Meet the Innovator: Jenna Shaw of The Whole Teacher
The Whole Teacher is part of Social Innovation Lab’s 2016–17 Cohort. To learn more about SIL and the cohort, click here.
SIL: Tell us about The Whole Teacher in just a few sentences.
Jenna: The Whole Teacher is a benefit corporation that brings wellness into schools to increase the health, happiness, and retention of educators. By providing on-site health and wellness programs, we remove the barriers that prevent educators from taking care of themselves.
SIL: Why did you decide to start this? Where did the idea come from?
Jenna: As an educator in Baltimore City, I know firsthand the challenges that teachers face. Our days are long, our nights are short, our workload never ends, and we make so many sacrifices. At various points in my career, I have watched amazing teachers run themselves into the ground. I have been at the point of burnout. There are no resources for teachers when they face stress and exhaustion and their health is compromised. This state of living is common for educators and it impacts our schools and our students. I saw this problem and I realized that if we didn’t start tending to our teachers then teaching would never be a sustainable professional choice.
SIL: What would you consider success for your venture and how would the world be different if it is successful?
Jenna: The Whole Teacher has the power to rework the teaching paradigm. Educator health and wellness is under-discussed and under-funded. When teachers feel better, they teach better. We are on a trajectory to help schools and district reinvent what it feels like and what it means to be an educator by focusing on the needs of the whole educator.
SIL: What have you accomplished so far?
Jenna: Starting this fall we began working in three Baltimore City Public Schools running a pilot program. This program was grown out of robust data collection of Baltimore City teachers. This data allowed us to look at the true health needs of our teachers and was used as the foundation building block of our fall pilot. We have been able to partner with ten local health and wellness professionals to bring different programs to our schools, offered to more than 175 teachers.
SIL: Tell us about yourself? What got you interested in this issue? Any work experience or past professional/life experience that informs your work now?
Jenna: I’ve spent the last nine years as a Baltimore City Public Schools educator. I have taught at both the elementary and middle school level, with a focus on innovative teaching and technology integration. I have always been passionate about rethinking education for kids. I didn’t plan on becoming an entrepreneur! I have always been a problem solver and risk taker, but I never really thought I would have an idea or project that would allow me to expand outside of my career as an educator. The Whole Teacher was really born from Empathy Interviews I conducted as part of a leadership course I was taking. What really pushed me to have enough courage to start a company was realizing how large the need was for our educators. I couldn’t imagine not taking the risk to bring health and wellness services to teachers when so many of them were begging for help when I talk to them about stress, health, and wellness.
SIL: What’s your favorite place or thing to do in Baltimore?
Jenna: I love art. I spend a lot of time watching, listening, and participating in art in all forms. Our art community in Baltimore is stunning. I spend a lot of afternoons unwinding at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
SIL: What advice do you have for would-be social entrepreneurs thinking about starting a venture?
Jenna: Understand the problem before building the solution. Talk to everyone about the problem you are passionate about solving. Ask them questions. Listen. Solve accordingly.
