Kelleen Santoianni

The bright papers that decorate r the room of Kelleen Santoianni are a stark contrast to how she is feeling this year at MCHS. This Spanish teacher, though known for her love for teaching and her use of music in the classroom has been hit hard by the effects of burnout.

Last year at MCHS was hectic to say the least. With all the different modes of learning that students had to go through that just left teachers having to adjust as they went. This took a toll on all the teachers at MCHS. This year, teachers were hoping to get closer to normal, and yet they were met with very unexpected challenges. 

“It’s just mental exhaustion,” Santoianni states. Even with these new sets of obstacles, teachers like Santoianni are dealing with a burn out of unprecedented proportion within this school year alone.

The hectic past year, combined with all the new details on this school year has led to teachers having more on their plate than ever before. More than even last year when they had to learn a whole different style of teaching. This was due to the expectation that many teachers had coming back to school full time.  

“We kind of came into this year with the expectation that even though there will be new challenges as a result of it, it will be better than last year.” Santoianni states.

All of these factors seem to pile up on each other. Becoming so mountainous that many teachers are struggling with wading through all the stress.