District human-resources and special-education staff described expanded onboarding and training for paraeducators and new classified staff, and announced a new, more comprehensive employee assistance program available to part- and full-time employees.

A staff member who led paraeducator training said the district emphasized the State of Iowa guidance on roles and responsibilities, instruction about prompting and "fading support" to build student independence, and review of Individualized Education Program (IEP) essentials. "Their goal is to not work themselves out of a job, but to build an independent student," the staff member said, describing a focus on moving from most-prompting to least-prompting.

The session included an overview of behavior de-escalation and the CPI (Crisis Prevention Institute) framework; staff said limited numbers of paraeducators will be fully trained in CPI and noted that restraints or seclusion are last-resort safety measures.

From HR, a staff member summarized classified staffing numbers and said the district hired 36 new classified staff across categories this year (including 20 paraeducators, 6 food-service workers, 5 coaches, 2 computer techs, 2 custodians and 1 admin assistant). HR said the district plans weekly onboarding slots so new hires who start midyear receive the same orientation as those who start at the beginning of the year, including job-shadowing with an experienced paraeducator.

HR also announced a new employee-assistance program offering confidential mental-health counseling, legal and financial consultation, identity-theft restoration and anonymous online chat options. The HR presenter said the EAP is free to employees and the district is paying the cost.

Staff said the district will continue to expand training opportunities and make resources available for paraeducators, including online modules and book-study options.

No board vote was requested or taken on these operational items during the meeting; staff described implementation steps and ongoing training plans.