Each summer, when the new academic year slowly starts creeping in on us, we feel the weight of it all, again. 

New teaching plans, new curriculum adjustments, new classes with new students, on top of new requirements from the board… – and just like that the tranquility that we’ve built up during these short summer vacation months, is gone in a minute. 

But in our race towards getting it all figured out, getting all the boxes checked on the prep list, we oftentimes start with the wrong end in mind. 

Why is it natural that we ask “What does the school/principal/board need from me in this new school year?” but not “What do my students need from me in this new school year?” 

It’s a question to consider while preparing to start the new academic year, and perhaps it will prompt you to try something different for once. 

I did this a couple of years ago, and everything has changed in my school ever since then. What do I mean by that? Let me explain… 

Grades Matter, but Wellbeing is the Foundation 

Why is it that we are always on the hunt for the best teachers and lesson plans, and encourage students to achieve the best grades, but rarely focus on who they are behind their grades and what needs they have as human beings? 

Yes, we live in a merit-based society, where grades matter, and we tend to be driven by them when defining success from a young age in school.

But what about mental health? 

It’s been proven time and time again that a stable wellbeing foundation prompts better learning in students and more genuine interactions with teachers. 

We’ve been told and shown over and over again that it’s great to focus on wellbeing, but if we’re honest, it still holds the “nice to have” label in most of our schools, if we are to compare it to the focus we put on academics. 

Yet, in the meantime, students who clearly are in need of mental health support shout into a void and end up receiving the wrong type of support, from the wrong places, resulting in tragedies. 

It’s a horrible example, but sadly, it’s a real one. And it’s an example that might start repeating if we’re not there to offer the support that our students need. 

Times have changed. They have changed a lot since we were students. And our schools need to keep up with these changes and up the bar from “just teaching students” to helping them get ready for life, with a sane and healthy mindset. 

What changed in my school after I started prioritising wellbeing?  

So I did a rehaul. 

I shifted my perspective from “school needs” to “student needs” and with this, the focus of the whole school changed and with it, so did our culture and school community. 

In a world where everyone chooses to focus on grades, I wanted to focus on helping our students become “emotionally well by the time they graduate”.

This also became one of my internal mottos that was driving my decisions throughout this change. 

Shortly after, the changes started to happen: we introduced activities in our school, such as reflection circles with students, wellbeing coaching sessions, as well as student-led activities and more. 

But the change didn’t affect students only. I knew that if we truly wanted to practice and preach wellbeing, it had to involve everyone in the school. So what followed was to make our teachers and staff aware of the new plan and part of it. 

Instead of just forcing it onto them, I wanted them to understand the need for this change and the impact it can have on our school community. And the support was immeasurable. 

What followed was pure growth.

We started doing adult coaching sessions and workshops to make sure not only students receive wellbeing support, but also the adults responsible for our students. 

The result Transylvania College has seen, after this change: 

• Enrolment grow by 30%
• Family retention rise by 20%
• Teacher turnover drop by 15%

These numbers are proof that when students, families, and staff feel genuinely supported, they choose to stay, grow, and thrive together.

 

Sounds Complicated? Doesn’t Have to Be 

If you’re already thinking budgets, new personnel, counsellors, and resources, stop right there. 

A wellbeing focus doesn’t necessarily need an entire rehaul of your school and systems. It just needs some space and planning, with the resources you already have at hand. 

Teachers 

Inform them of the benefits of introducing circles in their classrooms. 

Doesn’t take away from their class time more than 5 minutes, and it helps them develop more personal relationships with their students.

Even if, at first, this might be awkward, with time, students get used to the exercise of checking in with their feelings and surroundings and talking about them more openly. 

Parents

They are an amazing support system that can further teach our students the correct values and lifestyle, as well as monitor their online activity or teach them about important topics like internet safety, the dangers of AI, and lots of other interesting and crucial topics that our teenagers need to hear about. 

We might not have the time to fit all of this into the curriculum but we can definitely work with parents to keep them informed, send them materials, invite them to workshops, and overall maintain a level of collaboration that benefits students and their learning. 

Community 

Ignoring the resources that your community has to offer is a significant mistake. 

With limited funds and resources, your community is a goldmine. Consider ways to involve people from your community, such as hosting workshops, securing funding, or inviting them to speak to students about various topics related to their occupations. This is a great way to help our students realise they have a meaningful, deep connection with their local community, and they can either take from it or give back (volunteering). 

Free & Paid Online Resources 

While the staggering evolution of the internet and AI might scare us at first, we also need to recognise how lucky we are today to have the whole internet at our fingertips. If we are smart, there are lots of wellbeing resources available online that we can leverage to our school’s advantage. 

Think about teacher resources on how to recognise a student who’s in need of support, or apps to help your students regulate their feelings. 

There are tons of options out there that might support your wellbeing efforts, but they need to be treated with special care, as we mentioned that AI tools also carry dangers and threats if they are to replace real counsellors and support. 

Make sure there’s a clear balance and always review apps and tools personally before introducing them in your classrooms. 

Making it Part of Your School’s Culture 

The most important thing in this process is not how much of it you put on paper, but how it actually reflects in your school’s values. 

In a world where empathy is a dying creature and robots are taking over, make sure your students feel something. 

And you can do that by greeting them with a smile, calling them by their first name, and caring about them more than you care about their grades and exam results. 

This might seem like a massive shift at first, but you’d be surprised at how easily and naturally things change once your students, teachers, and staff understand the why behind it. 

Because it impacts us all. 

Behind a team that’s ready to support students emotionally and through life, we need to have a clear set of values and practices that are genuinely centred around their wellbeing, too. 

Because it’s not only students that make up a healthy and happy school community – it’s everyone. 

So maybe this school year, instead of thinking about “what the school needs”, how about flip the script and ask “what do the people inside my school need?” 

It might change everything. 

 

 

Based on a true story from Ruxandra Baciu, owner of Transylvania College and founder of Spark Generation