Education Support Professional Council consists of thirteen (13) members all of whom are ESP school employees and members of the Illinois Education Association. The ESP council's goal is to represent and support ESP's throughout Illinois.
Join Us Jan. 11
5:30 – 7 p.m.
rESPect Virtual Meeting
All ESPs Welcome!
(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. |
Be safe if you plan to travel on this New Year’s Eve! I will be counting my blessings this New Year’s as I think of my family (both by blood and union siblings) and friends. So many great things are happening to support the goals of the rESPect Campaign; so much more work is left to do! I hope you will join us at our next IEA rESPect virtual meeting on Thursday, January 11th. Click for more information and to register for the upcoming rESPect meeting. Click link to register: https://www.mobilize.us/ieanea/event/592186/
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.
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.
rESPect Steering meeting registration link
DECEMBER
https://www.mobilize.us/ieanea/event/592185/
FYI from: National Education Association-ESPQ
As we head into the holiday season and closer to a new year, we want to share several upcoming opportunities that will support ESPs in their personal and professional growth. Please add these events to your calendars and share them with your members and colleagues!
See all upcoming webinars for ESPs at www.nea.org/esppdwebinars.
Click to register: Virtual Training
Education Support Professionals (ESPs) play a vital role in schools and deserve quality ESP Peer Mentoring programs. These programs support and enable ESPs to fulfill their crucial roles in public education today. Join us as we highlight two ESP mentoring programs in Oregon. Hear how two locals worked together to support each other in the journey. Learn how to take an established ESP mentoring program and make it your own, suiting the unique needs within your district. They will share their successes and the roadblocks they encountered in building two successful ESP mentoring programs thriving in Oregon and how you can do the same within your state.
Presenters: Laura Warren, ESP, Lebanon Oregon Kim Grousbeck, School Administrator, Lebanon, Oregon Patty Lawrence, ESP, Grants Pass, Oregon Allison Orton, State Affiliate Staff, Oregon
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:
The session will also provide an overview of school finance bargaining resources available through IEA Research to assist teams in their negotiations this spring.
IEA Education Support Professional Council 