I should poke my head in here more often. CSAT is my home training facility and I'm only now seeing this.
Repeat CSAT student x7 here, including instructor school; taking another course in a few months.
OPs concern is understandable, but IMO unwarranted. Paul is super amicable with his paying students, but I've had some chances to peek behind the curtain and have figured out he's got very high expectations for his employee instructors. New instructors build experience with Paul watching over their shoulder constantly. If Paul wanders off during instruction, I know that that guy has paid his dues and is squared away.
Also, if Paul is retired, he sucks at it. This year Paul is back as lead instructor much more often. Last couple years he's been doing other CSAT-related stuff, but one of his newsletters recently indicated he's going to be spending less time off away from classes.
Hope this helps.