Diverse Learner Teacher Retention in Tennessee: A Study Examining 5 Conditions to Retain Special Educators
Why Teacher Retention for Diverse Learners Matters Across Tennessee and the nation, schools are facing a critical challenge: retaining educators who serve students with disabilities and English learners. These roles require deep expertise, collaboration, and sustained support, yet too often educators leave not because of students, but because of systems that make the work unsustainable. […]
Ensuring FAPE for Students with Disabilities During Virtual Learning: A Tool Designed for Moments of Disruption
Originally developed during COVID-19 school closures, Ensuring FAPE for Students with Disabilities remains deeply relevant today. While the context has shifted, the challenge has not: educators are still navigating flexible schedules, staffing shortages, intermittent absences, alternative placements, and evolving instructional models. At its core, this resource is a planning and reflection template that helps school […]
Funding All Learners: Reforming Tennessee’s School Funding Formula to Better Serve Students with Disabilities
A Resource Grounded in Classroom Reality Designed in 2022 in response to proposed legislative changes to Tennessee’s school funding model, Funding All Learners: Reforming Tennessee’s School Funding Formula to Better Serve Students with Disabilities is a practical, educator-centered resource that helps highlight the true cost of educational funding systems that center the needs of diverse […]
Making Every Minute Count: How to Turn Non-Relevant PD Time Into Purpose-Driven Para Support
Practical strategies for creating meaningful work plans for paraprofessionals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVIrRbGSD78 Paraprofessionals are essential to student success, but too often, districtwide PD sessions don’t apply to their daily work. While teachers get content-specific training, paras are left unengaged or uncertain about how to spend the time. This isn’t a scheduling flaw, it’s an opportunity. This “Quick […]
Strength in Support: Empowering Paraprofessionals Through Targeted Growth
Practical strategies for designing professional development pathways tailored to paraprofessionals https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dccJtQ7bXg0 Paraprofessionals are the steady heartbeat of our schools — driving student success through patience, problem-solving, and deep commitment. They show up for our most vulnerable learners every single day. Yet too often, they receive the least tailored professional support. This “Quick Take” video offers […]
Behavior Support Strategies That Prevent Crisis Before It Starts: Part 2
Practical leadership moves to help your staff build trauma-informed strategies to support the emotional regulation of students. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqDrMFG9upY When a student begins to escalate, every interaction matters. In Part 1 of this “Quick Take” video series, we explored the foundation of crisis prevention, the stress model of crisis, and walked through the first four behavior […]
Behavior Support Strategies That Prevent Crisis Before It Starts: Part 1
Practical leadership moves to help your staff build trauma-informed spaces where students feel safe, seen, and ready to learn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCNKnR0nU9g Crisis prevention isn’t about reacting to big behaviors; it’s about recognizing early signs of stress and responding in ways that help students regain control before the escalation occurs. For school leaders, equipping teachers with practical, […]
Rethinking Behavior: Building Trauma-Informed Schools That Help Every Learner Thrive
Practical leadership moves to help your staff create trauma-informed spaces where students feel safe, seen, and ready to learn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2_qJqUVm-4 Trauma affects far more than emotions — it shapes how students learn, relate, problem-solve, and respond to everyday events. For school leaders, embracing trauma-informed practices isn’t a bonus initiative; it’s fundamental to creating safe, predictable, […]
Why Special Educators Leave, and What Great Leaders Do Differently
Practical strategies to help school leaders strengthen and sustain their diverse learner educator teams https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjJjsZvkb8U&t=1s According to the Learning Policy Institute, special educator turnover costs districts $10,000–$25,000 per teacher—and even more in the disruption it creates for students who depend on steady, skilled instructional support from qualified teachers. Because special educators leave at 2.5 times […]
The School Leader’s Role on the IEP Team: What Matters Most
Practical guidance for administrators supporting high-quality IEPs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6ws9GNlUD4&t=217s IEP meetings work best when we view them as opportunities to design meaningful support for students. In this Quick Take Video the Diverse Learners Cooperative breaks down what school leaders actually need to know and do when serving as the LEA (Local Education Agency) representative on the […]