More than half of American school children have experienced some form of trauma (Baicker, 2020; Castro-Schepers, 2023; CDC, 2023; Ormiston et al., 2022). Teachers often find themselves in the role of counselors, supporting not only students' academic growth, but also students' emotional healing (Lander, 2018). The stress teachers incur working with students who have experienced trauma has been identified as secondary trauma stress (STS), vicarious trauma, and/or compassion fatigue (CF). Secondary trauma occurs when a person encounters another individual experiencing trauma, and deeply feels the impact of that person's distress (Education Support Writers, 2023). There is little known about how much student trauma impacts educators, and how the experiences students bring to class contribute to teachers' stress and burnout (Baicker, 2020; Castro-Schepers, 2023). Secondary trauma causes secondary traumatic stress responses such as flashbacks, situation avoidance, negative changes in beliefs and feelings, anxiety, depression, hyper arousal, compassion fatigue, burnout, and vicarious trauma (Education Support Writers, 2023). Symptoms of secondary trauma mirror symptoms of burnout making the identification of the underlying causes problematic (Baicker, 2020). The purpose of this study was to identify the ways in which STS impacts the emotional well-being of teachers, both professionally and personally. This mixed-methods research study examined teachers' experiences with STS in school environments by assessing STS levels of 28 secondary choral teachers in the Pacific Northwest through the Teachers Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale and through semi-structured interviews with six secondary choral directors currently teaching in the Pacific Northwest. Findings from the study indicate that secondary choral teachers experience moderate levels of STS, negatively impacting their personal and professional lives and contributing to high levels of emotional exhaustion. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]