A Teachers’ Lounge With a Twist: Creating Spaces to Help Educators Thrive

Tucked away in an upstairs corridor at Brookside School 54 is a room where the air is cool, the vibe is calm, and the students are absent. Pop in at the right time, and you might find a first-grade teacher relaxing on a couch, headphones on, world tuned out. Two third-grade teachers might be enjoying the massage chairs, debriefing about the day so far. After lunch, chances are high there’s a food service worker walking on the treadmill, taking determined steps toward better health.

The teacher wellness lounge at this Indianapolis elementary school gives staff a place to catch their breath, clear their heads, and, if they want, fit in some fitness. Along with a similarly renovated room at Pioneer Academy in New York City, it’s one of two such spaces created through a partnership between Elevance Health, the Impact Fitness Foundation, and iHeartMedia.

Each is designed to provide school staff with the support — and serenity — that can help them thrive while they help students do the same.

“It definitely feels very much like they took time to think about us and what we need,” said My-Kael Ritchotte, a first-grade teacher who’s been at Brookside for five years and values the quiet the room provides. “Just those small moments are the most important thing because it's so easy to get wrapped up in, ‘I do this, this, this, this, this’ … so having a room that just really feels comforting and relaxing helps.”
 

A Place to Pause

The teaching profession draws many people who are passionate about working with children and playing a formative role in their lives. It can be a rewarding and fulfilling job; it can also be demanding. A recent survey of kindergarten through 12^th-grade public school teachers found that 57% reported experiencing burnout, 55% reported frequent job-related stress, and 17% reported symptoms of depression.

The wellness lounges reflect a whole-health approach to addressing these concerns, encouraging healthy choices that can lead to benefits beyond the rooms’ immediate walls.

“Teachers and school staff give so much of themselves to their students every day,” said Dr. Shantanu Agrawal, chief health officer at Elevance Health. “By creating spaces that support both their physical and mental well-being, we’re investing not only in the people who care for students, but also in the stronger, healthier school communities that help students succeed and grow.”
 

Different Ways to Recharge

For Kourtney Roseberry, the Brookside lounge offers an opportunity for something relatively rare in a school that serves approximately 360 students in prekindergarten through fifth grade: uninterrupted conversation. She visits during her lunch hour with a friend and fellow third-grade teacher, and the two discuss the day.

“It’s something I look forward to,” said Roseberry, whose dreams of being a teacher began when she was in kindergarten. “Our lunch is in the middle of the day, too. So if you had a rough beginning, and you just need a second to take a break and decompress, it's a good place to come and do that.”

First-grade teacher Amanda Eckert sees the space as a place to focus and to relax. The two aims aren’t mutually exclusive: When there’s paperwork to do or emails to send, a massage chair helps keep her on task.

“I like to come up here with my computer and sit in one of the massage chairs, and that kind of convinces me to get stuff done so I don't get up and do anything else,” said Eckert, who developed a love for working with English language learners after participating in a teaching program in high school. Close to 30% of students at Brookside — where Elevance Health also supports an on-site food pantry — speak a first language other than English.

The massage chairs in the wellness lounge are popular, but the fitness equipment gets put to good use, too. Three times a week — on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, when she doesn’t have to get to her second job at Walmart — nutrition services staffer Tajuanda Dobbins spends 30 minutes on either the treadmill or the adjacent rowing machine. Her goals: drop a few pounds, prevent diabetes, and eventually bump up her workout to a full hour.

“I’m just trying to work on my health,” said Dobbins, who’s been at Brookside around six years. She used to walk outside, and she is glad to have another option for getting in steps during cold Midwestern winters.

Dobbins’ colleague in the school’s kitchen, Angie Hogston, has hit that full hour of exercise. She’s in the wellness lounge each weekday after her shift, looking to lower her cholesterol with 30 minutes on the treadmill, 30 minutes on the rower.

“I probably wouldn't do it if it wasn't so accessible,” said Hogston, who’s worked for Indianapolis Public Schools at the Brookside location since 1998. “I don't have it at home, and there’s no gym close to me. It helped me a lot.”
 

Support That Sends a Bigger Message

That accessibility is part of a broader goal: making it easier for people to build healthy habits into daily life, which can improve well-being and help prevent conditions that require more costly care.

The help the wellness lounge can offer points to something else important as well. It’s a reminder to the people who use it that they — and their well-being — matter.

Amid the constant demands of the school day, there’s a place set aside just for them.

“I feel appreciated,” Eckert said. “I feel like having this space dedicated to all of us shows that we are cared about and that we are valued as people, not just educators. I think that's really nice.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a teacher wellness lounge?

A teacher wellness lounge is a dedicated space at a school where staff can relax, recharge, and build healthy habits. Elevance Health has created these spaces at schools in Indianapolis and New York City, in partnership with the Impact Fitness Foundation and iHeartMedia.

Why are wellness lounges needed for teachers and school staff?

Wellness lounges are needed for teachers and school staff because teaching can be both rewarding and demanding, with many educators reporting burnout and job-related stress. The lounges are designed to provide school staff with support that can help them thrive in life and in work.

How do wellness lounges support a whole-health approach for educators?

Wellness lounges support a whole-health approach for educators by creating spaces that address both physical and mental well-being. They encourage healthy choices while also reminding the people who use them that they — and their well-being — matter.