I am new to the field of education and have a background in community mental health. Similarly to higher education, there was a tremendous pressure on the me and my fellow coworkers to retain clients as it was crucial for the budgeting of the program. From that experience, I think the working environment is important for overall retention rates. If staff feels overworked, unappreciated and not supported, they do not put in their best efforts and it is felt among the clients (students) as well. Just as retention is a school wide responsibility, our responsibility is to ensure the staff is treated just as well as the students. A staff that feels supported will be more likely to put in that extra effort to connect to students.