NAIS Research: Student and Faculty Resilience During COVID-19: Fostering Well-Being Using Data-Driven Interventions

By Carol Bernate, NAIS Research Associate

Student Resilience Survey

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a great toll on the mental health of youth and adults across the U.S., and data collected nationally in 2020 by The Center for Effective Philanthropy identified feelings of anxiety and stress as the Number 1 obstacle to learning for all students in 2021. To help schools assess the impact of disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic on student well-being and mental health, NAIS partnered with student wellness experts at Authentic Connections to administer the Student Resilience Survey (SRS).
 
The SRS is a short survey completed online by students in approximately 10 minutes. The SRS was administered to over 13,000 students at 48 independent schools across the U.S. beginning shortly after the first school closures in early April 2020 and through the end of June 2020. Findings from analyses of these data are included in this report. 

Executive Summary

Overall, 6% of students reported clinically significant symptoms of depression and of anxiety. Rates of serious symptoms reported by students in NAIS schools in spring 2020 were significantly lower than rates documented in 2019. When asked about their worries in 2020, many students were very worried about the uncertainty of the future, their physical health, and their academic workload.
 
Serious symptoms of depression and anxiety among students peaked in weeks that corresponded to the start of Advanced Placement exams. Symptoms also peaked the week of George Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020.
 
When the data were analyzed by subgroup, nonbinary participants stood out as an at-risk group, reporting higher rates of serious symptoms than their peers. For example, 26% of gender nonbinary students reported clinically significant symptoms of depression, compared to 6% of male- and 5% of female-identifying students. Upper school students also demonstrated symptoms at higher rates than did younger respondents.
 
Upper school students and gender nonbinary students fared worse on all three of the most salient risk factors than middle school students and male and female students. For example, the percentage of gender nonbinary students and upper school students who reported a low quality of relationships with caretakers in their lives, a low ability to focus/learning efficacy, and a low amount of structure in their daily lives was greater than that of peers in their subgroups.
 
Schools are hubs of connection and support. In qualitative responses, students mentioned that they benefited most from emotional support and communication from school faculty—students felt seen by teachers who took an active interest in the mental health of the class, and they reported high levels of teacher responsiveness to their needs.
 
Students also mentioned some areas for improvement in their schools. The most frequent responses focused on the volume of work assigned, and students expressed the hope that teachers would better coordinate with one another about scheduling big projects and assignments. They also noted that offering more inclusive options for meeting assignment requirements would reduce performance anxiety. For example, one student suggested that rather than requiring one-on-one meetings with teachers to discuss projects, schools could offer other options, such as student-written progress reports provided to their teachers.  

Downloadable Content

Faculty Resilience Survey

Background

Adults in schools faced challenges during disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; they had to pivot to different methods of teaching, make difficult administrative decisions, and balance care for themselves and their families with their deep commitment to their students. To assess the impact of these disruptions on the well-being and mental health of school faculty and staff members, NAIS partnered with well-being experts at Authentic Connections to offer the Faculty Resilience Survey (FRS) to schools.
 
The FRS is a short survey completed online by school adults in approximately 10 minutes. From early April through the end of June 2020, the FRS was administered to 4,164 faculty and staff members at 53 independent schools across the U.S. 

Executive Summary

Workplace burnout is characterized by a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity as a result of chronic, job-related stress. Symptoms of burnout were high for all faculty; more than 20% of all participants reported clinically significant symptoms. Policies for faculty support should prioritize flexibility and inclusion, as some groups report significant symptoms at higher rates. When the data were considered by subgroups, faculty and staff who identify as nonbinary, those who have more childcare responsibilities at home, and those in teaching roles or managing more than one role at school reported high rates of burnout and stress. For example, 58% of gender nonbinary faculty reported serious levels of burnout. These percentages were 28% among female faculty and 21% among male faculty.
 
Faculty were most worried about the uncertain nature of the future; they noted polarization across the nation and tension with parent expectations; for example, one participant wrote, “[I worry about] the loss of humanity. I worry because there is too much hate. I worry about the racial divide in our country and I worry that there isn’t yet a ‘safe space’ to share these worries.” Faculty also noted concerns for safety and well-being, including family illness and personal finances. 
 
Schools are hubs of connection; faculty appreciated open communication with administrators and benefited from collegial support. They emphasized the importance of being included in planning conversations. For example, one respondent commented: “We are kept well-informed of situations that affect us, and have open dialog about current events that concern us, in ways that are important for us as educators, to care for our students. Our administrators check in with faculty often to know our concerns.”

Having flexible and clear expectations for their work was also important for faculty.

The top quantitative drivers of well-being and mental health among people working in schools were daily structure (having specific time set aside for teaching and schoolwork as well as for relaxing and having fun), support requested (the frequency of students and adults sharing feelings of distress), and support received (the ability to share concerns and hopes with others, as well as the level of community outreach that faculty and staff felt). The percentage of faculty and staff struggling on these quantitative drivers of well-being was higher among non-binary faculty, those with more childcare responsibilities at home, and teachers/participants with more than one role at school than by other groups.
 
When creating staff policies and designing models for support, schools should focus on setting and communicating reasonable expectations for workload, scheduling regular time for community connection, and embedding a chain of care to provide support for faculty and staff.

Downloadable Content

Full Report

Related Resources