Wellness program keeps CB teachers healthy with free services

“We can feel good and pass that on to our students”

[  By Kendra Walker  ]

This school year, the Crested Butte Community School library has been transformed after school into a wellness haven for teachers to de-stress, relax and take time for some self-care. From yoga, massage, acupuncture, to meditation, the new Teacher Wellness Program is the latest resource spurred from COVID and helps support the wellbeing of some of Crested Butte’s most essential workers.

CB Wellness director and acupuncturist Sylvia Salcedo wanted to find a way to give back to the teachers supporting her children every day in school during the pandemic. “A few teachers were my clients, and I could just feel how they were putting the children’s needs on the forefront,” she said. “I wanted to do something to help support them, because they’re taking my children in and allowing them to be in school. They’re in there with the children every day. I want to keep our teachers healthy. They deserve it, they’re frontline workers.”

Thrive Yoga owner Adge Lindsey aligned with Salcedo’s mission. “We started to lean in and really listen to the community,” said Lindsey. “Our teachers in particular were so set to stay on the safe side that they were still quarantining in their personal lives. They were really protecting our children and they weren’t coming to classes. We realized that we have to bring this safely to them, we need to meet them where they’re at.”

As many local wellness practitioners’ businesses suffered from the COVID shutdown and health restrictions surrounding the pandemic this past year, Salcedo also wanted to find a way to provide work for therapists in town. Seeking grant money from the Town of Crested Butte, she was able to use matching funds from the CBCS PTA and start to build out the vision, creating a free wellness program for teachers and support local practitioners.

The program, which began in September, offers weekly services for teachers to utilize after school, including massage, yoga and acupuncture. “I wanted it to be on-site, right after school and somewhere easy for teachers to get to,” said Salcedo. “Sally (Hensley, CBCS elementary principal) and I send out weekly schedules and teachers can sign up. The library is such a beautiful space with those big windows looking out to the mountains, and we bring in massage tables and move the desks for yoga.” Salcedo collaborated with different practitioners in the valley to bring their services to the program, with a different specialty offered each day.

The program adheres to the county’s health guidelines and protocols, with health checks, masking, social distancing and capped numbers for group sessions. “The school is already going above and beyond with protocols. They’re doing such a good job at the school so we were already in great shape,” said Lindsey.

“We have incredible practitioners on board, we all worked together to make this possible,” said Salcedo, stressing how important it was to be able to offer a variety of wellness practices for the teachers.

“This is a really incredible opportunity to get the teachers all these different styles of movement and give my staff at Thrive an opportunity to teach and get paid for their time,” said Lindsey. She noted that Thrive already offers a discounted punch card for CBCS teachers. “A lot of teachers are a part of our Thrive Tribe family and they just weren’t coming. This was a new way to show them love.”

The response from teachers has been overwhelmingly positive. “We’ve received so much support for the program,” said Salcedo. “The teachers coming in have been so grateful for what we are offering them. There’s so much love between the practitioners and the teachers.”

CBCS reading intervention teacher Scottie Earley-Moss takes advantage of the program as much as possible, participating in the weekly Tuesday yoga class and signing up for massage and acupuncture appointments. “Most of us get here early and stay late. It’s really hard to go do something after school, so to have it happening right here in the building right after school is huge. I can literally just drop what I’m doing and go,” she said.

“The program offerings have been amazing and it’s definitely helped, I feel more calm and more centered. I just feel better,” Earley-Moss continued. “The whole purpose is that we can feel good and pass that on to our students. And the fact that it’s free for teachers, it just makes us feel so appreciated and cared for.”

She notes that the district has taken extra focus on self-care this year. “We’re paying attention to social and emotional care for our students especially with COVID, and staff is also stressing that we try to take time for ourselves and keep up on our own self care so we can be at our best for our students.”

Kindergarten teacher Tyler Hammer regularly participates in the Tuesday yoga sessions, and has enjoyed trying new wellness practices he’s never done before, like acupuncture and aerial yoga. “It’s been great trying these new things, and I look forward to Tuesday after school every week. There are not a lot of opportunities to hang out in small groups, and I’ve gotten to spend this time with a bunch of different teachers that I don’t usually interact with,” he said. “It feels great living in a community with people going out of their way to help others working hard in the community.”

The program is revving up again this spring semester, and moving forward, Salcedo plans to expand the types of offerings, including different types of massage such as Reiki. She hopes to find more grant money for the program and add more therapists, “I also want to do some self care days for parents and families, maybe offer a few days a month where we have clinics for the families,” she said. Both Salcedo and Lindsey want to expand the program to the schools in Gunnison as well. “We’ve got to get this going in Gunnison,” said Lindsey. “We are one valley. Hopefully we can expand this in a slow, healthy, conscious way.”

Salcedo also hopes the wellness program provides inspiration for other schools. “The possibilities are endless with the ability to expand,” she said. It’s an easy program to implement; it’s such a great way to support our teachers.” 

“Our teachers are amazing and it’s unbelievable what they’re doing,” said Lindsey. “I have witnessed firsthand what they have given up and what they’re sacrificing to keep our kids and our community sane. It’s been such an uplifting experience to give them this opportunity.”