Milton Collins, principal of Lincoln Elementary in the Granite School District in Utah, shares his passion for the profession as a principal who is caring for teachers so the teachers can care for students.

During this special podcast episode recorded at SXSW EDU 2024, Dr. Ludwig Johnson and Utah First Lady Abby Cox are joined by National University President & CEO Dr. Mark Milliron and Rady Children’s Hospital Senior Director Domonique Hensler to continue the conversation on the importance of teacher well-being. The expert panel examines key positive strategies to sustain educator well-being in the context of teacher preparation programs and K-12 schools, and concrete actions that should occur to keep educators healthy, despite elements that can exist beyond their control.

WGU graduate and award-winning teacher Rachael Black joins the hosts to explore some of the unique challenges facing rural educators – from funding models and policy that can sometimes skew toward urban schools, to helping educators get access to the services they need to address mental and physical health concerns.

In this episode, the hosts are joined by Amelia Azul-Elgas, learning experience designer/online community engagement specialist on the Healthy Learning team in WGU’s School of Education. Azul-Elgas talks about taking a research-based, character-focused approach that contributes not only to the well-being of the teacher, but also to the classroom, school, and the community it serves.

In this episode, our co-hosts are joined by Dr. Mamie L. Pack, WGU manager of healthy learning, to discuss practices that teachers can use to help create healthy environments that help them thrive as individuals and professionals