IEA Education Support Professional Council

Good Morning ESP Leaders,

Schools face complicated challenges to ensure the safe and equitable return to in-person instruction—and to avoid the resurgence of conditions that require students and educators to return to remote learning. The air quality in school buildings is central to these goals. NEA has produced two new documents to help affiliates adopt indoor air quality strategies to mitigate COVID-19. The first—Designing and Implementing a COVID-19 Indoor Air Quality Plan in Schools—provides detailed information on how and why to develop a pandemic-related indoor air quality plan. It suggests language that can be used in collective bargaining and other labor-management settings and provides authoritative citations and additional resources. The second—The NEA Quick Guide to Indoor Air Quality Strategies to Mitigate COVID-19—is a condensed version of the longer document designed to give Association leaders, UniServ directors, and members an easy-to-use summary of the issues, sources, language, and resources related to indoor air quality and COVID-19.

In preparing these documents, we chose to focus on ventilation in the context of the pandemic. As a result, they identify common-sense steps that can be taken to mitigate the airborne transmission of the novel coronavirus. Many of the recommendations included require action but no additional funding, while others require funding far short of what an HVAC system installation or upgrade is likely to cost. While major HVAC work may certainly be necessary, students and educators cannot wait for such changes and budgets may not easily permit them. In addition, schools may rely at least in part on methods of addressing IAQ that do not involve HVAC systems. 

Thank you!

Lisa Connor
Lisa Connor | ESP Quality

Phone 202-822-7529 | Mobile 202-557-9064 | Fax 202-822-7168 | E-Mail lconnor@nea.org |

NEA Needs ESP Presenters

NEA values the expertise of our ESP leaders and allies and invites all interested in being considered as a presenter at our virtual 2021 NEA ESP Conference to complete our NEA ESP Conference Call for Presenter Form. The deadline for session proposals is Tuesday, Dec. 22. All interested presenters MUST submit their proposals via this online form. The 2021 NEA ESP Conference will be held virtually March 19-21, with a special ESP of the Year celebration on Friday, March 26.

Every child deserves to be safe at school. We need to make sure we are providing a safe working and learning environment for all of our education staff members and our students.

Demand Illinois Lawmakers Provide Safe Schools for All

We need your help! We’re calling on the Illinois state legislature to get to work and pass valuable COVID-19 measures to protect our students and our schools.

TAKE ACTION

The 2021 NEA Education Support Professional (ESP) National Conference will take place virtually on March 19-21, followed by the NEA ESP of the Year award celebration on Friday, March 26. The NEA ESP National Conference is the premier professional development opportunity for ESPs across the nation.

This year’s conference will offer up to 30 live and 15 on-demand professional learning opportunities over the course of three days. In addition, participants will have multiple opportunities to network and share best practices and strategies with their peers.

The conference is offered to NEA members only. Registration will open in February 2021 and will be free of charge. Because there is no cost to participate in the conference, state affiliates will not need to submit state-nominees to attend this year. Registration will be capped at 2,000 participants and will be confirmed on a first come, first served basis.

Workshop proposals are now being accepted. To submit a workshop for consideration, presenters must complete the Presenter Response Form, in its entirety, no later than Tuesday, December 22, 2020. Workshop selections for this year’s conference will be considered for both live and pre-recorded sessions. All workshop sessions will be 75 minutes in length and will be held on the afternoons of Saturday, March 20 and Sunday, March 21.

Information about the NEA ESP Conference can be found at www.nea.org/espconference. If you need additional assistance, please contact Lisa Connor (LConnor@nea.org) or Jessica Brinkley (JDBrinkley@nea.org).

Jan. 18 is the application deadline for IEA SCORE Grants. All IEA members are encouraged to apply. 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.

Please note: The selection rubric used to review applications has been updated to provide the following incentives: project proposals by member pairs that include an early career member, application ideas related to the challenges resulting from COVID-19 and/or social justice. The advisory group has recommended funding in the past for member pairs and trios that demonstrate collaboration between veteran and early career members. Educators with more than 10 years of membership are able to apply with, or without, a partner. You can visit this page, scroll down a bit and find a list of previous projects for ideas.

NEA’s next ESP webinar, Institutional Racism and Policing: Impact on ESPs, has been rescheduled to Thursday, Dec. 17 from 7 to 8:15 PM EST. This webinar will highlight how institutional racism is embedded in policing, and how it impacts the experiences of education support professionals (ESPs), especially those of color, as they work to create safer learning environments for all students. We will examine institutional racism at the macro, meso, then micro level, and explore possible solutions with a panel of ESP members. 

Find out more and register now! 

Education Support Professionals: Our Democracy,

Our Responsibility, Our Time!

The 2021 NEA Education Support Professional (ESP) National Conference will take place virtually on March 19-21, followed by the NEA ESP of the Year award celebration on Friday, March 26. The NEA ESP National Conference is the premier professional development opportunity for ESPs across the nation.

This year’s conference will offer up to 30 live and 15 on-demand professional learning opportunities over the course of three days. In addition, participants will have multiple opportunities to network and share best practices and strategies with their peers.

The conference is offered to NEA members only. Registration will open in February 2021 and will be free of charge. Because there is no cost to participate in the conference, state affiliates will not need to submit state-nominees to attend this year. Registration will be capped at 2,000 participants and will be confirmed on a first come, first served basis.

Workshop proposals are now being accepted. To submit a workshop for consideration, presenters must complete the Presenter Response Form, in its entirety, no later than Tuesday, December 22, 2020. Workshop selections for this year’s conference will be considered for both live and pre-recorded sessions. All workshop sessions will be 75 minutes in length and will be held on the afternoons of Saturday, March 20 and Sunday, March 21.

Information about the NEA ESP Conference can be found at www.nea.org/espconference. If you need additional assistance, please contact Lisa Connor (LConnor@nea.org) or Jessica Brinkley (JDBrinkley@nea.org).