OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Teachers at Oshkosh schools may be getting some additional time off. The Oshkosh Area School District is considering repurposing two snow days as “mental health and wellness days” for staff.
Going from teaching in a classroom to virtual, then back to the classroom, only to be teaching online again – without question, the pandemic has added some extra anxiety to teachers and schools.
“Teachers are under extreme stress, I mean, it’s a very difficult job, first of all,” Dr. Frank Cummings, a licensed psychologist at Menasha’s Psychology Associates of the Fox Cities said.
“The second thing is that it’s been made even more difficult, because they essentially have to do two different jobs.”
In a memo from the OASD’s Human Resource Department, along with other departments, the school board is asked to consider using two snow days as mental health and wellness days for staff.
The reason? Because of “the stressors occurring this year.”
Peggy Olsen, President of the Wisconsin Education Association Council speaks with educators across the state often.
“I’ve heard from them, pointedly, about what that increased workload has been, the increased hours, the mental health needs of their students, their own mental health needs – all of that has been exacerbated throughout the past few months.”
Psychologists say, more and more teachers have been diagnosed with depression since the onset of the pandemic.
In America, 25% of the people can be diagnosed with depression, teachers that are being prescribed antidepressants, just because of the stressful nature over the last year and a half or two years,” said Cummings.
This increased workload, or “burnout,” is why some say we may be living in the “Great Resignation” and seeing so many worker shortages, including teacher shortages.
“Employers, really across the board, they’re looking for ways to keep employees,” Dan Heiser, dean of the Schneider School of Business at St. Norbert College said.
“So, if it means using two snow days to make that happen, they’re going to be taking it.”
The district has 5.8 days built into the schedule to allow for inclement weather, snow, and emergency days. With this, that figure would drop to 3.8 days.
And while the memo notes that this is meant for this year only, some say maybe it shouldn’t be.
“Our hope is that there will be that opportunity to bring educators back to the table, to roll up our sleeves and come up with those common solutions that are gonna help the mental health needs of all of our students and colleagues,” Wirtz-Olsen said.
The proposal is to schedule February 17th and 18th for these days.
The school board has not made a final decision on the proposal.
