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Last updated on November 19, 2019 by Not So Wimpy Teacher

Improve Morale at Your School

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What is teacher and staff morale like at your school? Is there a lot of positivity and teachers are happy to come to school? Or, is there a lot of negativity and frustration. Do teachers feel supported or do they feel like no one appreciates them?

Sadly many teachers feel like morale is low at their school.

There are so many things that we wish admin would do at our school to show that they trust us and appreciate us.

But today, we are changing the conversation. Instead of talking about what we wish others would do, we are going to start talking about what WE can do to help to improve the morale at our school.

In this episode, I share several simple ideas that you can implement!

  1. Secret gift exchange
  2. Stocking the staff lounge
  3. Start a social club
  4. Host a book club
  5. Write positive notes

I’d love to hear about the ideas that you are coming up with. Let me know how you are going to improve morale at your school.

Let’s make teaching fun, my friends!

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Reader Interactions

45 Comments

  1. Meg

    It would be nice to feel appreciated. I have been in my district for 30 years. The last several years the atmosphere in the building is not inviting or happy feeling. Maybe it’s not the role of the principal to pile on the paperwork about curriculum but it is their role to raise morale when he/she sees the teachers drowning and feeling defeated. Teaching is what we are here for. Is it going to be so data driven from now on? If so I would advise young college students to find another career. I even hate to say this but it is so true.

    Make teaching meaningful again.

    Reply to this comment

  2. Nicole Riggs

    I think it is great that you are tackling morale.
    Interestingly enough my school is currently doing 4/5 of those to help morale. Some were implemented by our administration, some by our spirit committee and some by teachers. We can all spread some light! Thanks for spreading yours.

    Reply to this comment

    • Diana

      Our moral boost is mostly from teachers. I’m lucky to work in a school that teachers care about each other. One teacher created a bulletin board in the teacher lounge where teachers can post positive notes to other teachers. We have snacks every other Friday. Each grade level signs up for twice a year. At our faculty meeting we start with the opportunity to share praise for other staff members. This year I took it upon myself to post a happy birthday note on the teacher’s mailbox on their birthday. Sometimes we have to start small.

      Reply to this comment

  3. Debbie Jackson

    I enjoyed the podcast on improving teacher morale. I am a retired teacher. Over the years, I taught English Language Arts and Computer Applications in grades 6-12 and college freshmen. Early on, I learned a valuable lesson from our guidance counselor. She tried to remain anonymous, but one day, I caught her in the act. The impact that her acts of kindness had on us, motivated us to imitate her. I am one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and I don’t celebrate secular holidays or birthdays, so my acts were always done on other days or at other times of the year, so they were unexpected, but still very much appreciated. Here are some of the things that were done, and I hope that they are still going on. In a mailbox or in an office or on a classroom desk leave a note, a small gift (candy bar, pen, magnet, etc); print an excerpt from a publication like the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, or You Know You’re a Teacher When… and paste it inside of a card. Set up a freebies table in the teacher’s lounge. Send e-cards. Put a small book shelf in the lounge for take one, leave one books and videos. Share a thought by leaving a sticky note inside of the book or video for the next person to reflect on. Have a tailgate party at lunchtime on half days after the students leave.

    Reply to this comment

  5. Carrie Mcnair

    Absolutely love the honesty in this. I am
    Blessed at my school but I’ve been in schools where I wasn’t so fortunate. I love how you challenged us to be the change instead of expecting it to change from others. Complaining does nothing but keep our focus on the negative.

    Reply to this comment

  6. Cherie' Clark

    I really enjoyed your podcast! Thanks for all of the positive words, and ideas, Lord knows we all need to hear it!
    At my school I have an appreciative principal and we do have some great things in place. One of my favorite things we do is Amazing Atoms; ( we are a STEM school), we drop a note into the box in the office where we say something nice about another staff member, then on Friday, our principal draws out a name and announces that teachers name over the intercom and who gave them the shoutout. The teacher gets a gift card from a restaurant, bookstore or business in town. Then all of the other teachers that had a shoutout will get them put in their mailboxes that day. When I get one, I tape them above my computer so that I see them daily. They inspire me.
    We also have a bulletin board where we can post sticky notes on a clothes line with shout outs for staff members. We change these out monthly. We do secret Santa every year and have a week of dress up days. Our principal brings a coffee and treat cart around to our rooms that week for us to take from to brighten spirits. He also makes breakfast for us on Teachers Day. I can’t wait to hear more ideas. It really is good to keep morale high. I’m going to suggest the bookclub with my friends!!

    Reply to this comment

  7. Mrs. S Riley

    Last year we sent around a notebook. We would write some sort of appreciative letter on the next page to a staff member and leave it in their box. They would be uplifted and write on the next page to someone else. People wrote really really nice things and it was very lovely being appreciated so much!

    Our staff likes to do things together. The holiday party is a lot of laughs and well attended. Sometimes we do a paint night. Several grade levels meet up after work on Friday and enjoy each other’s company getting drinks.

    We also have a group text message. It was set up by a teacher and includes the principal. We laugh and tease a lot and it gets pretty silly. It’s all unofficial and is treated that way. It makes it a special and fun place to be!

    We feel appreciated by our principal as he does his own things to show appreciation; however, each of the items listed here were started by teachers.

    Reply to this comment

  8. Debora

    This is exactly what we need to hear! Be the difference we want to see schoolwide. I’m so fortunate to be part of a faculty that cares about one another. Our principal does many of the things you were talking about: Jeans week before a major holiday, notes on lesson plan checks, duty-free lunch. However, we are aware that we have to do our part, too. When we get frustrated with the System in general, we let off steam, then we remind each other of all the positives we enjoy. Thank you, Jamie!

    Reply to this comment

  9. Dawn L Ullmark

    This is an amazing idea! Morale is low across the board and only we can make the change. I am going to start by leaving notes for people. I won’t sign them, just leave little notes of appreciation! A friend of mine does this at the district office for employees there, and they love it! Thanks for the reminder that it starts with 1.

    Reply to this comment

  10. Ann

    This was SO timely!! My ideas: a book club that reads newer children’s books, maybe an intermediate and primary selection. I never make time to read children’s fiction and would love recommendations. A walking club or we used to do payday breakfast assigned to a grade level. Snacks and a movie?

    Reply to this comment

  11. Karen McLean

    Heard my first podcast of yours today! Thanks for emailing me b/c I would not have known about going to it or thought about that if you didn’t. Loved the email because it was really attention grabbing and made me want to hear what you had to say, so your little plan worked!!! I agree that so many people (teachers) are down lately and it’s so normal now to just vent and keep dragging others down, it seems to have become the norm. But I love that with your podcast it was a pick me up, a really great reminder that it does NOT have to be that way, we can help make change. I love that! I am lucky b/c my school is a giving school and we have a great BFA(PTA.) We also have a social committee who plans fun things like secret Santa, lunches brought in, go out and meet up at a bar, they even just scheduled to go to see a former student who some of us taught long ago, play football at Northwestern. We have a really big staff so it is hard to all see each other. It’s like you said, those things do make a difference if you do them. It’s all about your attitude. Another idea I can add, is that for our mandatory staff meetings, each grade level is in charge of the treat, so when your tired and hate that you have to go to a meeting, theres a treat waiting for you! Thanks for the uplifting talk. I think people need someone like you to create more positiveness. Thanks Jamie. Can’t wait to hear others from you now!

    Reply to this comment

  13. Jackie

    We do Secret Santa during the holidays a week or so before our Christmas break. . We fill out questionnaires (favorite team, drink, snack, hobby, restaurant, etc) and then draw names. You now have a list of your person’s favorite things. Then you buy a few small gifts throughout the week such as a sausage biscuit, Starbucks, candy, or other inexpensive item and leave them anonymously in their mailbox, on their desk, or wherever. We buy a larger gift for the big reveal and give it to them at a local restaurant, someone’s house, or in the library where those who participate meet. People are excited to secretly give gifts and see what their Secret Santa leaves for them.

    Reply to this comment

  15. Erin Morris

    My school does an amazing job keeping teacher morale up. We have gift exchanges at Halloween and Christmas (boo buddy and secret Santa). We have a staff get together once/9 weeks at a restaurant. We play a bingo game for things we do around our campus- like bring a drink or snack to a fellow teacher, write a positive note, turn in attendance on time for a week, make 3 positive phone calls home to students… Etc. We win prizes like packs of sharpies, one hour duty free lunch, candy, snacks… We also have lunches provided by admin every so often- a nacho bar or BBQ. Sometimes it’s just a sweet treat to keep us going. We do pay a hospitality fee at the beginning of the year to help finance all of this, but it’s fun and nice throughout the year. Our admin rock.

    Reply to this comment

  16. Lisa Calvert

    I LOVED this podcast! It reminds me that I am very fortunate. Even though there are times when my admin drives me completely crazy, they do try and show us how much they appreciate us. I loved your ideas for boosting morale. I know at the end of the year last year, we were all ready to walk out the door. Things had gotten pretty toxic. One thing I always teach my children (and remind myself) is the only person we can control is ourselves. Maybe I can’t change everything, but I can change one thing. I especially liked the suggestion to write a positive note once a week. At our last staff training we wrote 3 positive post-its and gave them to coworkers. What a great idea to keep this going throughout the year. This is definitely something that I will put into practice immediately!

    Reply to this comment

  17. Kathleen

    I enjoyed your podcast and you have great ideas. I think you are right about morale and shifting the focus to positive. One of the teachers in our school had her students post sticky notes throughout the school with positive sayings on them. They put one on my door that really brightened my day/week. Your idea about putting notes in the teachers’ mailboxes sounds great and might be one that I will try in the near future.

    Reply to this comment

  19. Heather Rutz

    This is a wonderful topic and it defintely needs to be addressed. Like you said, our school does virtually nothing for morale and our prinicpal doesn’t really care. He quite frankly is part of the problem. With that being said though, I think although some teachers say “we need to improve morale” and “we all need to get along” some secretly don’t want that. The last two years, I independently turned to Pinterest and started things like “You’ve Been Penned,” “You’ve Been Boo’d,” and “You’ve Been Socked,” except for we didn’t have a great turn out and some weren’t excited about this. This year I haven’t done anything like that and nothing has changed, so I don’t really know what to think.

    Reply to this comment

  20. Sharon

    Last year I organized a Ring the Bell campaign with Salvation Army for the staff in my elementary building. We had a great turnout throughout the whole week. I plan on doing the same thing this year.

    Reply to this comment

  21. Christine Leary

    We do Morale Pal at our school ( a year long secret gift exchange). We also have a social committee the sponsors fun events like an Iron Chef cooking competition with a secret ingredient, you cook at home and bring it to the teacher’s lunchroom on the given day. People sample the entries and vote. Yes, a prize is awarded. Staff can enter other staff members’ names in a weekly raffle. Winners are announced and they can choose a reward like a preferred parking space, chocolate, or a duty pass ( an administrator covers a 15 minute duty for you)!

    Reply to this comment

  22. Lindsey Jones

    This is amazing!!! I was surprised to hear the you got so many discouraging messages about school morale. We have a group called “Mischief Makers” at our school that helps organize many things like this already. We do so many events and it really helps make the work environment feel that much better. As a group we try to schedule one to two events a month. Some other ideas we have or are working on.
    1. Birthday Buddies
    2. Secret Santa
    3. Monthly breakfast or snack
    4. Swaps (we have done sock swap, plant swap, ornament swap, book swap)
    We put the items on a chair outside our door and teachers swap throughout the day and then it is ended some time randomly in the afternoon and when it is called whatever you have on your chair is yours. Teachers do the swapping on their time anytime during the day.
    5. Paint Night
    6. School Wide Spirit week
    7. Staff Shout Out bulletin board.

    Reply to this comment

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Hello! I’m Jamie

  • I believe that students need to be the leaders of the classroom. Even third graders are old enough to be held accountable and to take responsibility for their learning.
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  • Differentiated instruction is a must. I use guided reading and guided math groups to meet the individual needs of my students.
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