special education paraprofessional

special education teacher

paraprofessional

special needs advocate

behavior technician

New Story Schools

New Story Schools is a "company," not a school. New Story Schools is owned by a private equity firm, Audax, looking to sell the company. Consequently,  profits and growth at all costs are the priority. They do not care about the well-being and safety of their staff or students, nor the quality of the services they provide to students with disabilities. Employees and students, are treated like numbers, which is very different than what I experienced at other workplaces. The company gives a lot of lip service about caring about employees and students, but their actions show what matters to them. 

Schools are always understaffed, with school directors needing to work in classrooms to cover. Because New Story is a private school, it could address staffing shortages by holding off on adding new students. Still, it continues to add students without having the number of educators needed to provide proper support because the company is only concerned about growth and profits. Most students here have behavior concerns, and adequate staffing levels are essential for students' and staff's safety.  

Teachers do not get breaks during the day. There is planning at the beginning and end of the day, but there is no time for planning or lunch during the school day, so teachers are expected to eat lunch with students and have no breaks during the school day. There is frequent turnover in all positions, so most staff members are new, and people are constantly learning how to do their jobs. 

Management constantly changes policies without receiving any input from employees. If you are working there, when changes are made, your choices are to comply or leave. They recently made significant changes to paid time off, including not permitting employees who resign to be paid for their accumulated time off hours.  

Most of the leadership at this company has no experience working in schools outside of New Story and were not trained in education, so they have no idea how schools run outside of New Story. Executive and corporate-level leaders have absolutely no experience in education and are consumed by growth and profits. There have been multiple "reorganizations" of the company over just the past few years, where they fired entire departments of leaders who actually did understand education, which shows how disorganized things are and that they don't want to change and improve.  

This is the most toxic workplace I have ever experienced. Many employees are written up and fired for minor infractions, especially if you are not a part of the "in" clique. There is a lot of backstabbing; if you are not a management favorite, you are held to a different standard. There are many better workplaces in education right now with open jobs, so do yourself a favor and avoid this place at all costs.


I spent many years at New Story and worked my way up from an entry-level role into leadership. At my local site, I was surrounded by supportive colleagues and direct supervisors. However, decisions from upper management made the job unsustainable.

My position was combined with another role, effectively requiring me to do the work of two people. It was not possible to keep up with operational demands while also being the kind of present, supportive leader my staff needed. I was expected to support others without receiving adequate support myself.

We were not allowed to hire enough staff to safely serve our students. There was constant pressure to increase enrollment without the staffing to support it. Our student population included individuals with significant behavioral needs, and with high turnover and frequent call-offs, we were consistently understaffed. This included a lack of substitute teachers. Instead of prioritizing proper coverage, I was directed to place unqualified staff in charge of classrooms and look for ways to work around special education requirements rather than fully comply with them.

Working directly with the students can be meaningful, but the broader structure undermines that experience. The company operates more like a corporation than a school. Decisions about curriculum are made by individuals without relevant classroom experience, and teachers are not given sufficient training or planning time. Staff are often left to figure things out on their own, without adequate support.

I would not recommend this company as an employer, and I would not feel comfortable recommending it to families or school districts. The priorities I observed were focused more on profit than on students or staff.

I cannot express just how much I love my position at New Story.  My co-workers are phenomenal, my supervisors are respectful, knowledgable, and "in it" for the right reasons, and most of all - the children are special.  This is not your typical job - you won't be behind a desk, you won't be sitting on a computer, and you won't be answering phones.  What you will be doing - finger painting  pictures to hang outside of the classrooms, teaching children how to identify their emotions and the appropriate ways to deal with them, and giving many of these kids the most enjoyable seven hours of their day.
My immediate supervisors are wonderful.  I've never worked somewhere that makes me feel as valued as New Story.  Supervisors are not only approachable, but will be helping throughout the building just about all day.  These aren't supervisors who sit at their desks and don't have an accurate understanding of what goes on.  With weekly staff meetings and an "open door" management policy, staff members always have the opportunity to voice their opinions and express their concerns.  
Most importantly, this place is about the kids. If you want to make a difference in the lives of others, this is the place to be.  I can not describe the feeling you'll get watching their faces light up when they grasp how to multiply, get a chance to ride a bike for the first time, or enjoy a genuine Thanksgiving meal.  For most of these children, being around us is the best seven hours of their day.  If you want to genuinely play a positive role in the lives of children who are less fortunate than most of us, New Story is the place for you.

Worked for the company almost 3 years and the experience was amazing. I loved working with the students and I totally relate to them. The staff/ team was great until they weren’t. I thought they were understanding and cared about their staff as well as students. The thought quickly FADED… unfortunately they hired a therapist after 2 1/2 years of me working there and was faced to share the same office. Turns out  the therapist hired had more underlying mental issues than the student’s. She would treat me indifferent  like I didn’t exist when no one was around or bluntly disrespected me in-front of the behavior therapist  eventually making my experience working at the school very unpleasant. When I eventually inform higher management of the discrimination and hostile environment I was experiencing they sided with the therapist due to her professional status when I continued to complain. *They completely disregarded my feelings and failed to acknowledge my existing complaints which lead me to feel unwanted. After realizing what was happening I let my emotions lead, good judgement went out the door and I emotionally shut down. Management allowed this to happen and turned a blind eye. I went over and beyond for the company, put the students and team first. So watch who you have conflict with if you care about your job. Management and HR will hand you a conflict resolution book, take notes and act like they are trying to resolve the issue to make both parties happy but start finding ways to throw one who complains under the BUS. 
I advises you to keep your problems to yourself because its not worth losing everything.

This company is for profit and their goals are just that, to see how much money they can rake in for themselves. The higher ups at this company have huge salaries while the employees doing the hard work with children have terrible compensation. The benefits are bad, terrible health insurance and minimal PTO. That's if you are lucky enough to get full time, most positions they keep at "part time" with just under the amount of hours to qualify for full time so they don't have to offer you benefits. There is no advancement in this company, promotions are promised often that "one day" they can you see moving up, and that day never comes, always due to "budget restraints". The turnover rate is extremely high which leaves the school grossly understaffed, putting physical and mental strain on the employees that do remain. The nature of the job is working with aggressive children, and 99% of the time it is extremely unsafe due to the lack of staff at any given time. The overall morale in the building is low. Management definitely plays favorites, and you get treated differently depending how close you are with them. When you go to management with a problem, don't expect anything to get resolved. The school lacks many of the resources needed to really benefit the kids that go there, always due to money, but yet owners and upper management of this company seem to be very well off. The kids most definitely do not come first. Overall if you are looking for a fulfilling career where you are appreciated, respected, and want to grow.......this is not the place for you.

Unfortunately, my experience at New Story Schools was disappointing. The work environment lacks professionalism and maturity, and there is little structure or clear leadership from higher-level management. Expectations are often unclear, and many decisions feel disorganized, which makes it difficult for staff to feel supported or confident in their roles. A major concern is safety. Staff were frequently placed in unsafe situations, and when behavioral crises occurred, calls for support (“levels”) often went unanswered. This lack of response put both staff and students at risk and created an environment where employees did not feel protected or supported during critical moments. There is minimal opportunity for growth, both professionally and financially. Annual raises are extremely low and do not reflect the level of responsibility, stress, or workload placed on staff. Employees are consistently overworked and underpaid, which contributes to burnout and high turnover. While staff are encouraged to advocate for themselves and their classrooms, concerns raised to supervisors often go unaddressed. There is a noticeable lack of support for both employees and students, which ultimately impacts the quality of care and education being provided. Overall, this position may not be sustainable long-term for those seeking professional development, fair compensation, adequate safety measures, and supportive leadership.

If you upset management (i.e. tell them you are looking for another position) they pretty much turn cold to you and want nothing to do with you only to find ways to get your fired. They play favorites to certain staff members hold above the ones they don’t like. 
Staff there are very two faced and if they don’t like you will spread rumors about you. There are some good staff there don’t get me wrong. Just be careful whom you trust. 
Certain teachers there are really good at what they do and work hard to run their classrooms very well, but on the other hand. There are teachers that don’t have any classroom management or control of their class. They would blame it on other people saying that they students don’t like them. The reason that is because those other people have rules they are holding the students to that aren’t enforced with the normal teacher so those students don’t want to work with anyone but that teacher.
The turnover rate for this school with staff is high. It is a hard setting for people to work in. Like stated above the staff can make it even more difficult. You have some people there just collecting a check and others trying to make a difference. Some students aren’t held to the standards like others and those students become a harder problem. 
It is enjoyable to be able to help the kids in this school and hopefully get them back to their normal district.

Not only do you not get a singular break all day, you also get ridiculed if you ask. This job is extremely mentally draining and burn out is contagious here. Upper management says they’ll do right by the kids no matter what but when their direct staff is asking and begging to be moved, you get told no because it’s what’s best for the child. If I am sick of the child and their behaviors how am I going to stay focused on them? BC’s come up with awful ideas to try to control behaviors and do not listen to staff when these systems have adverse affects. The kids are often overlooked as well with IEP’s that aren’t reviewed or checked on. Some staff will antagonize a situation with a student just for a laugh for themselves and then complain about the child being in a behavior for hours after. The only good thing about this place is the time off for holidays and such. As a working environment, everyone talks behind everyone’s back. Students are talked about by their names directly in front of them during the school day along with poking fun at their families or outfits they show up in. Some staff genuinely love their job but for the most part upper management and staff sees this as nothing but a check. Upper claims they want to see you happy but they don’t do anything to help you. When you get injured, teachers and upper management convince you not to go to the doctor or report it as they do not want to do the paperwork. I would not recommend this place to anyone; student or staff. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The students and coworkers. Other teachers and the supports were very helpful, even if there was never enough of us. The pay is good, but not worth it for what you will go through. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Constantly worrying about all of the expectations they place on staff and students. Meeting those expectations but then it changes. Lots of behavior and not enough adults to support. Not being able to give students individual support or meet their individual needs. Arbitrary rules. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Toxic positivity. Admin will tell you one thing, but talk about you behind your back. Instead of being direct about what needs to be done, they are constantly moving the goal posts. Everyone talks about everyone. Big focus on bringing in more kids, even though there isn’t enough support to the kids that are already there. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Stressful. Dangerous. But expected to keep a smile on my face and keep teaching academics (whether the students are attending to it or not). Constant observations and criticism. Expected to hide things from parents. Get injured? Admin “didn’t see anything” because writing a report takes too much time. Meeting individual needs is not supposed to be a priority. They want every classroom to run like a gen ed classroom.

My summary says it all. The frontline classroom staff are an incredible group of people. You will never work with a more dedicated group. The classroom support staff are second to none. Same with the teachers, with one GLARING exception. BCs,Speech,OT , Admin personnel are top notch. 

The new management group while knowledgeable in their fields and nice people , are in WAY over their heads (with one exception), poisoning an otherwise awesome experience. Chaos reigned my last few months. The new leadership lack not only experience leading people, but most disappointing of all, lack the moral courage to to the right thing when mediating staff disagreements. Favoritism and expediency now trump fairness and the truth. Discipline standards are uneven and blatantly biased depending on how hard you are to replace. North Korea is more accessible than New Story when it comes to getting disciplinary procedures from HR. God knows I’ve tried.

It stinks to write this because the school does good things and I’m a better person for working there. I just made the mistake of thinking at the management level they were different than your typical soulless corporation. They were, but not anymore. They play favorites,  at the expense of student- staff relationships, and are losing their vision.

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