Four Strategies to Improve Special Educator Retention and Job Satisfaction
(Room Rotunda)
11 Nov 26
1:15 PM
-
2:15 PM
Tracks:
Human Resources: Empowering Teams
Special educator shortages continue to challenge districts across the country, making retention more critical than ever. While many leaders focus on recruitment, improving day-to-day working conditions is often the most powerful strategy for keeping strong educators in the field. In this session, Angie Balsley and Nate Levenon will share four practical, systems-based strategies that special education leaders can implement to improve job satisfaction and sustain their teams based on interviews with nearly 10,000 special educators across 400 plus districts in 30 states. Participants will explore approaches such as allowing special educators to play to their strengths and specialize, methods to streamline meetings and paperwork, smarter, fairer workload assignments, and better building based support. The session will also highlight leadership practices that strengthen trust, clarity, and professional agency. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies to build sustainable systems where special educators can thrive and stay. We will highlight district case studies where staff morale moved from bleak to energized through these strategies.