Social-emotional learning (SEL) is crucial to human development because SEL helps us maintain supportive relationships and make responsible and caring decisions. This qualitative
study aimed at understanding how, if at all, public school educators looked after their social- emotional health in times of crisis, during COVID-19. The sample consisted of 24 educators in
three school districts in a Midwestern state of the United States. Findings indicated that participants used several strategies to take care of their emotional health. These strategies included making time for non-school related activities, connecting with colleagues, engaging in small acts of kindness, and providing professional development to equip faculty and staff to manage their anxiety and mental health issues. The relevance of this research is three-fold: (1) At the school’s level, this study supports both teachers and leaders’ well-being and retention. Additionally, this study promotes equity because SEL minded adults help create healthy and safe communities for peers and students; (2) This study sheds light on the best practices to adopt when caring for the social-emotional health of adult educators; and (3) this empirical study contributes to the literature on adult SEL, which is currently limited because the focus of SEL has largely been on and for students
