What Research Says About Faculty and Staff Wellbeing
Teacher stress results in rising cortisol (stress hormone) levels in students.
Oberle & Schonert-Reichl, 2016
Teaching is ranked as one of the three professions with the highest reports of stress and depression.
HSE, 2019
78% of teachers report feeling physically & emotionally exhausted at the end of the day.
Briner & Dewberry, 2007
Now Is the Time to Focus on Positivity and Wellbeing.
To develop positive and resilient students, you need to have positive and resilient adults who teach and support them. Many school leaders know this but don't know how to make it happen.
That's where we come in.
Welcome to...
The Positivity Playground Community
A proactive global network of international schools moving forward together to build positivity and wellbeing for leaders, teachers, and staff members.
Member Schools
We're bringing together international school leaders, teachers, and staff to learn, apply, and share evidence-based positive psychology practices that will strengthen you personally and help you build wellbeing in your school communities.
The Positivity Playground will help you and your faculty/staff...
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Navigate life's ups and downs feeling strong, confident, calm, and optimistic
Be energised by a positive and supportive global network of peers
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Contribute creatively to building wellbeing in your school community
As a member of the Positivity Playground, you'll...
Spend more time building upon what's right with you instead of trying to fix what's "wrong"
Improve your ability to generate multiple, flexible pathways to achieving your goals
Increase your self-confidence so you'll handle challenges & new situations with a "can-do" attitude
Build your coping and "bounce-back" muscles to help you grow through difficult circumstances
View situations with realistic optimism, and stop worrying about things you can't control
Find ways to generate more positive emotions and manage negative emotions effectively
Think less about problems, and focus more on solutions, opportunities, and possibilities
Facilitate strengths-based, solutions-focused, emotionally intelligent conversations
What Members Say About the Positivity Playground
Nancy Diehl, PhD
Psychology & SEL Teacher
The Walworth Barbour
American International School of Israel
"I am really appreciating the opportunities I have to interact with the people, content, and platform. The Positivity Playground offers a different outlet and style for professional development. Our community has appreciated the opt-in philosophy so that staff can connect either synchronously and/or asynchronously.
WBAIS members have been appreciative of the options, variety, and quality of resources offered within the framework of the Positivity Playground. Additionally, the opportunity to connect with teachers and administrators at International Schools in other countries has enriched the experience. At a time where positivity is not always easy, supporting our own and each others' well-being is especially important."
Kili Lay
Director of Curriculum
and Staff Development
American School of The Hague
"I love that I have an answer to those who ask, 'How might we support faculty and staff wellbeing now, amid a global pandemic, with so much uncertainty and volatility?' The Positivity Playground is one way schools can show their commitment to wellbeing. It's a boost of what you need to feel better, to feel supported, to laugh, to connect with others who are interested in topics that are also of interest to you.
I personally have found the research, the articles, the organized events, and the online discussions to help build my inner resources so that I am better able to navigate the challenges I face every day - the big ones and the small ones!
I find my connection to the Positivity Playground always evolving, growing deeper roots of connection, and my learning expanding with every dive into the network!"
Join Us on the Positivity Playground!
Our school membership program is an unlimited annual plan that gives your faculty and staff maximum flexibility to participate as and when it works best for them. We welcome new Member Schools on a rolling basis and pro-rate fees for the remainder of the school year.
Ask about our free trial to give members of your leadership and wellbeing teams an opportunity to evaluate the Positivity Playground and determine if it's a good fit for your people and priorities.
We're here to help you strengthen your employees from the inside out, building a positive school culture.
The Positivity Playground is a global online group coaching community grounded in the science of positive psychology. It's designed to meet the needs of international school leaders who are ready to make a sound, sustainable investment in the positivity and wellbeing of their faculty & staff.
Members can opt into as much or as little high-impact learning and coaching as they want at any given time.
Being part of a global peer community generates fresh energy, creativity, motivation, and positive action.
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We meet people right where they are now and help them move forward positively at their own pace.
When you join the Positivity Playground, here's what you'll get...
A research-backed system for proactively building Positive Psychological Capital in every leader, teacher, and staff member (including yourself!)
5-Day Coaching Challenges on positivity competencies: Strengths, Hope, Confidence, Resilience, Optimism, and Solutions-Focused Thinking
Crowdsourcing threads sharing examples of how we're building positivity and wellbeing personally, with students, & with colleagues
Positive Peer Coach Training and Certification Program to help you embed positivity practices through an on-site network of peer coaches
A continually growing resource bank of self-paced, evidence-based online
microlearning options and wellbeing assessments
Member Spotlights & Guest Expert interviews on topics such as sleep, burnout, self-talk, emotional regulation, loneliness, and culture shock
A positive and supportive moderated community of like-minded educators where you can be yourself, get real support, & renew your energy
Group coaching circles with 30-day goal setting, weekly intention-setting, and check-ins to help you establish positivity & wellbeing habits
Live Zoom Meetups to connect with colleagues and new friends at other schools: Book Clubs, Art Jams, TED Circles, & Networking Events
Make a Commitment to Faculty and Staff Wellbeing Today
We're Making it Easy for You to Strengthen and Support Your Faculty and Staff
The Positivity Playground helps you look after the wellbeing of the adults in your school as well as you look after your students. It's an online community of learners focused on building psychological and emotional wellbeing in themselves and others.
Develop Positive Psychological Capital
This starts with increasing Positive Psychological Capital, or PsyCap - a set of four inner resources: hope, confidence, resilience, & optimism.
Studies show that people with higher PsyCap experience greater positivity and wellbeing, more satisfaction with their jobs and relationships, and deeper organisational commitment. Strong PsyCap also reduces cynicism, turnover intentions, work stress, and anxiety (Luthans, et al., 2015).
PsyCap can be measured and developed, and its benefits have been shown to spread throughout organisations in several ways, including upward spirals, ripple effects, and contagion effects.
So when you develop faculty/staff PsyCap, it spreads within and across teams, flows to students, and extends to your parent community.
Increase Positive Emotion
A second objective of the Positivity Playground is to generate positive emotion. Research shows that positivity broadens, or opens our hearts and minds, making us more receptive and more creative.
Positivity also builds, or transforms us for the better, allowing us to discover and develop new skills, new ties, new knowledge, and new ways of being. (Fredrickson, 2013)
On the Positivity Playground, we help people identify, savor, and generate more of the ten positive emotions that impact people's day-to-day lives the most...
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Joy
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Gratitude
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Serenity
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Interest
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Hope
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Pride
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Amusement
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Inspiration
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Awe
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Love
Share Positivity & Wellbeing Practices
A third aim of the Positivity Playground is to develop wellbeing literacy and share best practices across the global international school community.
To do this, we'll use the Visible Wellbeing SEARCH Framework, a research-backed model developed by Professor Lea Waters, AM, PhD - a world leader in positive education and teacher/student wellbeing.
Solros is a licensed facilitator of the Visible Wellbeing program, and we help schools prioritize the 6 core domains of wellbeing...
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Strengths
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Emotional Management
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Attention and Awareness
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Relationships
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Coping
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Habits and Goals
On the Positivity Playground, we crowdsource a resource bank of wellbeing practices which are nurturing the 6 SEARCH domains in our school communities.
We hope this will inspire more wellbeing initiatives in as many schools as possible!
A Supportive Peer Coaching Community
How can we do all this in a way that engages and energizes your busy faculty and staff?
The Positivity Playground is an online social learning platform that gives members a way to learn what they need, at their own pace, with like-minded people.
We provide every community member with basic training in positive dialogue, and we offer a Positive Peer Coach training and certification program for members who would like to develop evidence-based coaching skills to bring energy and support to their colleagues.
This helps us co-create a warm, strengths-based, solutions-focused environment where we can provide the best possible support for each other, leaning positively into the ups and downs of daily life and work.
What Members Say About the Positivity Playground
Becki Bishop
HS Health & PE Teacher
American School
of The Hague
"The Positivity Playground creates a fun, relaxing atmosphere where we are challenged to grow and learn alongside our colleagues through engaging conversations and sharing of positive affirmations. The book club encourages us to broaden our minds allowing us to analyze our own level of optimism and seek ways to positively transform our work and home environments.
The Positivity Playground has enhanced my own wellbeing through the simple reminders to slow down, take deep breaths, write, read, reflect and to be present in the moment. Being part of a community that serves to lift others up is rewarding and good for the soul.
The Positivity Playground is a great way to promote synergy in a work environment. Making wellbeing a top priority in school not only benefits the faculty and staff but has the potential to make immediate, positive changes in the lives of our students.
Through an abundance of resources, events, topics to read, discuss, and self reflect on, The Positivity Playground has much to offer and should be implemented in all schools around the world."
Olga Van Doorn
MS/HS Music, Head of Performing Arts
Dalian American
International School
"The Positivity Playground supports schools and individuals in many aspects. It is a great platform where we can share our thoughts, highlight our ups and downs, and most important get immediate feedback and support from our peers and/or the Positivity Playground coaches.
As a result, our school's staff members feel heard and supported, they realize that they are not alone with their problems, and there is always someone in this world who can offer a warm word, be a good listener, or share an encouraging idea.
The Positivity Playground does not focus only on the typical school business. It has a wide range of discussions, including general life questions, personal and family wellbeing. We are encouraged to share and discuss anything we feel important at this moment in our lives, and I truly appreciate this opportunity.
The Positivity Playground makes me feel comfortable to bring up any issue topic either to the public discussion or set an individual session with one of the coaches. They help me to look at the problem and myself from a different angle, focus on my strengths, and use them wisely and effectively.
I would highly recommend a prospective school to join the Positivity Playground . It will boost your staff members' optimism, self-confidence, and positive emotions."
Make Wellbeing an Organizational Priority
Faculty & Staff Wellbeing Makes Schools Better
Teacher wellbeing directly impacts student performance.
Briner & Dewberry, 2007
Engaged employees who experience high levels of wellbeing are 45% more likely than others to adapt to change.
Gallup, 2015
Organizations promoting health and wellbeing are seen as 3.5 times more likely to be creative and innovative.
World Economic Forum, 2010
Is the Positivity Playground Right for Your International School?
That depends on your values and beliefs as a leader.
The Positivity Playground is Not a Good Fit for Your School if You Believe...
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It’s not the school’s responsibility to look after faculty and staff wellbeing.
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Professional development should focus only on better teaching that serves students.
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Employee wellbeing is a “nice to have,” not a “must-have.”
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Professional learning is the domain of experts and gurus who you bring to campus once or twice.
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We can’t justify allocating budget to “soft skills” development.
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“Mental health” means “mental illness,” and our insurance covers therapy if teachers need help.
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It takes a lot of time, money and effort to train people - often with low return on investment.
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People are inherently positive or negative; you can't change somebody's personality.
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Positive psychology sounds a little fluffy and “woo-woo.”
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Wellbeing is something for the counseling department to take care of.
The Positivity Playground is a Perfect Fit for Your School if You Believe...
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Faculty and staff wellbeing is a foundational element of organizational health.
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Professional development should include strengthening teachers to model wellbeing.
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Proactively building up faculty and staff wellbeing amplifies our impact with students.
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Professional learning can happen through intentionally structured communities of practice.
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Investing in building positive psychological capital intelligently optimizes existing resources.
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Mental health is a continuum that ranges from illness to thriving (which employers can nurture).
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Slow, steady, cost-effective development approaches have a strong and sustainable impact.
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People can develop and increase positivity regardless of their natural baseline.
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Positive psychology is a science that delivers predictable outcomes.
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Schoolwide wellbeing is an organizational culture issue for leaders to champion.
The Positivity Playground Journey
Our ultimate aim is helping you increase positivity and wellbeing in your entire school community.
The Positivity Playground helps you develop organizational capacity and capability through strengthening, equipping, and inspiring each member of your faculty and staff.
What Members Say About the Positivity Playground
Griet van Kuyck
Assistant to the Director of
Curriculum and Development
American School of The Hague
"I love the Positivity Playground - all the resources, tips, events, challenges, WOOPs, ... etc., as well as the wonderful, inspiring, positive comments from the community members and, of course, the availability of the hosts - to guide, help and prompt you in a gentle and meaningful way to be more sensitive and open to all the positive emotions you experience in a day.
For me this is a beautiful counterweight for those things that seem to be going wrong in my neighborhood, my city, my country, our world. Building positive reserves is what we need now and the Positivity Playground helps me to elevate my positivity ... and I can do it all at my own pace according to my own needs!
I can already see a change in how some of our school community members who are a member of the Positivity Playground approach others, how they cheer each other on in the online community and strengthen their own positivity and that of others, but also how they communicate "live" with others in a different way by being more attentive to what's positive in their collaboration or by picking up on and mentioning/acknowledging the positives in these stressful times."
Jennifer Rhodes
MS Art Teacher and
Student Ambassador Coordinator
American School of The Hague
"I’ve always considered myself to be a positive person so I was curious what the Positivity Playground had to offer.
The Positivity Playground is indeed a playground of choices coupled with the support and sharing with friends and colleagues old and new.
I’ve loved digging deeply (the sandbox?) into the Strengths Profile and finding out how and when I could use these strengths and the importance of partnering with other colleagues who compliment my “lesser strengths”.
Thoughtful discussions within the coaching sessions as well as rich conversations in the “Positivity” book club have helped me to take notice of myself and become more attuned to the world around me.
I’d highly recommend discovering the Positivity Playground!"
Join us on the Positivity Playground!
Our school membership program is an unlimited annual plan that gives your faculty and staff maximum flexibility to participate as and when it works best for them. We welcome new Member Schools on a rolling basis and pro-rate fees for the remainder of the school year.
Ask about our free trial to give members of your leadership and wellbeing teams an opportunity to evaluate the Positivity Playground and determine if it's a good fit for your people and priorities.