Author: ieaesp

We at NEA Member Benefits want you to know we’re here to support you during this difficult time.
Many of our benefit partners are offering special assistance to members in need who may have been affected by an involuntary layoff. Below is a list of contact information for our partners and details on specific assistance they have available.

We hope that you and your families are safe. Please contact us if you have any questions about your benefits and we will help you however we can. You can reach our Member Advocacy Center by telephone or email:

1-800-637-4636
(Mon-Fri: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET, Sat: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET)

Contact Us
neamb.com/contact-us

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Many district admin have asked ESPs who are home during this time, to do activities that will enhance our skills as education support professionals. I wanted to share some great links to webinars NEA has to offer ESPs that will better prepare us to support our students when we return. 

Professional Development Webinar Training

NEA ESP Quality Department in the Center of Great Public Schools, in collaboration with various professionals in the education workforce, have created a wide variety of professional development webinars designed to support the professional growth of Education Support Professionals (ESP).
Enhance you professional skills today and sign up here!
View our archived training recordings here.

Copied from the Illinois Education Association Facebook

#StrongerUnited

March 15, 2020

Yesterday, the Illinois State Board of Education held a series of “town hall” meetings all day Sunday with superintendents and other public education stakeholders from around the state to provide information and answer questions about the upcoming emergency-ordered school closings.

Another meeting with stakeholders will be held in the morning to try to finalize some details and give closure to several issues. One thing is very clear, all regularly employed school employees will be paid for Act of God days regardless of whether they are salary or hourly.

And, one other lingering question answered Sunday that will be important for Monday (because the closure does not officially start until Tues., March 17), is that the day can be considered a regular school day, an emergency day or a teacher institute day. If a district has used all of its emergency days, it can be taken as an Act of God day.

Here is the update from State School Superintendent Carmen Ayala for Sunday. Please watch for Monday’s Covid-19 update on this page as it should be full of important information.

Also, on Sunday, the State of Illinois announced the number of Covid-19 cases jumped another 23 cases and added the counties of Champaign, Clinton, Whiteside and Winnebago.

Please feel free to provide any feedback or questions to COVID19Guidance@ieanea.org.

I know the next few weeks are going to be extremely stressful times for many ESPs, students, and communities. As we face this time together your ESP Council is continuing to do its important work of bringing you quality, relevant, and engaging sessions to be offered at this years One Conference. Please fill out the form below with your suggestions of topics that you would like to see offered that will benefit you, your members, and your students.

I know we are in unsettling times. We have so many questions and not enough answers. These questions cause fear and stress of the unknown. If you are like me you are use to being in control, fixing, planning, organizing, and making sure everyone is taken care of. Lists of things to do and not enough time to do them. Oh, I have a lot of lists.

The news has been bombarding us all. The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the fear of the unknown, stats, CDC, school closings, what happens next? This can be debilitating. I believe ESPs by nature are giving people, sometimes to a fault. I want to share with you this Self-Care Challenge. You deserve to take care of yourself. You deserve time to breathe, rest, and heal. I challenge you to choose a few self-care suggestions from the list below and spend some time for your self. You DESERVE it!

Today we need to breathe, and stay safe. I am adding the button below because I believe knowledge is power. As more information emerges and evolves over these next few days and weeks I will update this site. Please do not lose the main reason for this post by reading more information and not take time for you.

Thank you for all you do for your students, your school, and your community. Now I ask you to take some time and do for you. We are ESP!!

As the COVID-19 situation continues, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker has made the determination that schools across Illinois will close, we have made the decision to follow suit in the best interest of the health and safety of our staff and members.

Starting Tuesday, IEA offices in Illinois will close and remain closed until Illinois public schools reopen. IEA staff will be working from home during this time. Public health officials have determined that social distancing, along with common sense measures such as washing your hands and covering your mouth when you cough, are some of the best ways to stop the spread of the Coronavirus.

This decision was not made lightly and it is in conjunction with other states, including Michigan. The National Education Association is doing a trial run of this on Monday and if all goes well, it may choose to do the same.

There are several things we’d like to share with you.

Please note the offices are not contaminated and are not unsafe. Our goal here is to prevent human transmission of the Coronavirus and we are taking this extraordinary measure to try and limit human interaction, as is being suggested by the Centers for Disease Control. Offices may still be entered and work may be done inside them, if it is absolutely necessary, or of a crisis nature, although we strongly encourage our staff to remain at home during the time of the school and office closings.

In addition, this is not the same as a holiday closing and staff will be working regular work hours. They may intermittently be in offices to check for mail or do other routine office duties. And, IEA Connect will be available to answer questions, if you have any, by phone at 844-432-1800, by chatting on the website in the bottom right corner or through email.

We are asking that few, if any, face-to-face meetings take place and will help you set up technology if you need to have meetings by setting up conference calls through your region offices.

Please check the COVID-19 Update Page for new information added today.

Thank you for your patience and understanding in this unprecedented time. We will revisit the closure policy, as necessary.

Kathi Griffin
President
Illinois Education Association