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K-12 educators are more likely to feel burnt out than workers in any other industry¹ — and the gap is widening. While summer is typically seen as a break from school, the reality is that most educators spend their summers retraining and planning for the year ahead, which leaves little time for recharging.

With teacher retention predicted to be one of the biggest challenges in K-12 in 2023,² here’s how you can recognize the warning signs of burnout and find ways to battle burnout to prepare for a successful new school year.

The final weeks of the school year can be hectic. You’re squeezing in the last instructional lessons and preparing students for exams at a time when they are easily distracted. It’s also likely you have a long list of administrative tasks on your plate.

Are my students on track to meet end-of-year goals? How will they perform on the summative assessment? Where do we need to focus our attention during instruction? Are there students who are ready for more challenging topics? These are all questions educators ask themselves on a regular basis, and schools and districts typically turn to interim assessments to provide the answers.

As a parent of three kiddos under 10, I know firsthand that kids are complex. To meet them where they are and support their development is a fluid process that must take into account their unique needs, goals, and personalities. In talking to teachers across the country, I hear the difficulty they face in personalizing instruction to support every learner. Not because of lack of effort and certainly not because they aren’t passionate about their roles in students' lives. It's in part due to the management of multiple technology platforms and systems-technology aimed at helping teachers, but often leading to more work. When multiple tech platforms don't talk to each other, that means teachers must track student results in different systems, reconcile them with each other and then, what they actually know about their students.

Throughout my career, I've had the privilege of listening to and learning from educators across the country. Over the past seven years, I've collaborated with these passionate professionals to create a classroom assessment and learning suite called Navvy, designed to address their most pressing challenges at the intersection of assessment, teaching, and learning.

Jumpstart, a new Pearson-supported tutoring program, was aptly named for more than the benefits it offers its students. While students can certainly benefit from more equity-centered support, the growing pool of prospective teachers are also discovering their ability to make a difference in the lives of students.