Description

Teachers everywhere are currently facing unprecedented stress, exhaustion, and dissatisfaction as they’re asked to take on ever-increasing responsibilities. Chronic staff shortages, overwhelming workloads, and fiscal directives requiring educators to accomplish more with fewer resources continue to erode morale and push many teachers out of the education profession altogether. Those who remain often experience burnout, feeling continually overworked and undervalued.

School leaders must recognize that self-care alone isn’t sufficient to tackle this growing problem. Rather, sustaining solutions require systematic changes that directly address the conditions causing burnout, particularly in aspects that administrators can influence—time demands, job expectations, resources, and workload. To genuinely retain teachers and alleviate their burnout-related struggles, leaders must actively lighten educators’ burdens and enrich their support systems.

In “What Can I Take Off Your Plate?,” experienced educators Jill Handley and Lara Donnelly offer school leaders actionable strategies to immediately respond to teachers’ emotional burnout and practical suggestions for implementing long-term structural improvements. The authors guide readers through concrete steps to reduce initiative overload, offer staff more time to plan and recover, provide classroom-centric support, create and maintain a positive work-life balance, regularly express gratitude and recognition, and add joyful experiences to the everyday workplace.

This book is essential reading for educational leaders eager to effectively confront and address burnout with insightful strategies, targeted action, and realistic, systemic changes—ensuring teachers feel respected, rejuvenated, and supported in lasting ways.