Project SASI: A community engagement project to increase recruitment and retention of professionals working with students with sensory impairments in rural and remote schools

Project SASI (Students with Autism and Sensory Impairments) tested the use of community engagement strategies to increase recruitment of professionals working with students with sensory impairments in rural and remote communities to address personnel shortages in these areas. The project was based on the intersection of high-impact strategies for recruitment of teachers in rural regions and a model of engaged scholarship for creating reciprocal learning relationships between faculty and communities. The project incorporated community engagement strategies before and during coursework, as well as a postfunding sustainability plan. Findings suggest overall satisfaction with the project and that professionals prepared with these connections to the community intended to remain in the region for many years. Further research is necessary to understand how individual components of engagement, as well as long-standing relationships between communities and faculty members, contribute to continued recruitment and retention of professionals working with students with sensory impairments.