Thank you, MTA Education Support Professionals!
Thank you, MTA Education Support Professionals!
Today is National Education Support Professionals Day, a highlight of American Education Week. This entire week celebrates education workers and educators who help make our schools and colleges run safely and efficiently, who transport students to classes and back home, and who work individually with students and in small-group instruction.
ESPs are an important part of our MTA union, and this is the week to show them they are appreciated for the difference they make every day for students and public education.
- Share their stories and impact with your community on social media. Don’t forget to include the hashtag #AEW2025 in your post so the NEA and our local communities can find them. Please tag your messages @massteacher on Facebook/Instagram and @massteacherESP on Instagram so we can share them.
- Send an email to an ESP in your school or campus, amplifying their work. The NEA has prepared a format that can be personalized.
- Endorse the MTA PreK-12 ESP Bill of Rights, and if your school district hasn’t signed this pledge, encourage the school committee or board to do so. The pledge is a starting point for better pay and benefits for ESPs, which are a top priority of the union.
- Support the Classified Staff Bill of Rights, which recognizes essential workers in public higher education who work in administrative, maintenance, trades and educational support positions.
- Listen to Saúl Ramos, a former MTA and NEA ESP of the Year, whose interview on the NEA podcast School Me is featured prominently on the American Education Week website. He speaks of the importance of recognizing ESPs.
- Nominate someone you know or work with for the MTA 2026 ESP of the Year Award. Nominations are being accepted through Dec. 15.
Over the past several years, some of the MTA’s most significant contract gains have come in stronger agreements for ESPs that move them closer to a living wage in Massachusetts, including a $50,000 starting salary for ESPs in the Somerville Educators Union, but there is more work to be done.
We all play a role in public education and sharing our appreciation for colleagues is one of the most impactful ways we can grow our union strength.
Have a wonderful American Education Week, and let’s work together to create the public schools, colleges and universities that our communities and students deserve!