Success story
Prior to partnering with Zen, the district relied on a traditional agency model to staff long-term paraprofessional roles in Special Education. These agencies charged premium rates of $65 to $75 per hour for specialized support, yet the district often waited a month or longer for positions to be filled. When urgent needs arose, administrators had few options to quickly secure qualified paraprofessionals.
These delays created challenges for both classroom consistency and administrative planning. District leaders began searching for a faster and more sustainable solution that could provide a reliable pool of vetted educators at a more manageable cost.
Dedicated Account Management
Zen’s dedicated Account Manager, a former special education teacher, provides support that goes beyond standard staffing. They conduct regular in-person visits and participate in site-level trainings to ensure strong alignment between Zen’s educators and schools, while also recruiting educators for hard-to-staff schools so every site has access to reliable, pre-vetted paraprofessionals.
High-Quality Paraprofessional Support
The district relies on Zen for paraprofessionals who can support a wide range of Special Education environments, from academic support to more intensive one-on-one roles. Zen educators are included in district professional development and are expected to adapt across different classroom settings, helping ensure they are well prepared to support students effectively. As the partnership has grown, the district has continued to trust Zen with increasingly complex roles because of the quality, flexibility, and professionalism of the educators.
Transparent and Sustainable Pricing
Zen introduced transparent pricing that was significantly lower than the rates charged by other agencies working with the district, which ranged from $65 to $75 per hour for specialized paraprofessional support. Even in harder-to-staff parts of the district, Zen’s rates were roughly half the cost of those agencies, giving the district a more sustainable option for long-term staffing.
$500,000 Saved in One Semester
These savings were achieved within a single semester of the partnership, demonstrating how Zen’s pricing model allows the district to support high-needs students while using staffing budgets more efficiently.
Faster Staffing for Long-Term Roles
With access to Zen’s network of vetted educators, the district is able to fill long-term paraprofessional roles significantly faster than under its previous agency model, helping ensure students receive consistent classroom support more quickly.
A Reliable Pipeline for Permanent Staff
Zen also serves as a long-term talent pipeline for the district. Several educators who initially worked at the district through Zen have since transitioned into permanent district positions, providing continuity for students while helping the district build its long-term workforce
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