About the Book
Educator growth, well-being, and evaluation are often disconnected. How can we weave them together to better champion adult learning needs so educators can thrive and remain in their roles?
In this important resource, bestselling authors Lori Cohen (The PD Book) and Elizabeth Denevi (Learning and Teaching While White) present a framework for creating a healthy ecosystem of school transformation: equity, well-being, growth, and evaluation. The authors discuss each foundation in depth and provide research-informed practices, tools, and case studies for easy implementation. Resources include reflections to co-create a vision for equity, a sample coaching/mentoring conversation arc, steps for implementing a growth structure, the Teacher–Student Relationship Quality (TSRQ) Matrix, the Integrated Classroom Practices for Equity rubric, and more.
Whether you’re a school leader, mentor, or teacher evaluator, this accessible guide will help you create a transformative school environment to sustain and grow effective, empowered educators.
Table of Contents:
Introduction: Reimagining the Ecosystem of Educator Support 1. Four Foundations of a Healthy School Ecosystem 2. Equity: Lay the Foundation 3. Practices to Lay the Foundation 4. Well-Being: Nurture the Soil 5. Practices to Nurture the Soil 6. Growth: Cultivate Continuous Learning 7. Practices to Cultivate Continuous Learning 8. Evaluation: Tend the Ecosystem 9. Practices to Tend the Ecosystem 10. Conclusion Appendix A: Example Portrait of an Effective Educator Appendix B: Professional Learning Choice Cohort Sample Appendix C: Book Questions, Concepts, and Tools
About the Author :
Lori Cohen has over 25 years of experience in education as a teacher, instructional coach, school leader, and professional development facilitator. As a consultant and coach, she has partnered with educators, schools, and organizations worldwide to transform teaching, learning, and school leadership. Lori is the co-author (with Elena Aguilar) of The PD Book: 7 Habits That Transform Professional Development.
Elizabeth Denevi works with schools, colleges, and universities to increase equity, promote diversity pedagogy, and implement strategic processes for growth and development. She has served as a classroom teacher as well as an equity director, leadership coach, and director of professional development. She is also an assistant clinical professor at Lewis & Clark College in the Graduate School of Education and Counseling. She is co-author (with Jenna Chandler Ward) of Learning and Teaching While White: Antiracist Strategies for School Communities.
Review :
"Integrating Educator Well-Being, Growth, and Evaluation is a game-changer for school leaders seeking to build a truly supportive and human-centered culture. Cohen and Denevi offer a powerful, practical roadmap that reimagines evaluation as a catalyst for connection, reflection, and sustainable growth. It’s a timely and essential guide for aligning our values with our practices to better support the educators at the heart of our schools."
—Rebecca Ritter, Head of Teaching and Learning, The Shefa School, NY
“This book is an incredible resource filled with detailed guidance, inspiring examples, and practical assignments that are guaranteed to revolutionize your approach to teaching and evaluation! I wholeheartedly encourage you to dive into this journey with a Professional Learning Community (PLC) over the next year. Together, you can unlock the potential to transform your professional community and elevate students' lives through dynamic ecosystems of growth. Get ready for an exciting adventure in education!”
—Torian Hodges-Finch, Educator, Coach, Facilitator, Leader and Organizer
"At a time when schools are grappling with teacher burnout, outdated evaluation systems, deep-rooted inequities, and a real need to strengthen both teacher confidence and connection, Lori Cohen and Elizabeth Denevi offer something we truly need. Integrating Educator Well-Being, Growth, and Evaluation isn’t just a book—it’s a powerful invitation to rethink how we support teachers in ways that genuinely make a difference for students.
Cohen and Denevi move us beyond the old habit of treating equity, care, professional growth, and evaluation as separate efforts. Instead, they weave them into a holistic, humanizing approach with the power to transform school culture from the inside out. At the heart of the book is a compelling framework for creating a healthy environment: lay the foundation with equity, nurture the soil with educator well-being, cultivate growth through continuous learning, and tend the ecosystem with purposeful evaluation. This framework is supported by assessment tools—and step-by-step leadership practices—that offer a much-needed shift from compliance-driven teacher support systems to ones rooted in authentic, lasting change."
—Dwayne Chism, Author, Leading Your School Toward Equity (ASCD)
"Cohen and Denevi know how challenging it is to make schools more equitable, how quickly the shiny new approach to PD tarnishes, how easily well-intentioned administrators become distracted by everything from unexpected emergencies to day-to-day inevitabilities. It's this profound understanding of the life of schools and the people in them that makes their book so useful and powerful a tool: Read it for actionable ideas about how to change your evaluation process; for insights into employee's well-being; or just for the reassurance that there are people out there who appreciate how hard you are working to do the right thing (and are sympathetic to all that gets in the way of your doing it). Whatever motivates you to read this book, know that it will transform—in the best, most important ways—how you think about your school."
—Melissa Kantor, Independent School Administrator
"Lori Cohen and Elizabeth Denevi just get it– leading schools in our current landscape is hard, and doing it differently can feel near impossible. But their book offers hope that transformation is achievable, one step at a time. Cohen and Denevi call on leaders to courageously create the conditions for all individuals in the school ecosystem to learn and thrive. They advocate for going beyond surface-level fixes and instead addressing the root causes of inequity and a lack of well-being. Leaders can put these ideas into practice right away by exploring one of the book's countless tools, including protocols, scripts, and reflective inventories. The shifts you make as a result of reading this book will undoubtedly ripple out and affect the entire school ecosystem."
—Krystal Wu, Educator, Facilitator, and Coach
"This book is a gift to the field of education. It offers not just strategies, but a full-hearted reimagining of what it means to build schools where educators—and by extension, students—can truly thrive. Rooted in a deep commitment to human dignity, equity, and collective well-being, the authors weave together topics often siloed in professional conversations: coaching, leadership, adult learning, emotional intelligence, and systemic equity. The authors make a compelling case that educator well-being is not a luxury—it’s the very foundation of a healthy school ecosystem. They challenge the culture of quick fixes and one-off trainings, instead calling for sustained, community-rooted practices that prioritize trust, repair, and ongoing learning. Whether you’re a school leader, instructional coach, teacher, or anyone working in education systems, this book will challenge and inspire you. It’s a call to redesign not just programs, but culture."
—Maria Dyslin, Chief Academic Officer, One City Schools
“Cohen and Denevi provide explicit steps to encourage educational leaders to humanize and tend to the growth and wellbeing of their educators, so the educators can in turn, humanize and tend to the growth and well-being of our students. Empowering leaders, educators and community members to work in collaboration alongside each other, they offer a variety of tools to use, adapt or supplement the mission and vision of educator wellness and growth both equitable and sustainably. In the ever-changing educational landscape and world, Cohen and Denevi provide tools and educational criticality that allows educators and educational stakeholders at all levels to navigate changes with consistency, transparency and above all, care for oneself and one another.”
—Jasmine Locke (she/her), Doctoral Candidate, Doctorate of Education Leadership, Lewis & Clark College
"More than a guide, this book is an invitation to reimagine what school leadership can feel like. Cohen and Denevi center on what matters most: relationships, purpose, and dignity, and offer the structure to build something authentic and sustainable."
—Bianca Espinosa, School Administrator and Teacher Mentor Leader
"Integrating Educator Well-Being, Growth, and Evaluation is a refreshing guide for educational leaders who are ready to reimagine professional growth rooted in humanity, equity, and well-being as foundational elements. This isn't a one-size-fits-all approach—Cohen and Denevi offer multiple entry points and practical strategies that meet educators where they are, allowing transformation to start from within and expand systemically. For any educator with a bold vision for professional growth, wondering "where do I begin?", this book serves as both compass and companion, providing not just context but actionable practices grounded in thoughtful and creative approaches."
—Tamisha Williams, M.ED; Leadership and Organizational Wellness Coach, Tamisha Williams Consulting
