The Antidote to Teacher Burnout: Culture of Care with Matthew Ebert Transformative Principal 585

In this episode, Matthew Ebert joins Jethro to discuss how to actively and intentionally create the space for educators to be their authentic selves at work and how that impacts a greater school community.

• Ongoing, authentic, and messy
• 1:1 meetings with all the staff.
• Slack as a schoolwide communication tool - How to implement without teachers feeling like they need to be in the 
• Avoid performative care
• 6 staff meetings in one year. 
• Use Slack as you need it - Autonomy
• Power of muting channels
• Hilarious communities
• The power of continuous meetings. 
• All development is personal. (The Personal is Professional)
• Must have holistic approaches to all things. 
• Try, fail, cry, and try again. 
• 6 staff meetings
• The Art of Gathering
• Initiatives came from the teachers, not from the administration. 
• Grades were not an accurate reflection of what kids really could do. 
• Care vs. accountability 
• Schools are not families, they’re teams. 
• How to be a transformative principal? Stop going to meetings and start going to classrooms. 

About Matthew Ebert

Matthew Ebert is a human-centered leader with 20+ years of experience in education, primarily focused on school leadership in urban settings. Matthew's consulting is grounded in his experiences as a teacher, director of academic innovation, academy leader, and a decade of successful leadership as a public charter school principal. 

Throughout his leadership tenure, Matthew has developed teams that exceed expectations, consistently achieving strong results. He is committed to cultivating healthy work and learning environments in which individuals feel seen, heard, and valued. In addition to helping team members consistently attain their personal and professional goals, Matthew has facilitated dramatic and consistent growth in student achievement in both Baltimore and Boston, in metrics focused on academic achievement and school climate. Matthew's leadership is based in the idea that we are all here to take care of one another.

Learn more about today's sponsors, Playworks, IXL, and Renaissance Learning:

As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.

We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. 

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation.

We’re also thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.