LucyAmbrose

Mental health is slowly becoming an issue that the world is comfortable talking about. For a long time, the subject of mental health was viewed as awkward and socially unacceptable. There was a strong underlying stigma and discrimination against people with mental health issues. 

The rise of social media, the COVID-19 pandemic, and societal trends have resulted in mental health being talked about more and recognized as a serious medical issue. Not too long ago, women in the workplace had to work while they were unwell or suffering mental health issues after adopting or giving birth in order to save up their sick days because maternity leave was not available. 

It was not until 1993 that the United States Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act which granted certain categories of working women and men a break from their careers after the birth or adoption of children.

For teachers, stress and burnout is extremely common. Several teachers leave the profession because of the stresses that come with the job. Educators need enough time, rest and space in order to do their jobs well. When teachers have poor mental health and burnout schools tend to have lower-quality learning environments and students will not do as well in school. 

It was not until two years ago that Marian implemented an eight week long paid maternity leave. Spanish teacher Mrs. Amanda Pritchard has had three children in her time here at Marian. For her first two children, Marian followed the Family Medical Leave Act meaning that the leave for having a child went under the same absence as a death in the family, or going through a serious health condition such as chemotherapy. In reality, this means that your job is safe for 12 weeks. Your employer can not replace you, discriminate or retaliate against you for taking leave, but you are not required to be paid under the Family Medical Leave Act.

Sojourn, the tech marketing consulting company where Pritchard’s husband is employed, provided him with 16 weeks of paid paternity leave. The company that he works for is a global corporation. There are some places in the world that give up to a year of maternity leave so working for a global company can be beneficial when it comes to breaks from work because the United States is behind the world in advocating for the overall health of their employers.When Mrs. Michele Ernst came to Marian as the new President in June of 2022, she had prior recent experience in the corporate world being a former employee of the company First Data (now called Fiserv).  Being a working business woman with strong dedication to helping Marian grow as a place where girls form into the best versions of themselves, she implemented a change to Marian’s maternity leave policy granting teachers an eight week paid maternity leave. With these new changes, teachers can also reach a full 12 weeks of leave under the Family Medical Leave Act if necessary. If a teacher saved up on sick days to use during maternity leave, four weeks of those saved up sick days will be paid in addition to the eight weeks Marian covers under the new policy.

Pritchard gives many compliments to Marian for being more accommodating to women having careers and families. Since Marian is an all girls and Catholic institution, child bearing should not be such a financial struggle or effectively discouraged. “I am thankful for the change and am hopeful to encourage girls to be motivated to have families and also feel  pursue having or adopting children if that is a part of their future plans, but also to feel empowered to work,” Pritchard said. “I am happy that Marian is growing and evolving in a world that seems to be empowering women more and more.” 

‘There is a long way to go for advocating for teacher’s mental and physical health,” Pritchard said. “I am happy with my most recent maternity leave and I am proud of Marian for moving in the right direction.”

In the future, Marian plans to continue to make changes. In 2025-2026 some more specific details will be added to the benefits package for teachers. Those details will ensure that mothers who give birth and have their break cut short by summer only use their benefits in consecutive weeks. “It all has to do with timing,” said Shari Reynolds ‘83, the Assistant to the Vice President of Finance at Marian. She herself is a mother of five. “I was done having kids by the time that I returned to a career,” said Reynolds. Marian is moving forward.