Why a Focus on Wellness Matters for Teachers and Students, and the Importance of Self-Care Practices.
TeacherVision Talks expert Kailey Lefko from Educalme talks about the inspiration behind the pursuit of wellness for teachers and students and what compelled her to join us with our latest mission to provide teachers with the self-care support they need.
If anyone can speak to the deep need for teacher self-care support, it’s Kailey Lefko. She has been in the education field for over a decade and has degrees in both science and education. She is also a Yoga Alliance certified yoga instructor trained in vinyasa and yin yoga. Her experience, background and wellness awareness have made her a leader in teacher and student self-care practices. This inspired her to become co-founder of the evidence-based social-emotional learning and mindfulness program for schools, Educalme.
Kailey developed the research-backed Educalme online program in response to the rise in anxiety, stress and burnout in the classroom for both students and educators. While the crisis was already on the rise, the pandemic has further intensified the need for evidence-based solutions.
TV: What is Educalme?
Kailey: Educalme is the proactive approach to solving the mental health crisis in schools. It’s an online evidence-based program where the instruction has already been done for teacher use; they just have to press play and follow practical exercises with their students that create a mental hygiene routine.
A growing number of teachers across the globe have been using Educalme since 2017 to support student well-being and teacher mental health to create safe and caring classrooms. It’s scientifically proven that academics become easier when students feel supported by their teachers and peers.
Kailey says that the people at Educalme have created this program in response to their own personal experience and professional expertise as teachers in today’s busy overachieving classrooms that systematically create burnout in students and teachers. They wanted to solve this problem with an easy-to-use program that allows teachers to learn alongside their students. Everyone leaves the classroom better equipped for today’s world.
Kailey teaches educators worldwide how to integrate mindfulness into their lives and classrooms through professional development workshops and The Balanced Educator Podcast.
"Self-care and wellness are the most important things for teachers to thrive in their careers."
TV: Tell Us About Yourself; Where Did It All Start For You?
Kailey: I have a B.Sc. (concentrations in Biology and Microbiology), B.Ed., and vinyasa and yin yoga teacher certifications. I have experience teaching in high school (Science, Biology and Psychology) and middle school (all subjects) in a French Immersion setting.
The co-founder, Josianne Barnabé, and I have been in the field of education for over ten years. So, we have a first-hand understanding of the realities of the classroom and the challenges that teachers and students face daily. We developed the research-backed Educalme online program in response to the rise in anxiety, stress and burnout in the classroom for both students and educators.
It all started when we were facing burnout as teachers. We were also so tired of piecing together social-emotional learning lessons from different sources that didn’t fit together. Plus, we taught in a French Immersion setting, and we couldn’t find a bilingual program. We needed a ready-to-use program that improved self-regulation, mental health, and academic achievement for all classroom members (including us, the teachers!).
Frustrated by this lack of quality resources, we developed a program ourselves. We launched Educalme in 2017. We tested Educalme in our own classrooms and piloted it for two years in K-12 classrooms across Canada and the United States. We tweaked and improved the CASEL-aligned program based on the data we collected. In 2019, a third-party evaluation was done on Educalme, demonstrating that this program improves self-regulation, focus, resilience, classroom management and more!
TV: Why Did You Decide to Get Onboard with Teachervision Talks?
Kailey: At Educalme, self-care and wellness are the most important things for teachers to thrive in their careers.
However, self-care often feels like another thing on the to-do list, and we know how busy the teacher life is… because we’re teachers too! We believe self-care shouldn’t be reserved for after-school hours to make up for the burnout teachers have experienced during the school day.
Educalme flips the script and makes well-being an integral part of the classroom routine for your students and teachers.
Since we think it’s crucial to take preventative measures to avoid teacher stress and burnout, TeacherVision’s goal for this self-care project highly aligns with what we teach here at Educalme!
Instead of reactively addressing student and teacher stress and anxiety once they’re already burned out, Educalme is a proactive and systematic approach for preventing overwhelm and burnout while preparing minds and bodies for effective teaching and learning every single day of the school year.
We want to share with as many teachers as possible that they can integrate self-care into their school day, and all classroom members will benefit!
"Wellness and self-care don’t have to be another thing on your to-do list."
TV: What Key Piece Of Advice Would You Give A Struggling Teacher?
Kailey: We can’t teach and learn until our minds and bodies are in a calm and focused state. So, pause. Slow down with your students. Take deep breaths. Have a mindful moment. Enjoy being in each other’s presence. This is what gets the mind and body ready for effective teaching and learning at a deeper level and creates academic success.
Wellness and self-care don’t have to be another thing on your to-do list. There are ways to integrate self-care practices that require little to no extra time or effort- which is exactly what every busy, burned-out teacher needs.
Watch Kailey in Action over at TeacherVision Talks
Keiley Lefko is part of our panel of self-care experts for our latest teacher campaign; TeacherVision Talks and has shared a fascinating talk on Mindfulness and Stress Management. Watch now for free!
