Education & Training Institute

Teacher stress and the importance of self-care to mitigate the stress associated with the teaching profession has been well documented. However, the post-disaster recovery environment of New Orleans exacerbates the stress that teachers experience in the teaching profession.

In the city of New Orleans, poor academic performance continues to be a salient example of the long -term effects of Hurricane Katrina on youth. Additionally, it is apparent that young people continue to suffer, on multiple levels, from this traumatic event.

Improving the issue of poor academic performance in a post-disaster recovery environment, requires addressing the social and emotional well-being of children in schools. In the city of New Orleans, youth rates of current and lifetime PTSD are 3 times the national average (Institute of Women & Ethnic Studies, 2015).

Teachers interface with the complex needs of this student population each day, and are faced with the task of meeting both their social and emotional needs and their academic needs in a grossly under resourced environment.

As a result, teachers are experiencing burnout at alarming rates.

Navigate Nola facilitates the integration of social & emotional wellness competencies in teacher preparation and training as a tool to mitigate teacher stress and to promote self-care.

We offer monthly social and emotional wellness sessions. The sessions will include social and emotional wellness listening sessions that infuse social and emotional competencies into the shared teaching experiences, of graduate students, in each session. These sessions are co-led by a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and a licensed professional counselor (LPC). We  also provide Relaxation Sessions that are led by a professional Yoga/Meditation Instructor.