Is yoga the key to keeping teachers in Austin ISD?

Austin Independent School District said it hoped a new program that uses practices common in yoga will improve its recovering teacher retention rates.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Independent School District said it hoped a new program that uses practices common in yoga will improve its recovering teacher retention rates. The district said the course gives teachers and students new ways of coping with stress.

AISD Executive Director of Talent Strategy Amie Ortiz said the district worked with its health insurance provider, Aetna, to bring the Breathe for Change program to several schools.

"We received funding for our inaugural cohort of 30 teachers on 10 campuses that are going through the program right now," Ortiz.

The program's website describes itself as "the world's only Mindfulness, Social and Emotional Learning, and Yoga Teacher Training created by educators for educators."

Ortiz said the teachers have spent their weekends taking a 200-hour certification course, learning methods of breathing and self-regulation they'll pass on to students and colleagues.

AISD fourth-grade teacher Devon Whipple said she turned to yoga after the pandemic to restore some tranquility to her life.

"After the pandemic and with virtual teaching, I was not taking care of myself and not in the greatest place," Whipple said.

She said she brought the Breathe for Change up to her principal and the district after seeing an ad for the program on social media.

Whipple has since taken the course and now uses deep breathing and exercises to teach students how to regulate emotions and mindfulness.

She also teaches her colleagues similar skills during a weekly class for educators.

"There was a sense of calmness that the students started having. It's such a stressful job and when we're not taking care of ourselves, we can't take care of our students," Whipple said.

Co-founder of Breathe for Change Kelli Sammis said the usual struggles for teachers were intensified by the pandemic, and highlighted a need to give burnt-out educators more emotional support.

"The stakes are high and we do have deficits, and learning and we do have kids with needs. But teachers have got to feel that they're being invested back into," Sammis said.

Ortiz said the district saw a 13% increase in teacher retention over the last school year. She hopes that number will grow even more once this first class of AISD yogis graduates the program in June.