When Caring Hurts: Secondary Traumatic Stress, Emotional Labor, and Organizational Conditions in Trauma-Impacted Schools

Educators working in trauma-impacted communities increasingly respond to complex student needs, yet the emotional demands of this work remain underexamined in education. Drawing on a multi-site case study of schools in opioid-impacted regions and national research, this article examines secondary traumatic stress (STS) among K-12 educators as a relational and contextual phenomenon. The analysis underscores how educator well-being is influenced by workplace conditions, reinforcing the value of system-level, trauma-responsive approaches that support sustainable educational environments.