Improving Retention of Special Education Teachers and Paraprofessionals

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of the newly hired special education teachers and paraprofessionals of the Colonial Intermediate Unit 20's (CIU20) onboarding process, engagement with staff, and preparedness as part of the CIU20 community to develop systems and strategies to increase CIU20 retention rates. Special education teachers and paraprofessional retention have been a severe concern for CIU20. A qualitative and quantitative mixed methods approach design was utilized, including a survey and a focus group as the primary data collection methods. Educational literature has identified research-based strategies to promote employee wellness, increase staff engagement, and create a positive work environment to improve teacher and support staff retention. The development and implementation of these research-based strategies will improve employee retention within CIU20. While the survey results were somewhat favorable of the current onboarding process, there are gaps identified based on research based best practices. Ultimately, the findings of this research study resulted positive outcomes and increase of the Group 2 ratings after participating in the study's intervention and justifies the continued use of Check & Connect session with newly hired CIU20 employees. The areas of focus for enhancement to improve retention are: to provide more support by administrators and mentors in the classroom setting, review the induction program, improve upon upfront pieces of training, and continue to enhance the sense of belonging to the CIU20 organization by enhancing opportunities to build communication, collaboration, and trusting relationships across the CIU20 organization and our local school districts.