Teachers are going through it right now with school reopening and the pandemic still alive and well. The impact is teachers are leaving the work in droves.

There’s been a teacher shortage pre-COVID and now that same issue has grown larger. Teacher turnover is high because many districts don’t use effective retention strategies. It’s too often an afterthought and it’s a really expensive one.

What would it look like for schools and leaders to radically reimagine what it would take to keep the best teachers? What if they invested money, resources, time, and energy in doing just that? One way to radically reimagine schools is to ask what if we focused on teacher wellbeing as a priority? Stemming from that, Restore More asked this very question and we thought teachers deserve wellness rooms, a space they can go to calm down, reset, relax, and restore. When I was in the classroom I remember feeling anxious after certain interactions and not having a space to be able to process or recover. We began talking with one of our clients about her own thoughts centered on reimagining teacher wellness. She decided she wanted to move forward with a long-held vision on one of her unoccupied storage spaces, so we set out to create a Zen Den.

This is what we inherited. And those of us in schools know we all have a room that looks like this in the building. It’s where all old things go to die. You can find out of date books, a couple old computers bigger than your head, and a random table or too. We saw the space, and were instantly inspired, well Kim was at least. Kim is the brains behind all things beautiful here, and operations, created a visual rendering to get everyone to see her vision because all I saw was a long journey ahead.

We wanted to create a space for teachers, by teachers that was welcoming and useful. So we started thinking about all the furnishings to achieve that end. We knew we wanted a variety of seating to accommodate various moods, so we included a swing, a bean bag, rocking chairs, recliners, and a couch. As you can see we also played with color as it relates to mood, swapping out bright fluorescent lights for soft blue hues, soft pink paint, and lamp lighting in select areas. We also included adult coloring books, tea, snacks, plants, mints, positive quotes, a diffuser with essential oils, and books related to wellness.

Of course we had to do an unveiling to celebrate these phenomenal educators and make them feel special because the work they do is often thankless. We brought in a videographer, played music, allowed them to take it all in, and really unpacked how grateful we were for their service to their kids and community. This small act goes a long way, because it gives teachers a restorative way to decompress from the challenges of the day to day hustle.

Teachers wellness should be a priority for every school right now, otherwise we risk losing some of the best. Sometimes small gestures like this go a long way in communicating we care beyond superficial acts. Of course there are other ways: increase teacher pay, provide more mental health days and PTO, smaller classroom sizes, adequate supplies to do the job, I could go on, but I’ll stop here for the sake of being brief. Main takeaway: If your school, or a school you know, is in need of some teacher wellness or a Zen Den don’t hesitate to connect us because again everyone needs a space to be restored!

PS. Had to share this last photo. Kim even came up with cute Zen Den Norms. She really does think of everything.

ZEN DENS: One Way to Radically Reimagine Teacher Well-Being