Thursday, May 9, 2024 Becky Vogel, KUT
Manor ISD will roll out a new benefit during the 2024-2025 school year that gives employees time off to care for their mental health.
Superintendent Robert Somani said he believes it is important to have clear mental health leave.
“You’re not just giving people the day off, you’re giving them permission to take that day off,” he says.
Solmani, who got the idea for Mental Health Day from a Houston-area superintendent, said anyone who has worked in a school knows that many educators have to be in front of students 100 percent of the time. He said he knows how he feels. 1 day.
“You get into the mindset of never stopping to take care of yourself, but honestly, where that leads is some people start to get burnout early, some people get sick.” he said. “So I think it’s important for us as leaders to take that head on and say, ‘No, it’s okay.’ In order to do what’s best for our kids, sometimes we have to take care of ourselves as well. .”
Full-time Manor ISD staff are allocated one mental health day per semester, or two per school year. Part-time staff are also eligible and will be given time off based on their working hours. For example, a person who works half a day, each semester he gets half a day. The new leave arrangements will be in addition to the sick leave and holidays employees already receive.
School districts have some guidelines for when employees can take mental health leave. Employees cannot take a mental health day if they are required to go to school that day for things like mandatory professional development or a statewide standardized test. Additionally, mental health days are not allowed before or after district holidays or vacations. Additionally, mental health days do not carry over to the next semester.
Solmani said he understands that just because a district has a mental health day doesn’t mean people will take advantage of it.
“I know some people don’t take all these days, and that’s fine. I’m not going to make it take anyone a day,” he said. “But I know there are people who won’t take a day unless we give them permission.”
How can school districts support teacher mental health?
An assistant professor at the University of Texas at Tyler School of Nursing, who manages a mental health support line for educators in East Texas, praised Manor ISD for offering mental health-specific leave. Barbara Chapman said offering time off like this helps people understand that it’s okay if they’re struggling and need time for themselves.
“It will also promote an internal culture that embraces mental health awareness as part of the overall health of the population,” she said. “One of the most important things you can ask someone is, ‘How can I support you?’ That’s a powerful statement.”
Solmani said his hope within Manor ISD is for supervisors to remind staff that this time is now available to them and they shouldn’t feel uncomfortable taking advantage of it. He said it was true.
“I really hope this builds better positive relationships between leaders and staff in all areas of the district,” he said.
Chapman said having a mental health day is a positive step, but there may be some issues with implementation that districts should keep in mind. She noted that teachers have such a heavy workload and are under so much stress that missing a day of school can be frustrating.
“Teachers don’t just work what we think of as normal working hours. They work all the time, even after hours,” she said. “That means teachers need to be well prepared to actually have a mental health care day, and that takes time.”
She said teachers may also be reluctant to take a mental health day if they are working with a student who is having difficulties and are unsure whether a substitute teacher will be able to support the student. Ta.
“Will the substitute teacher be able to care for that student that day, or will they need additional work when they return and that student will be late?” Too many teachers. , they just don’t feel like it’s worth spending the day on,” she said.
Funding is tight for many Texas school districts.
Ultimately, Chapman said, teachers across the country need consistent, on-site mental health support.
“It reduces their workload, helps them have more teachers, and that means increasing salaries… because teacher salaries are currently very low,” she said.
Solmani said one of the reasons Manor ISD considered offering mental health days for employees is because funds are tight. Manor ISD, like many school districts in Central Texas, faces budget deficits largely because state funding for public education has not kept pace with inflation.
Manor ISD is currently considering offering employees a 1% raise next school year, but Solmani said the district will be able to increase its salary if the school board convenes a voter-approved tax rate election (VATRE) this November. We hope that the company will be able to offer even more raises. If voters approve new tax rates – It will still be lower than the current tax rate. – The district says it will generate enough revenue for Manor ISD to increase staff salaries by 3 percent above the midpoint of the position’s salary level.
Other Central Texas school districts have also proposed tax increases and relied on tax rate elections to address budget deficits. Lockhart and Pflugerville ISD voters approved new tax rates last year, and the Austin ISD School Board is considering convening VATRE as soon as this fall to cover the cost of the increases.
“So when you can’t afford to pay people as much as you think they should be able to pay, you have to start thinking about other avenues,” Solmani said. “Part of that is also thinking about how we can improve the quality of the workplace, the quality of the enjoyment of the workplace. And part of that is giving people the opportunity to take a break.”
This story is austin monitor‘s reporting partnership with KUT.
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