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National Education Support Professionals Day is Wednesday, November 20! Join NEA and schools across the country for a celebration in honor of the ESPs who keep our schools running and our students safe, healthy, and ready to learn. This year, we’re continuing the festivities online through #WeLoveOurESPs.

To help you celebrate the ESPs in your schools and communities, we’ve created a toolkit with event ideas, media outreach templates, social media graphics, and printable signs and cards.

●     Download ESP Day Toolkit

●     Download Signs and Thank you Cards

Be sure to spread the word! Below are some sample posts to share on your social media channels and get the party started.

●     Education Support Professionals Day is November 20. Thank the ESPs in your schools and communities by hosting a celebration event and sending them words of appreciationà bit.ly/ESPday2019 #WeLoveOurESPs

●     How are you celebrating Education Support Professionals on November 20?! Share with us your ESP Day plans using #WeLoveOurESPs bit.ly/ESPday2019

Join our ESP Facebook group and follow us on Twitter(@NEArESPect and @NEAToday) if you haven’t already done so.

We hope to see you at the online celebration!

On November 9th, IEA ESP Council members, local presidents, and ESPs from around Illinois came together at the IEA office in Champagne, Ill. Presentations by Woodruff Johnson & Evans Law Offices – The Injured School Employee: Rights and Benefits and IEA Communication Consultant, Bridgette Shannahan spoke on – Communications Messaging and Tools. Great tools to help locals build strength, and unity through connection.

Save the date for our next ESP Assembly and President Support Team Roundtable

February 8th, 2020 in Matteson IEA Office

REQUEST FOR FUNDING TO ATTEND THE 2020 NEA National Leadership Summit

March 13-15, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. This form must be submitted no later than December 6, 2019.

November 20, 2019

National Education Support Professionals Day is an important part of NEA’s American Education Week celebration, taking place November 18-22. The occasion was first celebrated in 1987 after NEA’s Representative Assembly, the Association’s decision-making body of nearly 8,000 member delegates, called on the organization to honor the contributions of all school support staff. National ESP Day is observed on Wednesday of American Education Week. For more information please click the link below.

Applications are now being accepted for the IEA-NEA ESP EMERGING LEADERS ACADEMY (ESP-ELA). The IEA-NEA ESP Emerging Leaders Academy is a partnership between the Illinois Education Association (IEA) and the National Education Association (NEA) to provide a state based ESP Leadership Institute (formerly ESP Leaders for Tomorrow) for IEA ESP members. The ESP-ELA is designed to provide leadership training and support for IEA’s emerging ESP leaders.

The ESP-ELA is a six-session leadership training held over a period of seven months. This training is available to all dues paying IEA ESP members in good standing who meet the program’s eligibility requirements.

For more information visit the ESP page on the IEA Website or at: https://ieanea.org/events/iea-nea-esp-emerging-leaders-academy/

Application deadline: Friday, December 6, 2019

Nov. 4 7:30-8:30 p.m. Teletown Hall with Illinois Superintendent of Schools Carmen Ayala, Ph.D.

Hosted by IEA, Ayala will be interviewed first about the most pressing issues in education in Illinois and then members will have the opportunity to ask questions. How it works: You will receive a call at the phone number we have on file for you at 7:20 p.m. that evening. If you want to participate, simply stay on the line. If you are not sure we have a good phone number on file for you, please contact IEA Connect, or go to the Members Only page on the IEA website to update your information. The event also will be streamed live on the IEA website.

Nov. 7  |  4:30 p.m.
Webinar – Introducing the app: Beginning with Babble (For anyone who deals with parents of small children)

Developed by speech pathologists and others at the non-profit Learning Empowers All People (LEAP), it is a free app for parents and caregivers with children from zero to four that reminds caregivers to interact with their children through a variety of developmentally appropriate stimuli and ideas. Learn more about it, and the LEAP organization.

Nov. 18-22  |  #AEW2019

Monday – Kickoff Day
Tuesday – Parents Day
Wednesday – Education Support Professionals Day
Thursday – Educator for a Day
Friday – Substitute Educators Day

For more on the weeklong celebration, go to NEA American Education Week.

Well-being survey The Illinois Education Association (IEA) and the University of Illinois Springfield invites you to participate in the Illinois Educator Well-Being Survey. The purpose of this survey is to examine how the climate and culture of your workplace impacts the quality of your life. The purpose of this survey is to examine how the climate and culture of your workplace impacts the quality of your life. The IEA will use this data to develop and improve programs and services that support members’ well-being in the workplace. Data collected as part of this survey will remain confidential. Please see the informed consent document for additional information.

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