Educators face a global mental health crisis, with 44%–52% of K-12 employees reporting high levels of burnout which is the highest among all professions according to a 2022 Gallup Poll. Factors like secondary traumatic stress from student trauma and unmanageable workloads are leading to a mass exodus in education. UNESCO estimates 44 million additional teachers are needed by 2030, yet retention continues to fall globally. CBCT for Educators was created to prioritize the wellbeing of teachers and school administrators. By treating compassion as an antidote to burnout, we address the systemic need for educator wellbeing. Traditional Social Emotional Learning (SEL) often focuses solely on children. We believe that for adults to effectively deliver, model, and embed SEL, they need support in developing their own social and emotional competencies first. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) states that in order to effectively implement student-facing SEL it is now widely accepted that building adult SEL capacity is needed. CBCT for Educators transforms educational settings from the inside out by equipping the staff with practices that support a greater sense of empowerment, efficacy, and connection as they move through their work and personal lives with compassion. We focus on the adult's internal landscape as the foundation for a healthy system, which in terms builds capacity for every other educational innovation to succeed.
CBCT for Educators is a series of eight modules that is delivered to participants using student-centered activities and practices that focus on achieving the outcome of compassion to build competencies such as self-awareness, resilience, self-compassion, and systems-thinking. Educators learn to deploy attention to manage stress and use self-distancing to catch the spark of emotional reactivity before it escalates into a classroom fire. The methodology follows a student-centered pedagogical model moving from received knowledge to embodied understanding. Our research, including randomized controlled trials (RCTs), shows significant decreases in stress biomarkers (cortisol, IL-6), depression, and burnout. Participants in a teacher residency program who received CBCT for Educators demonstrated a 95% retention rate among Black teachers in Atlanta, significantly countering national attrition trends. Launched in 2025, the Compassion U digital platform delivers tailored programming for CBCT for Educators through cutting-edge e-learning coupled with live sessions facilitated by certified CBCT teachers. This digital companion makes the research-based methodology accessible, engaging, and scalable for schools worldwide. The CBCT for Educators program is specifically adapted for the unique stressors of the school environment, allowing educators to learn and practice skills that naturally foster compassionate and caring relationships.
To combat the global issue of educator burnout, CBCT for Educators is actively expanding worldwide. Recognized in 2025 by CASEL as a research-based adult Social and Emotional Learning program, the CBCT methodology has already reached over 50,000 people with over 300 certified teachers across 26 countries and 15 languages. Supported by 15 years of educational research, the program has shown strong results; for instance, implementation across 16 Atlanta Public Schools campuses significantly improved teachers' self-efficacy.
Internationally, partners in countries including Mexico, Romania, India, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Brazil are using CBCT to foster resilient, compassionate school cultures for both pre-service and in-service teachers. A prime example is the Mexican state of Coahuila, which is currently implementing the program across all nine of its teacher preparation colleges.
Over the next three years, the Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-based Ethics at Emory University aims to scale CBCT for Educators globally. By leveraging the Compassion U platform and institutional partnerships, and by aligning with their student-facing SEE Learning® program, they are establishing a whole-systems approach to compassion. Ultimately, by certifying hundreds of local instructors and connecting global funders with local innovators, they hope to make this training a standard part of teacher preparation, empowering millions of educators to reach millions of students.
Individual teachers and administrators can visit CompassionU.app to register for the CBCT for Educators to receive an overview or participate in a facilitated course. Schools who are interested in CBCT for Educators should establish a committee and assess needs and institutional readiness. For school systems who are interested, please contact the SEE Learning program at seelearning@emory.edu.
