Hey, friends, it's Angela. I will be back with the first official episode of season 14 of Truth for Teachers in early August.

But I wanted to pop in quickly this month to let you know that the 40-hour workweek program is now enrolling, and there are some big developments.

I created the 40-hour Teacher Workweek program back in 2015, and despite the name, the goal isn't actually to work 40 hours a week.

The goal is to maximize your contractual work hours, and that's what's usually around 40 hours a week, right?

So if you maximize your contractual work hours, you won't be working endlessly on nights and weekends.

The average teacher is working 62 hours a week when they join, and 51 hours a week when they complete the program.

So it's not a 40-hour workweek for most, although many do keep to their contractual hours.

The typical savings is 11 hours a week, and that's around 500 hours a year.

It's really the difference between burning out and making teaching a more sustainable career, and that's my whole goal.

And here's the thing. A lot of what creates teacher burnout is stuff beyond teacher's control.

I can offer individual solutions to a lot of problems, from grading hacks, to ideas for streamlining lesson planning, to strategies for managing email, and staying organized.

All that stuff is in the 40-H2W, and it makes a massive difference for teachers.

But ultimately, we can't solve systemic problems with individual solutions.

We need collective problem solving.

Ideally, teachers will be working in schools with administrators who also see the value in work-life balance,

who create a school-wide culture that's focused on well-being and reducing time-waisters in unnecessary work.

Now, you're probably thinking, that's an ideal, alright, that is not reality.

My principal expects us to do whatever it takes for kids and doesn't care how many hours I work.

This is something my school leaders would never get behind.

But you might be surprised to know that your principal could be one of hundreds who have contacted me over the years asking,

is there a 40-hour program for administrators?

Because the truth is, everyone who works in schools feels overwhelmed by all of their responsibilities.

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