At our last Education Support Professional Meet and Greet on Saturday, June 22nd, we asked this question and these are the responses from the amazing ESPs in attendance.
What does “Education Support Professionals” mean to you?
Tag: Proud ESP
Thank you! We can’t do it without you!
Thank you to everyone who attended our last rESPect steering meeting of the 2023-24 school year this past Thursday evening. At this meeting we focused on evaluating our successes and our challenges, and we reviewed our goals to make sure our targets haven’t changed. We are doing so many things right and we are having great successes…but there is ALWAYS room for improvement. One of the biggest takeaways for me is team members wanting more…more opportunities for engagement and to take on more leadership roles. YES!, that is what we need. This is your campaign and your voice and leadership will drive this campaign to the finish line.
Reminder – There is NO rESPect steering meeting in July.
Are you ready for rESPect? You’re invited to attend…
This month’s meeting will be a year-end review. We’ll celebrate our successes, discuss our challenges and strategize plans for improvement. Your ideas and suggestions will help us map out a strong 2024-2025 school year of RESPECT.
Call to Action – Undo Tier 2
| In 2010, the Illinois General Assembly hastily created a “Tier 2” of separate, lower pension benefits for public school and public university employees hired after 2011. We are asking our members to take action now to change this. Since then, the drastically reduced benefits for “Tier 2” workers are further diminished due to inflation, meaning they can’t keep up with rising costs like grocery and drug price increases. Many education employees cannot collect Social Security, and these pension benefits are their sole source of retirement security. You can see the negative effects of Tier 2 reflected in the shortages of both educators and Education Support Professionals (ESPs) in schools and universities across the state. The shortages mean an increased workload and sometimes overwhelming working conditions for everyone working in our schools and at our colleges and universities. |
| This problem was created by politicians failing to pay into the retirement system, and it’s them we should be holding accountable, rather than punishing educators. |
| From April 15-18, please join Illinois public employee unions in a week of action. Contact your lawmakers and tell them they must take action to fix Tier 2 pensions. You can write your lawmaker here. Or, you can dial 507-497-1665 to be connected to your legislators by phone. |
| This action is the first step to push legislators in Springfield to ensure that all school employees have a fair, secure retirement and we can retain essential teachers, adjuncts and higher ed staff, Education Support Professionals (ESPs) and all public school and university employees. All educators deserve an equitable retirement. Stand up for your colleagues. Help us Undo Tier 2. Remember, we are stronger united! And together we are IEA! |
IEA Spring Elections: Don’t forget to vote
Elections for ESP Council and other statewide positions
You should have received the below envelope during the last week of March/first of April containing online election information to vote for your IEA ESP Council members, NEA RA state delegates and other IEA statewide positions. If you did not receive your online voting information or have any questions, please contact IEA Governance Elections Paraprofessional Kim Trader @ kim.trader@ieanea.org or 217-321-2250. The election closes at 4 p.m. on April 24. Please vote! Your vote is important!
What does RESPECT look like?
You’re invited to attend our next RESPECT virtual meeting
Support staff are typically the first to arrive at school as they unlock doors and turn on lights. They are some of the first people to greet students when they arrive at school in the morning, who give students the academic support they need to become successful scholars, who carefully assist with their health, safety, and nutritional needs, and are the last people who see students safely home at the end of the day. The value of their work is priceless.
So it’s time we start treating them that way!
Thank you to all who attended last nights rESPect steering meeting
Un oh…technical difficulties.
We started with a few hiccups with technology, but ended with a great meeting full of collaboration and awesome ideas shared by many! Each rESPect team (Legislative, Model Contract Language, Communications, and Organizing and Leadership Development), worked in breakout rooms to accomplish the goals of their team. It is the members and IEA staff that come together and share their voice and talents that will build this into the powerful campaign needed to bring the changes that will benefit the lives of education support professionals in Illinois.
You’re invited to attend our next meeting on February 8th
#IEArESPect #IEAESP #rESPect #NEAESP
Join our virtual rESPect meeting tomorrow
Join Us Jan. 11
5:30 – 7 p.m.
rESPect Virtual Meeting
All ESPs Welcome!
REGISTER NOW
(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. |
Happy New Year!!
Happy New Years Eve!
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/
IEA Education Support Professional Council 