Within every Massachusetts public school, educators are working one-on-one or in small groups with students who have learning disabilities, preparing nutritious meals, and making sure students attend classes in a clean, secure building.
Known collectively as Education Support Professionals, they include paraprofessionals, bus drivers, food service and front office employees, maintenance workers, and others. And today they are becoming ever more visible and more active outside of the settings where their work is key to the success of public education.
This fall, many MTA members should expect to get a phone call or a knock on the door as the association’s ESPs advance a campaign begun last year to build momentum for the MTA PreK-12 ESP Bill of Rights. Launched in the spring of 2020, the effort supports seven essential policies and rights, including a salary that reflects the value of the work that ESPs do. In April, the document was approved as a new business item at the Annual Meeting of Delegates.
Joni Cederholm, the 2019 MTA ESP of the Year, said the measure speaks not only to benefits and salaries, but also to mutual respect.
"It acknowledges that we’re all educators regardless of your position or what your title is," she said. "When you’re working in public education and you’re working with students, and you’re a part of their lives, we are all educators."
Over the summer, members of a core team of ESPs focused their energies on advocacy and organization. They will move forward to inform other ESPs and other fellow MTA members about the essential elements of the Bill of Rights, including the need for a living wage, affordable health insurance, and paid family and medical leave.
In August, Weymouth became the first Massachusetts community whose school committee adopted a resolution supporting the Bill of Rights.
Momentum is also growing among MTA locals. By late August, more than a quarter of them had voted to support the seven rights.
Cederholm, a clerical ESP who is a member of the Weymouth Educators’ Association, said she is hopeful that the increasing support will lead to better benefits and salaries in the months and years ahead.
"In a profession so critical to school and students, we need a living wage that reflects the value of our work, affordable health care, paid medical leave and affordable education to strengthen our education and support public education for all," Cederholm said.
One of the major thrusts of the upcoming months is to encourage ESPs to share their personal stories. A link on the MTA website is set up to help ESPs create and share videos of their personal stories. Teachers and others who work closely with ESPs are urged to take part.
Many paraprofessionals and other ESPs have to hold multiple jobs at once just to earn enough income to pay their monthly bills.
ESPs make up almost 20 percent of the MTA membership. The PreK-12 ESP Bill of Rights addresses their most critical professional needs.
Sumayya Ghalaini, a paraprofessional who is a member of the West Springfield Education Association, was among the task force members who drafted the Bill of Rights. A one-on-one paraprofessional who works with high school students with autism, Ghalaini has served in that role for five years — but she still doesn’t earn enough money to afford the district’s health insurance.
"I can’t even afford regular insurance provided by the school," she said. "I’m on MassHealth."
Many paraprofessionals and other ESPs have to hold multiple jobs at once just to earn enough income to pay their monthly bills.
One of the major platforms of the Bill of Rights is ensuring all districts pay ESPs a livable wage. Across Massachusetts, most ESPs earn less than $30,000 annually, although more than three-quarters of them have college degrees.
ESPs also are seeking mutual respect and recognition as educators. They want access to professional development opportunities and inclusion in education meetings.
For the next several months, the goal is to educate fellow ESPs about the Bill of Rights and its potential to influence future contract negotiations. Through online storytelling and sharing, emails, texts and door-to-door canvassing, members are talking to other members and trying to build momentum for strategic gains after a year of pandemic isolation.
So far, the reception has been welcoming, Ghalaini said. Most people she’s met during her recent organizing visits are happy to talk with another union member. In addition to having local associations adopt the PreK-12 ESP Bill of Rights, the campaign is intended to spread the word that the time has come for significant change.
MTA President Merrie Najimy noted recently that ESPs have been "underpaid and underappreciated for far too long."
"This PreK-12 ESP Bill of Rights is a first step toward strengthening our bargaining position and uniting ESPs across all districts as we fight for a living wage and respect for these essential educators," she said.
Members are encouraged to share their personal stories about the essential impact of ESPs on public education, as well as learn more about the campaign for the PreK-12 ESP Bill of Rights, by visiting massteacher.org/esp.
