A Better Way Forward for Students and Teachers
As a 2024 graduate of York University’s Master of Arts in Education (MAEd) in Social-Emotional Leadership (SEL), I’ve seen firsthand how urgent the need is for meaningful change in education. After years of teaching middle and high school English Language Arts in both public and private schools, I’ve watched today’s students struggle with the lingering impact of the COVID years in ways many adults don’t fully see.
Think about it: today’s 8th and 9th graders were only in 3rd and 4th grade when schools shut down. Their developmental and social-emotional gaps are now colliding with the expectations of high school. I’ve seen shorter attention spans, weaker self-regulation, and a surface-level approach to engagement. These challenges existed before COVID, but the pandemic magnified them — making it clear that strong Social-Emotional Leadership practices are not optional; they’re essential.
At the same time, teachers feel pulled in too many directions. We’re asked to cover every academic standard, meet social-emotional needs, design engaging lessons, and — within Christian schools — integrate a biblical worldview. And we’re often told to do these as separate, disconnected tasks. The result is predictable: teacher burnout, student disengagement, and a slow erosion of the joy that first led many of us into the classroom.
But the answer isn’t adding yet another strategy or program. The answer is alignment — bringing academics, social-emotional growth, and faith together into a single, purposeful framework that restores clarity for teachers and meaning for students.
Instead of treating these areas as competing priorities, alignment allows them to support one another. When teachers integrate rather than divide their work, classrooms become places of formation, connection, and renewal.
Here are a few of the places where alignment changes everything:
What Alignment Makes Possible
- Classrooms Become Restorative, Not Reactive
Short attention spans and poor self-regulation don’t have to derail learning. When Project-Based Learning channels student energy into meaningful work, and Social-Emotional Leadership practices build self-control, empathy, and resilience, discipline becomes discipleship — a chance to shape character, not just correct behavior.
- Learning Becomes Purposeful Instead of Rushed
Teachers everywhere feel the pressure to “cover” content while also addressing behavior and learning gaps. But inquiry-driven projects, reflection practices, and biblical grounding help students pace themselves, internalize wisdom, and understand learning as stewardship — not just test preparation.
- Teacher Burnout Gives Way to Sustainable Teaching
When academics, SEL, and faith are treated as separate initiatives, planning becomes heavy and exhausting. When they are woven together, teachers experience less duplication, less stress, and more time for authentic relationships and meaningful teaching.
York University equipped me to take my years of classroom experience and channel them into solutions that ease the burden on teachers while empowering students to thrive. As a veteran teacher, I know the weight of competing demands: pacing guides, behavior challenges, social-emotional deficits, and — within Christian education — integrating a biblical worldview with integrity. It is too much to sustain if approached as separate tasks.
The truth is that teachers don’t need more programs.
They need integration.
By uniting academics, social-emotional leadership, and a biblical worldview into one aligned framework, we can restore well-being to teachers, reignite engagement in students, and reclaim classrooms as places of wholeness and hope.
My mission now is to share this vision with educators: to offer a framework that works, to give students a learning experience that lasts, and to bring purpose and alignment back to the heart of the classroom.
Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments.” — Psalm 119:66
This is the kind of teaching that lasts.
This is the kind of alignment that changes lives.
— Kellie Sanchez '24
If you’d like to follow more of Kellie’s work supporting teachers and students, you can connect with her at mylifescoach.com.