IEA Education Support Professional Council

Educational support professionals should really be known as essential school professionals. Your work—during the pandemic and always—is the heart and soul of school communities. No one better exemplifies that dedication, service, and community spirit than 2021 ESP of the Year Kimberly Scott-Hayden. Meet Kimberly

TO:                    State Affiliate Presidents

FROM:              Andy Coons, NEA Senior Director, Center for Great Public Schools                    

DATE:                May 10, 2021

RE:                    APPLY TODAY: ESPs: Supporting our Own Through Peer Mentoring

The National Education Association recognizes the vital role Education Support Professionals (ESPs) play in ensuring a great public school for every student and that’s why we’ve been working with affiliates to build ESP peer mentoring programs. Formal programs of ESP peer mentoring support ESPs at all stages of their career and at all education levels, with the specialized, targeted workplace preparation and support that is crucial for empowering ESPs and advancing their professional excellence. Mentoring can be a powerful catalyst for creating opportunities that can be transformative for both ESPs and the Association. Through strong mentoring programs, the Association can develop deeper, less transactional relationships with ESP members and build collaborative partnerships with school districts and universities focused on building the education systems that all our students and members deserve. 

Do you have local Associations that are seeking peer mentoring opportunities for ESPs?  

If yes, they are now invited to apply to ESPs: Supporting Our Own Through Peer Mentoring.   

• Application Deadline: Monday, June 7, 2021 (10:00 AM EDT) 
• Application Selection: Applicants will be notified no later than June 21, 2021 

ESPs: Supporting our Own Through Peer Mentoring is an NEA-offered online blended learning course, organized around 5 modules of bi-weekly learning that include these formats: 

• Self-study: Individual work completed at each team member’s own pace. 
• Team assignments: Collaborative work completed together as a local Association team. 
• Webinars: Group learning with all participating local Association teams. 
   

Over 9+weeks, local Association team members will work together to develop an ESP mentoring program that will create opportunities for continuous professional improvement for their members (responsive to their local context), amplify the voice of ESPs in their workplace, and elevate ESPs as respected educators.    

Course facilitators are ESP members and leaders who have built and established their own ESP mentoring programs. 

For additional course information, including the course schedule and application form, visit: ESPs: Supporting Our Own Through Peer Mentoring

Need more information about ESP mentoring? Learn more at NEA ESP Peer Mentorship  

If you are interested in the course but are not yet ready to start, please send an email to ESPMentoring@nea.org.  

We will keep you informed of all future learning opportunities. 

IN CLOSING, we want to share a few WHY statements from local Associations (previous course participants) that are currently developing or managing ESP mentoring programs.  These statements tell us why they were inspired to do this work and the values that they lead with.  

“To empower, educate and equip staff so that they are confident, prepared and supported while educating the whole child.” 

-Troy Education Association, Illinois 

 “To empower others so we can stand together. To help others find their voice so they know how to advocate for themselves and as a group. 

To protect the rights of members. Planning for the future. Making a difference.” 
-Michigan State University Administrative Professional Association, Michigan

“To create a sustainable and equitable peer mentoring system for all job families so that all PXU ESPs will be knowledgeable, 

proficient, supported and valued, creating a positive working and learning environment for ALL!” 

-Phoenix Union High School Classified Employees Association, Arizona 

cc:

ESP State Staff Coordinators

ESPQ Staff

Educators wear many hats and fill many roles in our student’s lives! Today, whether you have kids of your own or not, we wish you a very Happy Mother’s Day!

COMING IN JULY FOR IMRF RETIREES: Join IMRF and the University of Illinois Extension for a three-part webinar series on resilience, motivation and managing stress. The workshops are free of charge but registration is required.

Register today: https://www.imrf.org/2021-retiree-webinar#TheIMRF#retirement#retiree#UIExtension

Hello, No matter who we are or how much we make, we should all have the opportunity to learn without limits. But the astronomical cost of higher education—even public higher education—forces many students to either forego their dreams or be trapped in a lifetime of debt. The student debt crisis is not accidental—it is working exactly as lawmakers, banks, and loan servicers intended.  Immediate and broad cancellation of federal student loan debt is a necessary step to ensure we all can thrive—no exceptions.  We’re coming together—educators, activists, and students—for an important briefing on how we can win student debt cancellation. Sign up to join us Thursday, May 13 at 7:00 p.m. ET!Hear about the actions the Biden Administration has taken so far to address education debt with fairness and justice at the forefront—and the road ahead. Learn how by choosing education debt cancellation, policymakers can undo years of bad decisions that have denied opportunities to Black, brown, and Indigenous students for far too long. Find ways that educators, students, advocates, and allies are joining together to access new tools and raise our voices to rewrite the rules so all of us can thrive.  RSVP here to attend this important briefing on Thursday, May 13. See you on Thursday!   The NEA EdJustice Team   Sign up to join us ›

The May webinar offers a learning opportunity for those who engage for ESP in bargaining or meet and confer. As we deal with the COVID crisis and its aftermath on the livelihood of our ESP, you will find this webinar useful. This webinar may be shared with general membership.

Bargaining and Advocacy in the Face of Crisis

May 13, 2021
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. EST 6:00-7:30 p.m. CT

The COVID-19 pandemic has quickly become the worst crisis we have ever faced in our lifetime. ESPs, students, and communities have been hit with staggering issues, many that were unthinkable before. Now, more than ever, ESPs have been forced to bargain and advocate as if their lives, and those of which they care for, depend on it, because it literally may.

This webinar will focus on becoming better prepared as a union to tackle issues brought upon through crisis, such as protecting ESP careers and advocating for health and safety issues, as well as providing practical skills and resources that can make the union more effective advocates. This session was offered at the 2021 NEA ESP National Conference.

Register >

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