special education teacher

school principal

preschool teacher

paraprofessional

family support specialist

Allegheny Intermediate Unit

As an overall organization, people stay for their commitment to children. If they leave, it's because the pay is below par. They do, however, compensate with an above-average benefits package. The work environment on the grassroots level is more than acceptable. The Human Resource department needs a major revamping of its hiring policies as it lacks follow through for internal postings. They make the atmosphere extremely difficult to know if positions are being filled from within the organization.

In the position in question, management at the grassroots level work well with the employees. Even with the changing environment of education in early childcare development, they do their best to establish a partnership with teaching staff and parents.

The only difficult part of the job is the constant demands required by state and federal regulations to maintain funding. We might adhere to a group of guidelines at the beginning of a school year that will not only change in mid-season, but require a backlog of information the staff has neither the time nor Human Resources to devote (i.e., HIPAA requirements and implementing classroom staff collecting dentals and physicals from guardians).

Let me start by saying this company has been the best one I have worked for since my college graduation. The staff are helpful, readily able to answer questions and help with problems, and the atmosphere is overall great. There was always something to do including a whole month of health-based services including health fair, free afterwork yoga sessions, and spa days, multiple charity events and programs throughout the year for children and families in need, plus free lunch for all on most Fridays. We would even get free time for usually up to an hour during the work day to attend those special events like on my first day there when one of the Pittsburgh Colts players came to discuss benefits of supporting the United Way.  That was a whole hour just listening to him, eating snacks, and meeting my co-workers. The job itself was basic clerical and administrative duties including answering the phone, scanning applicant documents for filing, opening and sorting mail, and special office projects. Great company! If I ever moved back to Pittsburgh I would certainly hope to work for them again.

Only be a teacher here if you don't mind being an underpaid special ed teacher.  Every year there's more and more IEP kids that require one on one support that is never given to them so the teacher and teacher assistant become glorified special ed teachers on top of tending to the other kids in the room.  So the job is very stressful for anyone not equipped to handle those types of behavior in a large class setting.

Upper management is terrible and never know what's going on yet they're overpaid for it while teachers are underpaid and struggling daily.  They're always understaffed and the teachers that are there know they can't expect to get a sub when they call off and will have to make up the days later in the year.

 It's sad because this could be such a good program if it was run properly to ensure the best success in the classroom as a whole instead of trying to cater to the children that should be placed in classes that could provide the support they can get and need.

Typical Day: Arrive 7:15 a.m. to prepare for arriving students who are required to sign in.  Call parents/guardians of any student that has not arrived to school.  Enter data for new student enrollments; student withdrawals; student roster/emergency spreadsheet; prepare student file folders; update spreadsheet that is required by State of PA; scan student records into database; update student counselor assignments and distribute to teachers and staff; order requested office supplies for staff; verify student's early dismissal; meeting minutes twice a week.
The position has led to a deeper understanding of the needs of so many children.
Management has been up and down; currently up.
Teachers and Counselors at this organization are very qualified and extremely caring.
It is difficult to coordinate communication.

If you aren't concerned about money and find special education work rewarding, this is a great fit for you. The school employees are kind and funny, and it makes the hard work a little easier. I've learned a lot about working hands-on with students with various disabilities. Don't expect support from the higher-ups though. They're still working from home and are completely disconnected from the day-to-day processes and struggles of the school workers. The salary is nice for year-round planning, but it isn't nearly enough to survive on. Almost everyone I work with has at least one extra job. Leaves no room for work-life balance. Overall morale is very low right now throughout the school. Grateful for the awesome students and fun co-workers.

Over worked. Under paid unless you are top management. Very politically motivated. Top heavy. Misuse of funds. Upper administration have high pay with no idea of what the front line staff do. Little to no support. Major disconnect. Most upper management have never visited classrooms. Teachers make less than 40k. Family Center staff make less and other departments make even less than 25-30k for full time positions. The company prides its self on Good health insurance but doesn’t make advancements to bridge the wage gap. Lots of back stabbing to one up each other. Culture is extremely poor. Director did  a survey. Results for happiness at your work place was in the 25-30 percent tile. Yet nothing changed except meetings and video trainings were added in hopes to fix the issues. 

The job of Mental Health consultant is demanding, sad, and sometimes fulfilling.  Sometimes the team can work together to support the child in crisis, teach new behaviors, and support family to follow through with advanced care. This takes solid management and people skills to gain the trust of team members.  Sometimes there are several barriers that prevent success.  Finding the best intervention for the child is the hardest part of the job while successfully supporting a child is most enjoyable.

Supervisors are invested in professional growth and development for the team as a whole and for individual clinicians.  They are caring, concerned, supportive, and highly confidential regarding illness and associated treatments for team members.  Colleagues are equally invested and supportive of each other.  Collaborative efforts with school teams and with families are emphasized.  Student gains on individual goals are paramount.

Pros include: CEU opportunities at in-services, friendly management, fun population 

Cons include: limited training (1/2 day, lots of learning as I go, emailing supervisor for clarifications, hourly with unpaid for student cancellations and breaks in school calendar, provide own treatment supplies with limited budget ($200/year), limited/no interaction with other therapists, lots of driving (from site to site to see students at various locations/school), no choice for assessments administered 



Working with this company has taught me how to do things even though budget doesn't always persist you to. My co-workers and I are always coming up with different activities so that our youth can learn, use and keep different aspects of our activities. The only hard part of my job is actually keeping up with 15+ kids who are always ready to give you a piece of their mind but at the same time I enjoy it too. I like the fact that they have an opinion about certain thing we do and when they voice their opinion they would liked to be heard.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Special education teacher 1 salary reported	$46,500 per year
School principal 4 salaries reported	$42,434 per year
Preschool teacher 1 salary reported	$23.03 per hour
Paraprofessional 1 salary reported	$26,609 per year
Family support specialist 1 salary reported	$35,000 per year

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