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Watch and share this video to learn and educate others about the vital roles ESPs play in students’ lives, how they work closely with teachers for student success, and what they need from policy makers to succeed in their profession.

#ieaespcouncil #iearESPect #OneJobShouldBeEnough #NationalESPDay

November 20 is Education Support Professionals Day!

Join us as we share all the ways ESPs have made a personal impact on our lives.

Together for Safe, Just & Equitable Schools. #aew2024

American Education Week happens the week prior to the week of Thanksgiving. Each day of the week has its own theme, during which we celebrate our public school community.

WOW!!! Many members from the Illinois Education Association, We Are One campaign, and other public employee organizations rallied together in a coalition to send a message to our state representatives to Undo Tier 2 in our IMRF and TRS pensions.

Learn more about how inequitable the two systems are and sign the petition on the website and let your voice be heard as well. https://ieanea.org/undo-tier-two/

Several education support professional advocates traveled to Springfield today to meet with Representatives at an ESP Legislative Reception. We were honored to meet with Representatives Mussman, Kifowit, and Blair-Sherlock to discuss the challenges support staff are experiencing around the state. Tomorrow we will join other IEA members and various public workers for a lobby day at the Illinois State Capitol Building. Many of us will meet with our lawmakers to discuss the need for an equitable retirement for ALL educators and the critical need to Undo Tier 2.

We’ve almost made it to Thanksgiving break and over three months of this school year has passed by. How are you and how has your school year been going? Please comment the number that best represents how you are doing. How can we support you?

Just a few hours left to register for lobby day. Will you be there? UndoTier2.org

**If you are unable to attend Lobby Day, we will be sharing other ways to support soon!

Many states—including Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Delaware, Michigan, Vermont, and Washington—have or are creating their own ESP Bill of Rights.

RESPECT | Raising Education Support Professionals by Elevating Careers Together is a statewide effort by ESPs and ESP allies, with the support of IEA staff, to improve working conditions by focusing on four areas: livible wage, affordable health insurance, ability to retire with dignity, and initiatives that retain and recruit new staff.

You are invited to join our rESPect steering meeting on November 14th, 5:30-7:00pm. Your voice is needed at our table to help push our goals forward.

If you are an Illinois Education Association member, this affects you in one of two ways: 1. If your first day of employment with a school or higher ed institution was AFTER Jan. 1, 2011, you are in tier two of the state’s retirement systems. What does that mean? It means you pay the same amount toward your retirement as those hired before that date, but your benefits are diminished. 2. If your first day of employment with a school or higher ed institution was BEFORE Jan. 1, 2011, you are in the tier one of the state’s retirement systems. What does that mean? It means you are seeing major problems retaining employees in Illinois’ schools and institutes of higher learning. Either way, tier two affects you. Please come to Springfield and tell lawmakers what you are experiencing in our profession. The IEA is partnering with the We Are One Illinois labor coalition to hold a rally and lobby day on Nov. 13 in Springfield. There will be buses leaving from eight locations around the state, or you can travel to Springfield on your own.

Agenda Here is a tentative agenda for the day:10:30 a.m. – Arrive in Springfield, gather at IEA headquarters, 100 E. Edwards St. 11 a.m. – Rally at IEA HQ 11:45 a.m. – Walk to the Illinois State Capitol Building (less than a block away) 12:15 p.m. – Rally with union members from the We Are One Illinois labor coalition 1p.m. – Meet with legislators at appointments you have pre-scheduled 2:30 p.m. – Buses leave *Lunch will be provided at IEA HQ Transportation Register now for a bus near you!  Buses are leaving from Bloomington, Champaign, Edwardsville, Elgin, Lombard, Macomb/Rushville/Jacksonville, Matteson, Rockford, or you can drive on your own (just be sure to register, so we have enough food and supplies for everyone). *Public parking for those driving on their own is available at 6th St. and Capitol Ave.; the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum at 6th St. and Madison Ave.; 7th St. and Monroe St.; 7th St. and Washington St.; at the Old State Capitol underground on Fifth St. between Monroe and Washington Sts.; and under the Lincoln Library (public) on Seventh St. and Capitol Ave. Lobby your lawmaker Obviously, attracting a big crowd to this event is very important. We want to make sure lawmakers know educators care about this issue! But nothing is as important as your lawmakers hearing directly from you about tier two and its effect on recruitment and retention in schools and universities, your family and on your future. Please take a few minutes to reach out and schedule an appointment with those elected to represent you in Springfield. You can find your elected legislators here or you can visit the General Assembly’s webpage to connect with your state representative and state senator. You need to set up your Lobby Day meetings with your legislators before you leave to come to Springfield. This will better your chances of actually meeting with someone face to face. We need IEA members to stress to these decision makers that their votes in Springfield impact your life for years to come. Substitutes It is not lost on us that being away from school for a day can be very taxing on districts and on you. IEA will help offset costs and IEA President Al Llorens has reached out to local presidents to let them know this. In addition, IEA Executive Director Mike Shoudy has been in contact with and sent letters to the executive directors of the Illinois Association of School Administrators and the Illinois Principals’ Association to give them a heads up on the day and the offer from IEA to help pay for subs. More information For more details on tier two, please visit our Undo Tier Two webpage. If you are in tier two of the following pension systems, please find more information about how tier one and tier two retirement benefits compare: Teachers’ Retirement System Illinois Municipal Retirement FundState Universities Retirement System