenes on a newly re-organized and re-energized Teach Learn Thrive Toolbox newsletter that I’m eager to share! 🧰 📧 (Link in bio if want helpful TEACHing ideas, tidbits to LEARN, and ways to THRIVE as an educator!)

*Ever grateful for my morning runs and inspiration from along Sligo Creek Trail 🌈

How can hope be YOUR superpower today? 💚

The most popular part of my Teacher Mastermind program?

Writing a letter to yourself from the end of the year.

In the letter, you envision how you ideally want to FEEL at the end of the year, and picture steps you can take to arrive at that state.

Why is it so powerful?

You get to give yourself permission to decide how you want to feel at the end of the year, and you get to decide the steps you need to take to make that happen.

Here’s what the exercise meant for my client Katrina:

“I had imagined I was going to spend the rest of the school year feeling all the things that were a struggle for me.

“But in the letter what I came to realize was what I am doing this year is really good enough and I can feel good about that.

“And in writing, it became clear to me that the most important thing I wanted to do, I do a good job at.

“Maybe everything else feels like a mess, but I feel pretty good about my positive relationships with students,
so it was a helpful reframe for me to write the letter.”

This is an example of how we achieve mental shifts in the mastermind, and ultimately change our relationship with teaching for the better.

What would be in YOUR letter to yourself from the end of the year?

Link in Bio gets you on the list to be notified when applications for the next round open.



🍎

Glowing with joy today… because the 3rd cohort of the Teacher Mastermind began last night! I’m so proud of these teachers who are choosing to spend time on their own wellness because they are hopeful that they CAN find clarity and harmony in their work — and that they can thrive as educators. What an honor it is to guide them in that process.

Here’s what we talked about, and some of the aha’s:

✨ We defined what being more resilient will look and feel like for each of us

✨ We connected over what a difference it makes when you have a supportive community of peers who “get it” and are rooting for you

✨We realized we might be feeling burned out because we’re not valued by districts/schools

✨ We read and reflected on The Resilience Manifesto from

✨ And more!

Can’t wait to see what this group does next.

1️⃣ I know this program might save my sanity but I have zero time! Is there a self-paced option?

Ok, friend, I see you. I see that you are super stressed out and overwhelmed and thinking some doomsday thoughts over there about covid and virtual learning and maybe childcare. So if it’s that bad anyway, why not just give yourself an hour and 15 minutes a week to take care of yourself? The value of the program is the live calls with other teachers who are in different schools but going through similar struggles. It’s cathartic beyond measure to hear their stories, lift each other up, and support teach other through the messy emotions we’re all feeling right now. Also, you learn new ways to grow your resilience and support each other in trying them out.

2️⃣ How can I trust people I’ve never even met in person?

We spend time getting to know each other so it’s a safe - always confidential - environment. Also, the conversations are anything BUT venting sessions. We learn ways to acknowledge and process our negative emotions (because ignoring them never works), and we learn new thought patterns that can rebuild our energy instead of depleting it.

3️⃣ How is this different from conversations in the faculty lounge?

First of all, it’s a facilitated conversation, so even though people can share whatever they’d like, we’ve got a purpose, and no one person can dominate the conversation.

Second, we make a commitment to avoid spiraling into negativity and venting sessions. We keep the conversation honest, yet solution-focused.

4️⃣ Will I learn anything, or just feel seen and heard?

You will learn so much about how to remain resilient as a teacher! The program curriculum includes readings and research on the inner work we can do to find balance in our lives and strength when facing stressful times.

⏳ Applications accepted through Feb. 1 so don’t delay if you’re interested!

TBH I’m not the biggest fan of promotional posts like this, but… I just really want to support the teachers who are struggling out there! If that’s you, I want you to know you don’t have to suffer alone and that you can find connection, clarity, and perspective shifts that really will make things feel better. Link in bio to apply or just DM me “I’m curious!” if you want to learn more.



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School leaders, are you…

Out of ideas on how to support teachers who are *done* with it all after nearly two years of covid and all the drama that came with it? I can help.

After this 45-minute webinar, you will walk away understanding …

💡Why your best, strongest, most dedicated teachers are also the ones most susceptible to burnout - and what you can do about it

💡Strategies you can use to ease teachers’ workload and mental burden

💡Strategies you can share with teachers to boost their resilience


We will also save time for a Q&A about the Teacher Mastermind program, an 11-week cohort designed to help burned-out teachers cultivate resilience, find balance in their lives, and enjoy their work again.


The webinar is at 4 pm on Thursday, January 27. Sign up now to save the date and get the Zoom link! LINK IN BIO.



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🤯Dismantling the work-life balance lie:

➡️ To address this in the Mastermind, we examine our tendencies for perfectionism and dig underneath them to see what’s there.

➡️ We work to hold ourselves to the personal boundaries we set (with the accountability of our mastermind cohort).
We figure out healthy routines that help us feel more balanced.

🤸‍♀️For more energy, less irritability:

➡️ In the Mastermind, we examine our basic human needs and reflect on which are unmet at the moment; burn-out often stems from our unmet needs.

➡️ We support each other in determining routines we can put in place to nurture our needs, which then give us the energy to remain grounded when facing frustrations at work.

💚 The combination of reflection, conversation, and content in the Mastermind allows each participant to make the experience meaningful to them as unique individuals.

🔗More info at the link in bio.