One topic that frequently comes up on Change Starts Here concerns educator burnout and the residual effect of people choosing not to enter the education profession.

According to a November 2022 Gallop poll, K-12 teachers report the highest burnout rate of all U.S. professions, with more than four out of every ten teachers noting they feel burned out “always” or “often” at work.

That leads to a question: What ideal school would make people want to stay, love their job, and then attract new people to the profession?

Change Starts Here’s Dustin Odham introduces a new series, Breaking it Down, where he tackles specific educational issues, and education burnout was top-of-mind. To make a lively debate possible, Odham needed a partner, and he got himself a terrific one in Bentley Kapten. Kapten is a Client Partner with FranklinCovey, who focuses much of his educational efforts in the boroughs of NYC, specifically Brooklyn and the Bronx.

On this series kickoff, Odham and Kapten discuss:

• The criteria that define Kapten’s ideal school
• From a student’s lens, what sets a particular school apart from others
• What do great teachers do to build a deep connection with their students

“Primarily, my background is Pre-K to 8,” Kapten said. “One powerful thing that always helped every single year was home visits. The home visit was so powerful because we not only got a better aspect of our student, but we got a better aspect of our student as a member of a family.”

In addition to his role with FranklinCovey, Bentley Kapten is an educator specializing in the math curriculum, where he developed key relationships with the New York City Department of Education. Kapten is also a Foster America Fellow with a Master of Arts in Teaching & Education from the Relay Graduate School of Education.