Why Teacher Communities Matter: Reimagining Support Through a Community of Learners
Right now, education systems are under pressure. Teachers are asked to keep up with evolving technology, find innovative ways to communicate information, and compete for classroom attention, all while conducting standardized mandates and considering the individual realities of their students. This environment can leave educators feeling isolated, overwhelmed, and unable to operate with the agency that originally drew them to teaching.
At the same time, many teachers come to the profession motivated by purpose, chasing their own ambitions, insights, and intellectual curiosities, while also wanting to inspire students, foster deep thinking, and help the next generation make sense of the world. Such a sense of purpose and need often becomes sidelined by day-to-day administrative pressures and a general lack of support.
There are real consequences for this disconnect. According to a 2025 report from the Center for American Progress, nearly 70% of early career teachers have either left the profession or seriously considered doing so, with the majority attributing driving factors to poor working conditions, lack of support, and low pay. Beyond individuals, a 2026 report from the Learning Policy Institute found that about 1 in 7 public school teachers moves schools or leaves the classroom. This is a turnover rate 27% higher than it was in the early 1990s. But, the data also points us to solutions. Teachers who reported higher levels of workplace satisfaction were less likely to leave, with a turnover probability of 8% compared to 22% of teachers with low satisfaction. Going farther than retention, there are also issues with experience and mentorship. One in three early career teachers reported not participating in any formal induction training, leaving many feeling isolated, under-resourced, and without the tools needed to succeed.
EMA understands this divide and is committed to making school meaningful again, starting with programs and resources to help teachers thrive. That is why we established the Community of Learners (CoL), a cohort of educators sharing classroom curriculum and building community in the education space, all while developing new resources and mechanisms to promote student agency and purpose. Through monthly meetings, educators become collaborators, taking on the shared mission of making education purposeful and innovative.
And it works. On February 27, the CoL hosted a professional development (PD) workshop bringing together teachers from six different school districts in the greater Boston area to explore how purpose storytelling can be used in the classroom. With tools from EMA partners BYKids and Filmbuilding, teachers stepped into the role of learners, experimenting with narrative and visual storytelling, and reflecting on how these approaches could be tailored to their own classrooms. Teachers spoke about using BYkids films in their classrooms, spanning disciplines from science and math to history and even ceramics. Outside of the resources’ classroom applicability, teachers felt accounted for, noting that the experience was made by them, for them. It was an engaging session with active sharing, bringing educators into community with one another.
Following the workshop we welcomed the participating teachers into the CoL fold. Early feedback from those teachers points to the potential that exists when they are given this kind of space and support. When describing the collaborative support of the CoL, one teacher noted, “Just being there for support and as a sounding board is awesome.” Another said, “It's great to bounce project ideas off of other teachers and get feedback.”
Leaning on the storytelling aspects of the PD, participating teachers reflected on how to infuse these ideas into their classrooms, including “helping our students use the films for finding empathy and helping to tell their own stories.” In the Community of Learners, disciplines are not a barrier, as exemplified by one teacher who said, “Currently I am using it for Empathy lessons. I really would love to integrate storytelling in my Rock Climbing and Adventure Rec Classes.”
The ultimate goal is to carve out a future where teachers feel empowered to lead with sustained purpose, and where students are given the tools to explore their identity, think critically, and meaningfully interact with the world around them. With the CoL, we are making this future tangible. We aim to support educators in the how and why they teach by centering reflection, creativity, and connection as the core components of learning. Together, we are working to bring meaning back to education and create classrooms where both students and teachers can show up as their full selves.
