Author: ieaesp

Addressing the mental health of students requires the attention of the entire school community.

Key Take aways

• ESPs help educate the whole child and also have insights into student wellbeing that must be considered.
• Addressing the mental health of students requires the attention of the entire school community.
• With training, ESPs can offer social and emotional support on the bus, in the cafeteria, or in the hallway.

So ready for summer! How many days do you have left of school before summer vacation?

Today was World ESP Day. Today was a celebration of the important work that education support professionals do each day for our schools and students. We asked support professionals what being an ESP and respect means to them. #IEArESPect

Learn more about the IEA rESPect campaign: iearespect.org

Monday, May 16 is World ESP Day!

Join Education International and ESPs across the globe this Monday at 8:00 am ET for an online event, “Decent Work for ESPs Now,” featuring 2022 NEA ESP of the Year, Debra Mitchell! Debra Ward-Mitchell is one of our very own fabulous education support professionals from Illinois.

I am checking to see if this will be recorded as most education support professionals will be doing what they do best, supporting our students, schools, and universities, at the time of this event.

For decades education support professionals have been essential in providing a high quality public education to our students. Over this same time, our jobs duties, expectations, and qualification have increased significantly while our wages have not. When you account for inflation, we are making less today than we did 10 or 20 years ago.

The Britannica Dictionary difines respect as:

1: a feeling of admiring someone or something that is good, valuable, important, etc.

2 : a feeling or understanding that someone or something is important, serious, etc., and should be treated in an appropriate way

We are good, valuable, and important and we deserve to be treated as such! It is time that districts and communities see the valuable contributions we provide for the success of our students, districts, and communities. We deserve to earn a livible wage.

Ready to start day two! What an awesome group of union advocates. I am always in awe of the heart, and passion these people have for our members and our work! #rESPect