Make today a day to remember!
Monday Motivation
Category: Illinois Education Association
Illinois Union Organization
Join our virtual rESPect meeting tomorrow
Join Us Jan. 11
5:30 – 7 p.m.
rESPect Virtual Meeting
All ESPs Welcome!
REGISTER NOW
(You will receive the Zoom link by email)
| RESPECT – Raising Education Support Professionals by Elevating Careers Together is a statewide effort by ESPs, with the support of IEA staff, to improve working conditions by focusing on four areas: wages, health insurance, pensions, and retaining, recruiting, and job duties. |
Education Support Professional News
Scholarship opportunity for high school seniors with a parent/legal guardian who works in education!
The Burroughs Education Scholarship will offer $2,500 to a graduating senior with strong academic achievement, career goals and character. Application deadline is Jan. 31.
2024 NEA ESP Conference, March 22-24 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas!
- Registration opens mid-January.
- Learn more on the NEA ESP Conference webpage.
- If registered by Jan. 29: $225
- If registered after Jan. 29: $275
IEA-NEA spring elections
- Nominations are open for the 2024 NEA RA State, Retired and Aspiring Educator Delegate elections as well as for sectional representative positions on the IEA Board of Directors and the ESP, Higher Ed and Retired Councils. Hard copy nominations were sent to every member the first week in January and a link to online nominations is on the IEA website.
- Online nominations close at 4 p.m. on Feb. 14. Hard copy nominations must also be received by this date. If you have any questions, contact IEA Governance Elections/Fair Share Paraprofessional Kim Trader at kim.trader@ieanea.org.
2024 Spring IEA Elections Nominations Are Now Open
The IEA is accepting nominations for open positions on the ESP Council and other state level positions. If you’re ready to work to bring the changes we need, apply today.
The 2024 spring elections for NEA RA state, ESP, and aspiring educator delegates, and other state level positions opened today at 8 a.m. Nominations close at 4 p.m. on February 14th. The link to the online nomination form is on the elections page of the website. This information is also located on the home page as well. Also included with the online nomination form information is a link to the spring all-member governance mailer that includes the same nomination forms found online as well as the election notice for the region NEA RA delegate elections. Also included here is a link to the eligibility information for the retired, ESP, higher education and ethnic minority state level positions to be elected this spring.
Happy New Year!!
I hope you all have a safe, healthy, and blessed holiday break!
What activity are looking forward to most to recharge during this holiday break?
Please take the time to rest and recharge! Education support professionals are so important in the education of our students and operation of our schools and universities. Self care is extremely for everyone to be at their best.
Join rESPect today.
Visit www.iearespect.org to learn more and join.
Advocating for rESPect
On Monday, Gina Lozano, chair of the rESPect Legislative Team, myself, Jill Scarcelli, chair of the rESPect Campaign, along with Derek Stevens, IEA Government Relations met with Illinois Senator Robert Peters, chair of the Labor Committee to advocate for our members and rESPect. Gina and myself spoke to educate and inform of who education support professionals (ESPs) are, what we do, and how we are essential for student success. We spoke specifically about UI: Unemployment Insurance and raising the minimum wage for education support professionals.
Senator Robert Peters was very receptive and spoke of his own personal story of being in special education as a young child and how education support professionals supported his education. He spoke honestly and said UI will be a huge challenge. There are several public labor committee hurdles that must be overcome before a vote could be taken. We knew this would be a marathon and not a sprint and we are committed to achieving this goal. Senator Peters also spoke regarding raising the minimum wage and gave us suggestions on how to better move this bill forward.
We truly appreciate Senator Robert Peters for taking the time to meet with us and give guidance as we advocate to support ALL of our members.
School Finance for Bargainers
Sat. | Dec. 9 | 10 a.m. – noon
School Finance for Bargainers
Join IEA Research to review key school finance concepts for the upcoming bargaining season. The training will explore three core areas:
- Discuss compensation systems, including salary schedules and salary tables, and the impact of the increased minimum wage/increased minimum certified staff salary
- Review key school finance terms that will come up at the bargaining table
- Highlight school finance issues related to bargaining in spring 2024, including property tax revenue, state funding and federal ESSER funding
The session will also provide an overview of school finance bargaining resources available through IEA Research to assist teams in their negotiations this spring.
So we did a thing tonight…
Tonight I had the opportunity to present with amazing rESPect leaders about our #IEArESPect campaign on a national NEA webinar about the work of elevating #EducationSupportProfessionals, the essential work we do, and the changes we need for #rESPect.
TAKE ACTION – Contact your representatives
Take action on the issues impacting ESPs
These are federal bills that the National Education Association along with education support professionals across the country are fight for.
· Urge your senators to cosponsor the Paraprofessionals and Education Support Staff Bill of Rights: https://bit.ly/ESPborAction
· Email members of Congress and urge them to co-sponsor the ESP and School Support Staff Family Leave Act: https://bit.ly/ESPFMLA
· Learn more actions you can take at www.nea.org/esp
#iearESPect
#ESPsareEssential
#rESPect
#NEAESP
IEA Education Support Professional Council 