I Read the 2026 School Culture Report So You Don't Have To (But You Really Should)

Every year a handful of research reports come out that feel like they were written for a specific person at a specific moment. This one felt like that for me.

The 2026 School Culture Report pulled together 33,144 educator pulse responses, 155 school and district leader surveys, and 38 leadership interviews across 34 states. That’s not a small window into school life. That’s a wide, honest picture of what teachers and leaders are actually living right now.

Here’s the short version of what it found.

Teachers feel genuinely connected to their growth, their purpose, and their colleagues. Those pieces are strong. What’s falling apart is their health. The top five words teachers used all year to describe how they’re doing at work were Fatigued, Overwhelmed, Exhausted, Drained, and Stressed. Five of the top ten words, all in the health category.

At the same time, leaders named burnout as the single biggest cultural shift they’ve witnessed since becoming leaders. And here’s the detail that really stopped me: the area where leaders feel least confident in their own practice is employee wellbeing. A confidence score of 59%, lower than every other leadership category.

The place teachers are struggling most is the exact place leaders feel least equipped to help.

The report is also honest about something we don’t talk about enough: pay wasn’t a dominant theme. Leaders weren’t hearing salary complaints as the core driver of culture problems. What they kept hearing was time. Time for wellness. Time to talk. Time to recharge. Quick check-ins. Weekly moments that feel good. Those things don’t require a budget. They require intention.

What I found most useful in the report was how specific the leadership practices were. Presence and visibility. One-on-one management. Consistent communication. These aren’t abstract ideals. They’re daily choices. And the leaders who were building the strongest cultures were making those choices over and over, not because they had more time than everyone else, but because they had decided those choices were non-negotiable.

That’s the takeaway I keep coming back to. Not a new program. Not a bigger budget. A decision about what matters and a willingness to protect it.

If you haven’t found the full report yet, it lives at School Culture Report Read it with your leadership team. Let it start a real conversation about what your teachers need right now.