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Naperville 203 unveils pilot onboarding and mentorship program for educational support professionals
Summary
District officials presented a three‑part system—orientation, onboarding with mentorship, and ongoing professional learning—intended to boost recruitment and retention of educational support professionals (ESPs). A one‑year pilot is budgeted at $15,000; mentors’ compensation will be set in collaboration with NESPA leadership.
Naperville CUSD 203 officials on June 2 presented a new Educational Support Professional (ESP) systems‑of‑support program designed to improve onboarding, mentoring and job‑specific professional learning for paraprofessionals and other classified staff.
Lisa Zegas, assistant superintendent for strategy and engagement, introduced the initiative and said the plan responds to staff morale survey findings and NESPA leadership requests. “Our goal … focuses on orientation, onboarding, and ongoing learning for our new and returning educational support professionals,” Zegas said.
The program has three components: a virtual orientation website with role‑specific materials and device training; a pilot mentorship‑based onboarding program (one mentor‑mentee team per site for 2025‑26); and an expanded schedule of job‑specific ongoing professional learning. The district said mentors will receive a stipend; exact rates will be determined with NESPA leadership and will depend on whether a mentee is new to the role and the district.
Heather Kluspitz and Kelly Scottie, ESP committee members who described the committee’s work, said more than 400 collective hours went into developing the program. The district estimated initial pilot costs at $15,000 for mentor compensation and related expenses; other orientation costs such as lunch and district swag will be covered from existing budgets.
Board members expressed broad support. Board member Joe Kosminski said the $15,000 investment could save far more by reducing turnover: presenters cited a Work Institute estimate that replacing an employee can cost up to 33% of annual salary. Several members asked for periodic progress reports; staff agreed to provide updates and to collect mentor and mentee feedback from the pilot.
The presentation includes a longer timeline for expanding job‑specific ongoing learning in 2026‑27 and updates of ESP job descriptions in collaboration with NESPA and human resources. Superintendent Bridges and staff said the pilot will inform broader rollout and that the district will report pilot metrics—retention, supervisor observations of performance, and participant feedback—after the 2025‑26 year.
