Professional Development at Alliance High School: Creative Strategies for Staying Centered in East Los Angeles
Creative Strategies for Staying Centered in East Los Angeles
Last week, Upward Together led a professional development workshop at Alliance High School in East Los Angeles focused on teacher wellbeing, stress regulation, and creative resilience.
The session, Creative Strategies for Staying Centered at School, explored how educators can use breathwork, body awareness, environmental cues, and art-based practices to manage classroom stress and prevent burnout.
In today’s education climate, teacher regulation matters. Sustainable classrooms begin with supported adults.
Addressing Teacher Burnout Through Creative Practice
Educators are carrying more than ever. This workshop was designed not as another compliance training, but as a space for restoration.
Participants engaged in:
Nervous system regulation techniques
Two-minute breath resets for classroom transitions
Body-based grounding tools
Art-making as emotional processing
During the creative portion of the session, teachers were invited to draw freely — not to produce something polished, but to experience expression as release.
One teacher shared it was “the best professional development I’ve experienced in over 15 years of teaching.” Others expressed that they hadn’t realized how much stress they were holding until they were given structured time to pause.
Three educators became emotional during the session, describing it as a much-needed release.
Why This Model Matters
Traditional professional development often focuses on curriculum strategy. This session centered on the human side of teaching.
When educators are supported with tools for nervous system regulation, it impacts:
Classroom tone
Student behavior
Conflict resolution
Staff retention
School culture
The practices shared were intentionally simple — repeatable micro-interventions that can be used daily.
Investing in Educator Wellbeing in Los Angeles Schools
Upward Together is grateful to Alliance High School for prioritizing teacher wellness and creative resilience.
Professional development should not only inform. It should restore.
Calm is not something educators wait for. It is something they practice — together.
About Creative Wellbeing
Creative Wellbeing is a strategic collaboration that grew out of conversations about how to bring more healing into our systems—and how to shift culture by nurturing wellbeing through art.
It is a partnership among the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, the Office of Child Protection, the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of Justice, Care and Opportunities, and the Arts for Healing and Justice Network, as part of the LA County Arts Education Collective. Together, these organizations are advancing the goals of Arts for All Children, Youth, & Families: Los Angeles County’s Regional Blueprint for Arts Education.
Upward Together is honored to contribute to this vision—bringing art as a language of healing and connection into school and family settings.
