NCPSSERS

Retention Strategies

Comprehensive retention strategies must be implemented to address existing shortages of special education teachers and SISP.

Role of Policymakers in Supporting Comprehensive Retention Strategies

Policymakers can offer a key role in ensuring that students have access to services by supporting efforts to improve the retention of special education teachers and SISP by:

  • Alerting constituents and others of retention strategies and their importance.
  • Introducing legislation and supporting regulatory efforts to address and fund these initiatives.

Strategies for Policymakers

  • Authorize use of and provide maximum funding for programs (e.g. E-Rate) that help expand the technology capacity of districts for increased use of appropriate teleconferencing and telehealth services to:
    • Allow equitable access for families in rural and impoverished areas
    • Reduce travel time between schools for SISP to provide services efficiently
    • Improve access to needed professionals for homebound students as well as for locations without qualified SISP
  • Encourage states to adopt mentorship and induction programs for at least the first 3 years of professional service in licensure/credentialing requirements.
  • Provide financial incentives accessible to districts for the hiring and retention of highly effective teachers and SISP to remain in positions over time (e.g., stipends for Master Teachers or Nationally Certified professionals).
  • Provide grant funding for districts to develop professional learning communities and other types of peer coaching and mentoring experiences to help professionals feel supported and connected and able to respond to the challenges and stress of school environments.
  • Promote interagency and intergovernmental collaboration between schools, community agencies, hospitals, and universities to enable comprehensive delivery of services and supports for student.
  • Promote specific caseload, workload and/or ratio targets consistent with national recommendations for best practices.
  • Advocate for loan forgiveness for service in professions in high demand, in hard-to-staff schools, and in public service settings.
  • Encourage policies that support flexible hiring processes for special education teachers and SISP.

Considerations for States and Districts

  • Encourage and develop mentorship/induction programs that value interprofessional education (e.g., professional learning communities, weekly team meetings, brown bag lunches, etc.). Provide access to supervision offered by professionals with related training and expertise.
  • Promote national models of practice. Align job descriptions and evaluation systems with national practice models.
  • Provide secretarial support for the provision of compliance related paper work activities (e.g., setting up and documenting meetings, sending notices, obtaining consent, etc.).
  • Provide professional development opportunities tailored to the specific disciplines to improve relevance of content and encourage professional networking.
  • Provide financial incentives for highly effective teachers and SISP to remain in positions over time.
  • Create and sustain systems that prioritize interprofessional practice that increase collaboration and teaming for effective service delivery, job satisfaction, and reduced professional isolation.
  • Provide recognition (e.g., service awards, merit-based pay, peer appreciation, etc.) opportunities.
  • Provide advancement opportunities (e.g., senior teacher, assistant director, coordinator of services, team leader, department chair, etc.).
  • Allow for flexible and part-time working experiences (e.g., job-sharing).
  • Provide Employee Assistance Programs to help professionals who encounter personal and professional challenges to be able to cope and adjust.
  • Conduct annual workplace condition assessments to determine if the practitioner has adequate supplies, work setting, and related supports for successful performance of job duties.
  • Encourage policies that support flexible hiring processes for special education teachers and SISP.
  • Telehealth services can be a valuable resource to enhance and improve access to needed services, but should not supplant direct services provided by school-employed specialized instructional support personnel. Telehealth considerations:
    • Use of appropriate, secure, and reliable teleconferencing, teleassessment, and other telehealth services can improve access to consultation and collaboration between educators and with families, improve response times for needed triage services during crisis events, and limit loss of service time spent traveling to and from schools for individual meetings that do not require face to face participation.
    • Ensure that hardware and software is fully accessible to persons with disabilities, in conformity with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 255 of the Communications Act.
    • Use of telehealth to address physical or mental/emotional health can improve health education, health promotion, student engagement and attendance.
    • Provide opportunities for practitioners to engage in telework and teleconferencing in order to reduce time spent traveling between buildings for team meetings and other duties that could be managed more quickly and efficiently with a virtual meeting experience.
    • Provide opportunities for parents to engage in consultation and collaboration with teachers and other specialized instructional support personnel and to attend meetings virtually (with parent consent) to improve parent engagement and participation in their child’s education. This option could be helpful for families who have difficulty making in person meetings due to difficulty obtaining child care or time off from work.

Benefits of Implementing Comprehensive Retention Efforts

  • Comprehensive intentional efforts to retain highly qualified personnel help ensure that there is consistent access to high-quality services and supports for students, their families, and teachers.
  • By focusing on the use of retention strategies, districts are able to limit employee attrition, remedy personnel shortages, and increase job satisfaction.
  • Retention strategies help employees build stronger working relationships and improved professional skills and self-efficacy, and ultimately experience a more rewarding work experience that promotes greater loyalty in employment settings.
  • Comprehensive retention efforts demonstrate to staff that they are a valued member of the school community.

More Information on Retention