When was the last time your school implemented a crisis plan—not for students, but for the faculty and staff who are drowning in invisible labor?

Dr. Patrice Buckner Jackson (PBJ) tackles this urgent question, revealing a troubling paradox in education: we meticulously plan for every student crisis while having zero systems in place to prevent, respond to, or recover from faculty burnout.

Drawing from her dissertation research on campus crisis management, PBJ introduces a groundbreaking approach to educator burnout using the National Incident Management System (NIMS) framework. This episode focuses specifically on prevention—the crucial first phase that can halt burnout's devastating progression.

Through four essential prevention strategies—early warning systems, workload analysis, institutional culture development, and resource allocation—PBJ provides a practical roadmap for educational leaders at all levels. She challenges us to move beyond empty "people first" rhetoric and implement tangible support mechanisms that acknowledge the unaccounted labor weighing down our educators.

"It does not count until you count it," PBJ emphasizes, highlighting how mentoring moments, emotional support, and crisis interventions remain invisible in workload calculations. These missing pieces explain why traditional employee satisfaction surveys fail to capture educators' true experiences.

Whether you're a school administrator with budgetary authority or a team leader with limited resources, this episode offers actionable steps to begin preventing burnout today. PBJ's message is clear: "Stop focusing on what you can't do... Do what you can do and do it now."

Ready to disrupt burnout in your educational setting? Download the STOP Plan to incorporate micro-breaks into your routine and create sustainable rhythms of rest for yourself and your team. The education crisis is real—but with these prevention strategies, we can start building solutions that truly put our people first.

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