Special Education for Beginners | Managing Paraprofessionals, Special Education Strategies, First Year Sped Teachers, Special Ed Overwhelm, Paperwork for Special Education Teachers

How to Retain Great Educators by Addressing Burnout with Dr. Jessica Werner

• Episode 210

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Hey there, special educators! This week on Special Education for Beginners, we’re continuing our month-long series on teacher burnout with a powerful, honest, and deeply important conversation.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Jessica Werner, founder of Northshore Learning and a passionate advocate for teacher wellness. Dr. Werner works with schools across the globe to help retain great educators by addressing the real causes of burnout—especially those tied to student needs and behavior—and by providing sustainable support that goes beyond one-off professional development.

Together, we unpack:

  • What burnout really looks like in today’s schools 
  • Why special education teachers are particularly vulnerable
  • How administrators often don’t realize the depth of burnout until it’s too late
  • Practical, everyday strategies teachers can use to reset, reconnect, and feel seen
  • Why self-advocacy, support systems, and subtraction (yes, subtraction!) matter more than ever

Whether you're feeling slightly overwhelmed or on the edge of walking away, this episode is here to remind you: burnout is not your fault, and you’re not alone.

🎧 Listen in to feel supported, validated, and empowered to take your next right step forward.

🔗 Resources & Links:

Writing individual impact statements based on a student’s unique disability  and needs can be a big struggle AND a big time suck.! And in case you haven't noticed...extra time is not something you have a lot of.

My IEP Impact Statements Growing Bundle will give you  the resources you need to make writing impact statements a breeze.  





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Speaker 1:

Hey there and welcome back to Special Education for Beginners. Today we are continuing our month-long focus on teacher burnout with a conversation that is going to be a powerful one. We are digging into the real causes of burnout. What's actually driving so many amazing educators to feel drained, discouraged and, in some cases, ready to walk away from the profession altogether? I'm so excited to introduce today's guest, dr Jessica Werner. Founder of North Shore Learning and an incredible advocate for teacher wellness, she is on a mission to help schools retrain great educators by supporting their emotional well-being, providing real tools to manage classroom stress and reimagining what teacher support should look like in today's schools. So, whether you are feeling just a little run down or you are truly at the edge, I promise this conversation is for you. Dr Werner is here to remind us that burnout isn't a personal failure and that there are ways to feel supported, seen and strong again in the work that you love.

Speaker 1:

Let's get to it. Hey, special educator, are you overwhelmed by the absurd amount of paperwork on your to-do list? Do you wish you had the skills to build a rock-solid team with your staff? Do you wish you had the skills to build a rock-solid team with your staff? Do you find yourself scouring the internet for how to meet the needs of each student on your caseload. Well, hey there. I'm Jennifer Hopperberg, an award-winning veteran special education teacher and current instructional coach, who has walked in your shoes through each of these challenges and, yes, I have the metaphorical blisters to prove it. I have cried your tears and felt your pain, and now I'm here to support you in the way I wish someone would have been there to support me.

Speaker 1:

Listen in each week as my guests and I dish out practical wisdom to help you handle all the classroom curveballs that are thrown at you and learn how to laugh in spite of the chaos, to celebrate those small yet significant victories that only a special educator can understand. So are you ready? Wipe your tears and put on your superhero cape, because together we are going to learn how to survive and thrive in the ever crazy, completely overwhelming laugh, so you don't cry. Profession of being a special education teacher. Well, hello, jessica, welcome to Special Education for Beginners, and thank you for joining us to discuss teacher burnout today. Thank you for having me. Before we get started, would you mind sharing with us a little bit about who you are and your journey within the field of special education?

Speaker 2:

Yes, so my name is Jessica Werner and I am the founder of North Shore Learning. We are based in the Twin Cities and our mission is to help schools retain really good teachers, as working with students gets tougher and tougher teachers, as working with students gets tougher and tougher. So it wasn't always necessarily a special education focus, but we're seeing so many needs in the general classroom in the tier one environment that now, quite honestly, everybody I work with is more or less a special education teacher, but many of them without the training. So we're trying to help teachers feel supported, help them feel that they have a tool set to use with the needs of students in their classes and ultimately, we're just trying to keep good people in schools because I'm sure you know, a lot of people right now are leaving their school, leaving the field, and we believe it doesn't have to be this way.

Speaker 1:

But we do believe that teachers need additional help supporting their students are leaving their school, leaving the field, and we believe it doesn't have to be this way, but we do believe that teachers need additional help supporting their students. Yeah, I agree. Well, it's really nice to have you, and I think that this is a topic that I don't know. It's more of a buzzword. I think that we hear it in different conversations, we hear it among staff, on social media and even like in PD sessions, but sometimes it makes me feel like it's just brushed off or it's part of the job and almost like something that teachers have to accept to be part of this profession, and that shouldn't be the way that it is.

Speaker 1:

And the reality is that burnout is not just feeling tired or needing a weekend to recharge or a summer break. It's just, it's pretty serious. I feel like it's a chronic condition that is impacting, like you said, a lot of teachers and it's impacting their emotional health, their physical health, their professional identity, and it really leads to a lot of feelings of hopelessness and detachment from students and in the worst cases, like you said, it is driving amazing, passionate teachers out of the field entirely. And then for special education teachers, where the demands are even higher, that effect of burnout can show up even faster and run deeper. My daughter is a second year teacher and you know she's not burned out yet, but she's feeling some of that pressure even as a second year teacher. So that's scary. So to set the stage for today's conversation, could you start by just painting a picture for us? What are some of the biggest signs or symptoms of teacher burnout that you are seeing right now?

Speaker 2:

I'm talking about this because it's much more prevalent than anybody realizes and I am seeing it everywhere. So we work in schools worldwide. We work in private, public, charter international schools worldwide. We work in private, public, charter, international and every single school we work in people are just barely hanging on to get to the finish line of the school year. But it didn't start now.

Speaker 2:

I feel like I was hearing this back in September, which is really really concerning. I mean, people are being stretched to the limit. They are spending a lot of emotional energy In addition to the physical energy it takes to teach, a lot of emotional energy doing the work, working with parents, working with students, working with their own families and their own needs, and so I really it really kind of scares me how many people we work with are at risk of burnout, and it is very much. I know it's like a buzzword and people use it lightly, but over the last five years I've seen it happen so many times and often, you know, the administrators don't necessarily know about it until it confronts them with somebody like walking out midweek or taking a mental health leave, or I would say, teacher absenteeism is a huge red flag I've been kind of telling people about for a while. These are all signs that your teachers are just feeling overwhelmed and need a break.

Speaker 2:

And we know burned out people. They don't come back always. This is why we're losing a lot of our teachers. Yeah, like I said, sometimes the administrators don't see it, unless it's somebody's having an emotional moment in their office. But how many of us go through our days never doing that? Not everybody realizes how pushed to the limit people are, and that's the beauty of being an outsider coming in and a coach is that we have a different relationship with people and that we get to hear more of that they feel safe. But it also worries us because we're hearing it way more than anybody realizes is that we have a different relationship with people and that we get to hear more of that they feel safe.

Speaker 1:

But it also worries us because we're hearing it way more than anybody realizes. Well, I've been in the field 30 years and I know for the majority of those years it wasn't like this and it wasn't so much, and so you know it didn't feel so heavy. So why do you think that it's critical that we start taking this issue more seriously, especially for special education teachers?

Speaker 2:

Right. So we know right now that the number one cause of teacher burnout is student needs and student behaviors. That was reported last year in the Wall Street Journal. So we actually know the root cause of why most people are feeling burnt out. And we also know in special education those things are even more dynamic than perhaps in the general classroom, with the needs of our students and special education is also changing and increasing and we're seeing needs that you know don't even necessarily have a diagnosis yet they don't have a diagnosis, they're falling in between the cracks of what we understand. And so there's this critical need to meet the students' needs without necessarily knowing how. And then sometimes, if the students' needs aren't met, if they're disengaged, if they're unmotivated, if they're not feeling psychologically safe, it starts presenting in behaviors, and that is what can be really emotionally challenging for teachers.

Speaker 1:

Well, I've looked into your company a little bit and you're doing some amazing work through there, but can you share how your personalized solutions are helping teachers not only survive in this profession not, you know, getting out of bed, coming to work every day? That's not what we want. We want them to be thriving again in the classroom. So what are some solutions that you have for us? Yeah, Right.

Speaker 2:

So I love talking about well-being and I've started to talk about it differently in the last couple of years. At first, schools is how you can help stay within your window of tolerance without being triggered, and those can be really helpful. But what we're understanding is if the overall culture and needs are just greater than that, it doesn't matter how many quick remedies I show you, you're still going to be facing overwhelm often. So what we try to do with schools is usually we try to get to the root of the cause, like what is causing the most challenge and stress for teachers right now. Honestly, it's almost always student behaviors, and this is universal. This is schoolwide, worldwide, okay. So that is a solvable thing.

Speaker 2:

If we know how to support teachers with what they're seeing in the classroom, that's where we can target our efforts, and so we do work, sometimes one-on-one, with teachers, observing and supporting them with their individual classes. A lot of times it's kind of giving the whole school a reboot in what classroom management is for the 21st century, because it is not. It shouldn't be used the way it was 25 years ago. It looks different, but unless schools have addressed that systemically and people are on the same page, we still have a lot of uncertainty around what's allowed, what's understood, what's expected in the classroom. So those are the questions we like to ask. We like to get to the root of what is causing stress and burnout and then try to decide the best course of action. And we also. We know that people they want support, but they don't want a one-time thing, they want support over time. They want support as their class changes as the year goes on, and so we try to find ways we can keep engaging with teachers over the course of the year.

Speaker 1:

Do you feel like teachers sometimes just want to be heard?

Speaker 2:

Oh, absolutely the number one thing I think we do as coaches. You know we come in and we coach as instructional coaches or behavior management coaches and we're there to help and we're there to support and give new ideas. But in a lot of ways, the most important thing we do is just listen and hold space for the teacher and you know, a lot of times we see in real life what they're dealing with and just acknowledging you know what you're working with is really tough. This is a tough, this is tough. You're trying really hard.

Speaker 2:

Teachers don't get a lot of appreciation. It's a very underappreciated job. If anything, when they hear from others, it's complaints and so, yeah, absolutely Just being heard, just being seen doing some kind of triage work and ideas together Like what, what might work for you? Absolutely. And that's why I, when schools say, well, I don't know, you know we have an instructional coach. I don't know if this is something we want to invest in. The benefits are so far reaching and they're beyond the actual instructional piece they really play into. Do I feel like I'm supported? Do I feel like I have the skills needed to do this job? And those types of feelings are also the things that lead people to feel satisfaction in their work.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I agree as my role as an instructional coach as well. I'm three years out of the classroom but I still close enough where I still have some ideas that I can give them. But really when I sit down and chat with teachers, they really just they kind of want to vent and they just want to be heard and they want to be validated, that they're not alone and that somebody else understands, because I think a lot of times when they go home and they're complaining to a spouse or to a family member, they don't get it. Nobody gets it unless you live this world. And so I think, yeah, definitely just listening to teachers is important. So what are just a couple of practical everyday strategies that teachers who are listening today could implement immediately to help protect their energy and their mental health?

Speaker 2:

Just, we try to work with people to try and recognize their own energy. You know times it dips during the day, times we get triggered. You know, after recess tends to be a high anxiety time because the kids come back and we're not sure what we're getting. So just plugging in, giving yourself one minute or five minutes to really take a breath, honestly, that helps. Take a breath. Go outside, get a hot cup of coffee, talk with a colleague All of those are little things that actually help flip the brain into a space of openness and curiosity and gratitude. That can help get us out of feeling stressed in the moment. And I like to say those specifically because they don't have to take 20 minutes. I tell people literally, if you walk outside and take a deep breath and observe nature we know the neuroscience tells us that activates our brain and produces happy chemicals. So it doesn't have to be big, it doesn't have to be like you get to go get a massage in the middle of the day, because who can do that? Nobody's been teaching but we know that the brain benefits just from little things as well.

Speaker 2:

I think not under recognizing the impact of social outlets, socializing, even saying hi Sometimes when you're feeling really overwhelmed and stressed. Your response is to kind of pull inward and close your door and sit by yourself, and that can be really healthy and that can help reset. Sometimes the best thing we need is to just go talk to another adult or to you know, say hi to somebody in the office, have like a social interaction Again. That really gives our brain a quick change. And you're right, there are very few people outside of our school settings who understand what life is like and that's why it's so important to find colleagues who not only can listen to you vent but can help support you, hear what you have to say and help you lead the conversation feeling better and ready to go finish out the day. And sometimes the conversations aren't like that. Sometimes it's just kind of vent, vent, vent and then you go back you actually feel like a little less ready than before. So really searching for social interactions that are going to make you feel good during the day.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and social interactions that are positive in nature. I feel like you can vent and get into a negative spiral, and that's not healthy either. So I think that finding somebody who is trustworthy, that you can vent to and not expect answers, but just somebody who's just going to be a sounding board for you, I think that's really important. And I totally agree with the oxygen to the brain kind of thing. Even taking a quick walk while the kids are at recess, you can walk around the playground while you're still watching. Or, if you don't have recess duty, go to the gym and walk around the gym a couple of times and get that oxygen to your brain so that it is, you know, kind of resetting yourself.

Speaker 2:

And it makes a big difference and it's also. All of these are strategies we can use with our students as well. When we are reaching a point in the school day or the lesson and we're you know we're losing focus. They all work for students.

Speaker 1:

also, I kind of think a lot of it is the technology. I think that our kids' brains are just going, going, going all the time, because that's what they're used to and that's what they're exposed to. So giving them those brain breaks and letting them get that oxygen to their brain, I think that's important as well, and you see this so much across social media. I left the classroom, I left the classroom, and it's so sad, but if they are on the edge, they're ready to leave. What would you say to them and how can you help them start finding their way back to feeling joy in their profession again?

Speaker 2:

People don't really like this answer because it's a little scary and intimidating. But go to your administrator and advocate for yourself and what you need. I work with very few people who feel comfortable doing this, but on the other hand, I work with so many administrators who say I wish the teachers would tell me, and so letting them know, because they're the ones who can arrange for you to get instructional support, coaching support. I also work in a fair amount of schools and, like I said, we know the number one cause of stress is student behavior. But I work in a lot of schools where the administrators don't realize that is as large of a problem as it is and so not assuming oh, I think they know what's going on, but they're choosing not to address it. Don't assume. Just go and maybe as a group or just you, and say this is where we're struggling. This is worse than anybody realizes, but definitely not being afraid to advocate for yourself. Otherwise, it's true, people just they don't know where priorities are and they start funding different priorities, like buildings and all the things. I see I have a school building a pool right now and their teachers are drowning in classroom behaviors and it's like I wonder if they knew that this is a solvable problem. So don't be afraid to advocate for yourself, don't be afraid to take time I mean, fortunately we get the summer, we get breaks but really taking time for you, that's not about planning, that's not about grading, like sometimes you really just need to take a break from the work to remember why you love the work. And as we get toward the end of the year and things pile up and we feel like we have a million things we have to do, my favorite thing right now is telling people it's totally counterintuitive, but think about the word subtraction Look at what you have to do and think what can I take away? What is on this list? That is not an absolutely necessary, but a would-be nice.

Speaker 2:

You know, and teachers are so good about doing things. Like you know, they make cute books for students at the end of the year and I used do that. I used to compile all my students' writing and make this writing journal and it was very beautiful and very stressful. So I think you know, instead of making the writing journal, maybe finding a different way to send home all their writing materials would have the same impact without me causing myself undue stress. It's kind of like looking at what's in front of you, looking at what you have to grade and saying, okay, do I really need to grade this entire stack? Or what are the pieces, what are the assessments in here that are actually measuring the standards? Okay, I'm going to focus there. So, subtract, what can I take off my plate?

Speaker 1:

What isn't absolutely necessary, what would be nice to have, but I just don't have the bandwidth right now and take it away if you can, yeah, and as a special education teacher, the majority of us have paraprofessionals who can assist with maybe taking the kids and doing something, so that you can get some paperwork done and not just always feeling you have to do it all. Right then I know we don't get paid enough to take that paperwork home and so I don't ever want to advocate for you to or for a teacher to. You know, take it home that there's only so many hours in a day so you can't feasibly do everything by yourself. So take advantage of paraprofessionals, switch off with another teacher and, you know, just try to find anything that you can do to, like you said, take some things off your plate. I think those are good ideas, absolutely.

Speaker 2:

Like take some things off your plate. I think those are good ideas, absolutely. Like ask for help. Teachers are so proud, you know, everybody's so proud and we're all perfectionists and it's like no, I have to do it my way right now. Again, it's like who can we ask for help when we need?

Speaker 1:

it. We are perfectionists and, yeah, we have this fear of looking like we don't have everything under control, so I think that's important to acknowledge that it's okay to not have all your ducks in a row all the time. Well, jessica, thank you so much for joining us. I'm glad that we're able to talk about this topic during the month of May, because this is the time of the year when we are all struggling with burnout, and it is real. I feel like everyone feels it in some capacity or another. So if we wanted to learn more from you or look into North Shore Learning, where can we find you?

Speaker 2:

If we wanted to learn more from you or look into North Shore Learning. Where can we find you? Check out our website, it's NorthShoreLearningorg. Or you can go to JessicaWernerWellbeingcom and there's a short little form but if you fill it out you get sent what I call micro well-being tips which, like I said, they're kind of my triage strategies for educators. So if you just need, if you just need a little triage to get you through the end of the year, jessica Werner, wellbeingcom and you'll get. You'll get a list.

Speaker 1:

And that's W E R N E R right? Yes, Okay, and I will link that in the show notes so they can just click there and find you. Well, thank you so much for for chatting with me. I've enjoyed it. It's nice to get to know you.