Profiles in California Alternative Education - Building Resilience among Educators - A Continuation High School Shares Strategies to Address Compassion Fatigue and Secondary Traumatic Stress among Teachers and Staff

Oct 15, 2026

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Educators and administrators often support students dealing with extreme social and emotional challenges, yet that work can expose staff indirectly to trauma through secondary traumatic stress and build long-term exhaustion described as compassion fatigue. The brief reviews the literature, links these concepts to educator burnout, and explains how ongoing support is needed—especially in alternative schools serving students impacted by significant trauma or ACEs. It also presents a continuation high school's efforts to help teachers and inform district-wide broader mental health responses.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Key concepts: compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress

Link to educator burnout and trauma-informed practices

COVID-19 pandemic impact

Increased trauma and stress for school communities

Reduced educator agency and re-engagement challenges

Compassion fatigue and self-care frameworks

Profiles in California Alternative Education BUILDING RESILIENCE AMONG EDUCATORS A Conti nuation Hig h School S ha res Strateg iesw ith its District to Address Compass ion Fatigue and Secondary Traumatic Stress among Teache rs and Staff by Liz Newman with Joseph Antonelli Teachers and administrators support students to thrive as learners in their classrooms. But when students experience trauma or stress in their lives , educators may be faced with the additional challenge of supporting students to address extremely difficult social and emotional situations. This can lead to secondary traumatic stress—indirect exposure to their student ’s traumatic experience—and/or compassion fatigue. The latter is the exhaustion that builds over time from attempting to help those who are undergoing trauma. Both terms refer to the“experience of being affected by others ’ pain" (Van Dernoot Lipsky , 2009 , p. 6) . Either can contribute to educator burnout ,“characterized by emotional exhaustion , depersonalization , and a reduced feeling of personal accomplishment" ( National Child JA N UA RY 2 0 2 2 I NS IG HTS F RO M R IV E RS I D E CO U NTY Traumatic Stress Network , 2011) . CALIFORNIA LEARNING COLLABORATIVE ON ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION While the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened awareness of this dynamic , it isnot new , especially not in alternative schools , where many students find themselves precisely because they and/or their families experience significant trauma or stress that affects their academic progress. This brief begins with a review of compassion fatigue and secondary trauma in the literature. Next , it offers an overview for addressing compassion fatigue in education settings. Finally , it shares the story of one continuation high school ’s efforts to support its teachers , and to leverage this journey in support of its district ’s efforts to address mental health issues more broadly. BACKGROUND First entering the lexicon in a 1992 nursing magazine ( Fig ley , 2002) , the terms compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress reflect a growing recognition in the available literature that professionals who care for those experiencing trauma in turn experience trauma themselves. Charles R. Fig ley describes compassion fatigue as follows (1995 , p. 2) , The professional work centered on the relief of the emotional suffering of clients automatically includes absorbing information that is about suffering. Often it includes absorbing that suffering as well... hundreds of professionals, especially therapists... talk about episodes of sadness and depression, sleeplessness, general anxiety, and other forms of suffering that they eventually link to trauma work. While this work originally focused on those in the caring professions , the description also applies to educators , especially those whose students are experiencing multiple adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) . As schools strive to address the needs of students who have experienced multiple ACEs , it becomes clear that the adults at these schools also need support to implement effective practices in an ongoing way. Thus , in a joint 2019 report , the National Council of State Education Associations and the NEA Center for Great Public Schools identified seven categories of recommendations for embedding traumainformed practices in schools , including the need to “promote and support educator selfcare activities as critical to ensuring educator success and retention in the profession"( NCNEA , 2019 , p. 19) . Notably , these reports were published prior to the COVID-19 pandemic , which reportedly exacerbated the issue of compassion fatigue for educators in multiple ways ( Hart & Nash , 2020) . As schools strive to address the needs of students who have experienced multiple ACEs, it becomes clear that the adults at these schools also need ongoing support to implement effective practices. 2 Ways the COVID-19 Pandemic Has Worsened Compass

FAQs

What are compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress in education settings?

Compassion fatigue is exhaustion that accumulates over time from trying to help those experiencing trauma. Secondary traumatic stress refers to indirect exposure to others’ traumatic experiences through supporting students experiencing trauma or stress.

How do these issues relate to educator burnout?

Both compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress can contribute to educator burnout, which is characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced feelings of personal accomplishment.

Why is educator support especially important in alternative schools?

Alternative schools often enroll students and families experiencing significant trauma or stress affecting academic progress, so educators need ongoing support to implement effective, trauma-informed practices.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Damian