Full-time Manor ISD staff will be allotted one mental health day each semester, so two per school year.
“You get that mentality that you never stop for a moment to take care of yourself and honestly where that leads is you have people that begin to get early burnout, you get people that get sick,” he said. “So, I think it’s important for us as leaders to just get in front of it and say, ‘No, it is OK.' For you to be your best for children, you have to sometimes take care of yourself.”
“I know that there are people out there that won’t even take these days and that’s fine — I’m not going to make anyone take a day,” he said. “But I know that there are people out there that will never take a day unless we gave them this permission to do so.”for educators in East Texas, praised Manor ISD for offering time off specifically for mental health. Barbara Chapman said offering this type of time off lets people know it’s OK if they’re struggling and need a day to themselves.
“I really hope that this turns into something that builds better positive relationships between leaders and staff in all areas of the district,” he said. She said a teacher might also be reluctant to take a mental health day if they’re working with a student who is struggling and they’re not sure if the substitute teacher will be able to support them.