What if the solution to teacher burnout isn't asking teachers to fix themselves, but building systems that lighten their load?

In this episode, Laura Donnelly and Jill Hanley, co-authors of "What Can I Take Off Your Plate?", challenge the conventional approach to teacher burnout that places the burden on individual educators. Instead of telling overwhelmed teachers to practice more self-care, they argue that school leaders must create intentional systems that remove unnecessary weight from what's already on teachers' plates.

Drawing from their experience transforming a high-need elementary school with 82% free and reduced lunch and 44% English language learners, Laura and Jill share practical strategies for building sustainable systems. From crafting master schedules that prioritize collaboration to establishing consistent behavior support protocols, they reveal how thoughtful operational decisions become powerful cultural statements about what a school truly values.

Through the story of "Mrs. Wilson" and other composite teacher experiences, they demonstrate how common pain points—unclear communication, inconsistent feedback, and lack of behavior support—can be systematically addressed through better leadership practices, not individual teacher resilience.