Preview
Creation Date
10-25-2023
Description
In June of 2022, 2023, and forthcoming in 2024, teachers came to the Bethel University campus to participate in Camp Hope, a retreat for public and private educators. The 3-day experience provided a place for teachers to rest, reflect, and learn about Hope Theory as a pathway to emotional and spiritual restoration (Snyder, 1994, 2002; Gwinn & Hellman, 2019). The design of this retreat was a response to what we learned from a 5-year study on the retention and occupational wellness of our 2016 education program completers. Out of six measures of workplace satisfaction (Maslach, 2004), two of the six variables, Community and Values, emerged as potential focal points for intervention and later served as a framework for our retreat model. Following the camp experience, teachers participated in a monthly Professional Learning Network meeting to support their praxis of Hope Theory. This action project was created and continues to support the continued growth of our teachers and to help mitigate future burnout.