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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Support Staff Celebrated During American Education Week

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Tuesday, November 16, 2021   

SEATTLE -- This is American Education Week, and the celebration Wednesday focuses on education support professionals (ESPs).

The work of ESPs in schools includes clerical support, maintenance, security and paraeducators. They work in the K-12 system as well as higher education.

Janie White, vice president of the Washington Education Association and a former ESP, said ESPs have been critical during the pandemic, even when schools shut down.

"Our ESPs are the first responders, so they never left the building," White recounted. "They have been there to make sure that our students have hot meals, our families have hot meals. And transportation worked with nutrition services to deliver the food."

White pointed out transportation workers also delivered the technology students needed to work remotely and custodians ensured buildings stayed clean throughout the pandemic. She encouraged folks to show their appreciation for ESPs Wednesday.

She also wanted to ensure ESPs are supported by districts, noting they are often the first staff members to be cut when schools tighten their belts.

"We have to make sure that the funding that the state brings forward to our schools and our districts; that we have compensation for our ESPs because the majority of our ESPs are the lowest-paid employees in the district," White stated.

White added teachers and ESPs are a team working for students.

"We work together to make our kids get the full tools they need to be equipped for the work that they do," White emphasized. "Fully equipped human beings. That's our goal."

Other celebrations for American Education Week include Family Day Tuesday and Substitute Educators Day Friday.


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