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Teaching is characterized by high rates of burnout among educators. Beyond the long hours and relatively low pay, teachers face significant emotional stress stemming from their daily interactions with students, parents, administrators, and peers (Calkins, 2019; Molero et al., 2019). Teaching is an emotional profession and is emotionally draining (Castillo-Gualda et al., 2019; Calkins, 2019; Molero et al., 2019). Optimal teaching and learning environment are determined by emotional management (Castillo-Guala et al., 2019). Weak coping mechanisms, skills, strategies, and relationships create chronic stress and burnout (Herman et al., 2018). The problem of burnout and lack of self-efficacy among teachers are closely linked to turnover and attrition, yet there remains a significant gap in research regarding the varying impacts of socialemotional learning (SEL) interventions on K–12 teachers from urban, suburban, and rural schools in New Jersey. The study was guided by three research questions which investigated the relationships between SEL competency, self-efficacy, and burnout among urban, suburban, and rural educators, as well as among public, private, and parochial school educators. Hypotheses were developed associated with the research questions, which provided a framework for the variables being investigated. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was applied to explore the perception of teachers regarding SEL in promoting self-efficacy and reducing burnout. A sample of 132 K–12 educators in the state of New Jersey from various schools participated. Both qualitative and quantitative results revealed statistically significant positive correlations between SEL competencies and both burnout and self-efficacy. The implication of the findings was that SEL competency can mediate self-efficacy among teachers. The findings further confirm that educators with high self-efficacy are likely to cope with challenges more effectively in their classrooms. The study was limited as it was confined to a single state, New Jersey. Future research should investigate SEL’s impact on both educators and learners.