ESP Conference offers chance to learn and network

By: Mary MacDonald

Published: December 2022

The unique challenges facing Education Support Professionals and proven solutions — whether they involve gains in working conditions or approaches to helping anxious students — will be among the subjects covered at the upcoming MTA ESP Conference.

The event is scheduled to be held in person this year and is set for Friday and Saturday, April 1 and 2, at the Sea Crest Beach Hotel in Falmouth.

Due to the uncertainties of the pandemic, the conference will be modified, and attendance will be limited compared to prior years.

The conference traditionally draws several hundred ESPs and is among the most attended among MTA events. This year reservations will be limited to about 150 people, allowing attendees to spread out. Registration will begin soon.

Yahaira Rodriguez, chair of the MTA ESP Committee, said the conference will give educators from preK-12 to higher education a chance to create and strengthen relationships. The workshops and other sessions are designed to appeal to a range of ESPs.

"This is for ESPs by ESPs," Rodriguez said. "What better than to listen to someone who knows exactly what you’re going through?"

This year’s event will begin with dinner on Friday, rather than the traditional afternoon workshops, giving preK-12 attendees more flexibility to arrive without asking to be released early from school.

That evening’s schedule will include the presentation of the 2022 MTA ESP of the Year award.

The award recognizes the achievements of an ESP who has made a difference in the lives of students.

MTA President Merrie Najimy, Vice President Max Page and 2021 ESP of the Year Susan Soares are expected to address the conference audience.

On Saturday, nine workshops will be held over two sessions, focusing on topics including union-building skills, motivational ways to educate students, self-care, and advancing racial and social justice.

"ESPs are seeing their value in education," Rodriguez said. "We’ve learned how to educate through Zoom. We have had to step into classrooms that didn’t have teachers."

Sessions will include "Motivating Mindfulness: Strategy, Practice & Takeaways to Support Us All to Cope with Trauma," "Working with Anxious Students," and "Creating Space to Talk about Race." The latter session, led by Rodriguez, will include discussions of how to create spaces that make students of color feel welcome.

Two workshops will focus on negotiations and bargaining issues, both critically important to ESPs as the campaign for a living wage gathers momentum. Advancing the goals of the MTA ESP PreK-12 Bill of Rights is an MTA priority.

"Preparing and Planning for Negotiations" will be a two-hour session for new and veteran members on how to best prepare, including through organizational techniques and record-keeping, as well as how to analyze contract language.

"Key Bargaining Issues for ESPs and Classified Staff" will address the unique challenges in working conditions and terms of employment that face ESPs in preK-12 settings and classified staff in higher education. The session will focus on contractual improvements that are most important to members and facilitate sharing best practices across locals.

Among the MTA locals that have successfully negotiated new contracts is the Shrewsbury Paraprofessional Association. In January, the association secured a new three-year contract that includes annual boosts in pay for members.

Meredith Charles, owner of Drama Out of the Box, will present a session on the "art of communication," drawing on improv as a technique. With educators and students wearing masks indoors, body language and tone have become even more important, said Charles, who taught in the Waltham Public Schools for 18 years.

"The workshop is designed around the idea of improvisation, which is really being in the moment, and taking things as they come to better understand what’s happening — but also to be more observant of people you’re communicating with and how you’re coming across," Charles said.

Please watch massteacher.org/esp for more information about this year’s conference.

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