How One Principal's Tragedy Sparked a School-wide Transformation

School and district leaders confront turning points throughout their careers. Whether it’s grappling with imposter syndrome or navigating unimaginable tragedy, they find themselves pulled to meet a moment that has a profound impact on their lives and the communities they serve. For Matt Smith, his turning point came with the deep and unexpected loss of his son’s best friend to suicide at the age of 12. CDC data show suicide as the second leading cause of death for adolescents, with boys four times more likely to die by suicide than girls. With this national crisis now part of his life, Matt knew he had to do something about it.

As Matt started a new principalship following the loss of his son’s friend, the mental health of his students was top of mind. He was now leading a school with low academic performance and many students needing extra support. More than 50% of incoming 7th graders were well below grade level in reading – a trend that continued for decades before Matt’s arrival. He was familiar with the robust evidence showing that “students participating in social and emotional learning at school had higher levels of school functioning.”

Matt and his leadership team knew about the growing body of research that educator well-being has a direct impact on student well-being. His educators were burned out and experiencing high levels of unmitigated stress following the COVID-19 pandemic. The team decided to adopt RULER, an evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning. After investigating their options, they felt RULER had the staying power to shift their school climate, engage educators, and improve student outcomes. They also knew that this shift would only be possible with deliberate, emotionally intelligent leadership.

The leadership team went to work focusing on their own skills and understanding what made their educators who they were.

Matt saw drastic improvements in his leadership style after embracing vulnerability with his staff. Their perception of him shifted from walled-off administrator to trusted collaborator. He also brought in a team of scientists from Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence to collect data from his teaching staff about how they experience work and their relationships with colleagues and students (Staff and Educator Well-Being Survey). As RULER implementation grew over time, the numbers spoke for themselves. Over the course of a year working with the approach, his educators reported feeling better at school and in the classroom, even before students were introduced. Students were starting to benefit from enhanced educator well-being without using the RULER approach themselves.

Matt and his leadership team describe this experience as a long, winding road. Keeping students alive to teach them meant becoming more emotionally intelligent leaders, focusing on improving the well-being of their educators, and sustaining a new culture to support student well-being and performance. The result: a range of positive outcomes for the community.

• The school experienced the second-highest student academic growth rate in the district.
• Educators experienced increased joy, contentment, and stronger relationships with students, colleagues, and families.
• The number of multilingual learners meeting language development goals doubled.

If you or someone you know are in the United States and are experiencing a mental health crisis, please call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.