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Don’t miss these great opportunities.

ESP STAR award:  Nominate one or more special ESPs for a STAR award! Nominations accepted monthly. SCORE grants: Grants for up to $1,000 are available for IEA members and their local associations to collaborate and create opportunities for community service or school projects. Apply for a SCORE grant by Jan. 15. Please watch and share SCORE grant recipient Jennifer Finley’s video  about her project that put books and comfort animals into emergency vehicles in her community for kids in traumatic situations. Athletic grants: California Casualty’s Thomas R. Brown Athletics Grant program will award $1,000 grants to school athletics programs. Apply for an athletics grant by Jan. 15. $2,500 for college: The Burroughs Education Scholarship, sponsored by Woodruff Johnson & Evans Law Offices, will be awarded to a college-bound high school senior with at least one parent who is a school employee. Applications will be accepted through Jan. 31. NEA State and Local grants: Funded grant requests range from $3,000 to $25,000 and focus on building family/community partnerships or supporting educators across their career continuum to ensure student success. 2022-23 grant program information and application.

The ESP Insider is a digital newsletter for Education Support Professional members of the Illinois Education Association. It has important updates, dates, and ESP Celebrations. We definitely deserve some celebrations. If you haven’t received your ESP Insider in your personal email contact IEA Connect at https://ieanea.org/ieaconnect/ for support.

• Did you know we are bring RESPECT to our members? We need you. Click to find out more.
• Did you know you have an Education Support Professionals Council that advocates for you? Consider joining our team in this spring IEA election. Nomination forms will be due in mid January. Questions to Arlene.Criglar@ieanea.org.
• Did you know IEA has been building and creating more and better resources and job related professional development for education support professionals? Go to your Insider for more information.

You will need to log in to Members Only to view using your member ID. Contact IEA Connect for assistance.

RESPECT | Raising Education Support Professionals by Elevating Careers Together is a statewide effort by support staff in Illinois schools, Pre-K through college, with the support of IEA staff, to improve working conditions. This is a long-term campaign made up of short-term goals. In 2022-23, we hope to:

• Pass legislation to improve wages and retirement security; including a $20/hour minimum wage.
• Create a library of model contract language for support staff locals.
• Organize, organize, organize!

Whether you are a school secretary, paraprofessional, groundskeeper, bus driver, cafeteria worker, librarian, safety personnel, or you provide support to your school/campus in any other way, this campaign is for you.

Sign Up and Make Your Voice Heard!

Welcome!! IEA announced a new organizing victory in Lansing District 158 and welcomed LEFA (Lansing Education Foundation Association), a new ESP local, to the IEA-NEA family! 

Congratulations!! Membership increase in the Sycamore Education Support Staff Association (Region 22): Beginning last winter, more than 40 secretaries, nurses, receptionists, and security assistants campaigned to join their district’s existing support staff local. The local is now roughly 120 members strong and has grown by over 50% in this victorious campaign. *Congratulations, Sycamore Education Support Staff Association! *

The National Education Association is happy to announce that we are accepting applications from
NEA local and state association teams for the 2023 ESPs: Supporting Our Own Through Peer
Mentoring workshop.

Over one and a half days, teams will work together to build their own unique ESP mentoring pilot
programs that empower ESPs in the workplace and Association. Through peer mentoring, ESPs
can receive the specialized, targeted preparation and support that empower ESPs in the
workplace, advance ESP professional excellence, build ESP leader activists, and create the
education systems that all our students and members deserve.

Click: https://fb.watch/hio6gHIH82/

2022 NEA ESP of the Year

What an honor! Debra Ward-Mitchell, IEA member and 2022 NEA ESP of the Year, receives a standing ovation at the Illinois General Assembly last week. Congratulations Deb!!!

Debra is the epitome of excellence! Everything she does with her students, families, and union has her heart and her gift of service prominently displayed. Debra is the IEA Education Support Professional Council Vice-Chair, ESP Council Membership Engagement Committee leader, and Co-chair of the Organizing and Membership Leadership Development team for the RESPECT campaign. Debra is a key leader that is assisting in growing a strong campaign that will bring the change education support professionals need and deserve. She is a fabulous role model, union sister, and most importantly friend.

#ieaesp #NEAESPOTY #rESPect #essential #StrongerUnited

Please support the members of the Tuscola Paraprofessionals Union (TESPA)!

Tuscola School District 301 has lost more than 40% of its paraprofessionals to neighboring districts and businesses like McDonalds, Loves and Old Navy that pay more.

TESPA represents paraprofessionals or paras, who work with the most vulnerable students (those with IEPs, behavioral challenges and autism).

TESPA and the Tuscola BOE’s latest contract proposals are just 14 CENTS an hour apart.

Fair contract NOW!

#IEANEA#StrongerUnited

Join the IEA President Support Team on Facebook. This is a private Facebook group where local leaders can ask questions, get answers and support from other IEA leaders from around the state. They also meet virtually as an added time to support each other. Search them on Facebook.