TO:
FROM:
DATE:
RE: A proposal on how to correct the low morale in the special education department at Rainbow Elementary school
PURPOSE
I will propose a cost-effective solution to the problems that are going on at Rainbow Elementary in Dekalb County: high turnovers due to employees quitting because of over crowded classes with not enough support staff to help the teacher. I would recommend that you approve hiring more support staff to accommodate the teachers that have the overcrowded classrooms and to split classes making them two with the approval of Michelle Adams, Principal. This proposal will lighten the load for not only the teachers, but for the support staff that are floating between classes without getting their lunch breaks.
THE PROBLEM
Currently, we have eight special ed classrooms, eight teachers, eight paraprofessionals and 10-14 kids per classroom. We need to split these classes into two making 16 classrooms, and therefore the teachers can really teach and focus on the kids and the paraprofessional can feel more relaxed, help the teacher more and also get their lunch breaks. If we can’t split the classes, we need to hire more support staff, so that there can be two paraprofessional per classroom.
This will keep the morale going upward instead of downward and also prevent a huge turnover at the school. This will really help everyone and relieve some stress on the entire special education department. The most important reason is that the special education department needs are not being met efficiently at Rainbow Elementary.
Recent complaints are not being addressed and are being overlooked, so this is why I came up with this proposal to see if we can meet to come up with some solutions if these that I have discussed are not sufficient enough for you.
Ultimately you risk your employees in the special education department to look for employment elsewhere, which this will really hurt your school reputation. Without the proper support you are not only hurting the teachers, but the kids as well because they are not getting the proper education because of the overcrowded classrooms and it’s worse with all of the behavioral problems that some of these kids have.
At this point we are just trying to get through the day because of the lack of support that we so desperately need. We miss when we were fully staffed, and would love to go back to that place again but we need the help from you in order to get back to that placed we were once at before.
THE SOLUTION
- Hire more paraprofessionals.
- Hiring more paraprofessionals will improve employee morale and mental health.
- Hiring a skilled and experience employee may reduce training costs and give the school a competitive advantage.
- Hiring a skilled and experience employee may reduce training costs and give the school a competitive advantage.
- Increase skill set of the workplace. (teamwork, communication, strong work ethic, leadership skills and problem solving).
- Combining old and new employees will create a perfect opportunity for them to learn from each other.
- Give Chick Fil A gift cards maybe every other month just to show your appreciation for us and for what we do.
- Giving gift cards motivates the employee.
- They build on the strengths by offering rewards that are more memorable to the employee.
- Gift cards are more likely to improve work performance.
COSTS
The costs of implementing our proposal are as follows:
Gift cards ex. Chick fil-A $10 for 16 special education teachers and their paraprofessionals= $160/Bi-Monthly for 9 months
Thank you cards $9-$20 for 150 gift cards in a box (need 1 box for the school year)
Hiring new support staff- $28,015 yearly salary (8 new hires)
Chick Fil A- $640
Gift cards- $20
Hiring new support staff $28,015/yearly (8 new hires)
Total= $224,780
CONCLUSION
Authorizing the hiring of new support staff, gift cards and thank you notes is both feasible and cost effective. This proposal will decrease the turnover rate and complaints from the staff and increase morale and employee’s appreciation. I will be happy to discuss this proposal with you anytime at your convenience, and answer any questions that you may have.
Thank you for considering my plan.
