2025 ESP Leadership Summit
Register and attend OEA’s 2025 ESP Leadership Summit on January 25th, noon to 2pm.
Participants will discuss issues and trends from around the state, review potential legislative priorities, and provide feedback on new membership materials. Rachel Reight from Baasten Mc Kinley & Co. will provide an ESP focused legal update with a Q&A in the second hour of the meeting. Please email Matt Ides, OEA’s ESP liaison, with any questions (idesm@ohea.org). We look forward to seeing you January 25th!
OAESP 2024 Conference
The Ohio Association of Education Support Professionals are excited to announce our Fall Conference
MAKING OUR VOICES HEARD EVERYDAY
October 11-12, 2024
Nationwide Hotel & Conference Center
100 Green Meadows Drive South
Lewis Center, OH 43035
Join us at 5:00 PM on Friday, October 11th and 8:00 AM to 2:30 PM on Saturday, October 12th
The first fifty (50) registrants who are OAESP members will receive a scholarship which includes registration, meals provided at the conference, and hotel (double occupancy) for Friday, October 11, 2024, at the Nationwide Hotel & Conference Center.
You will be notified if you are a scholarship recipient on or before September 14, 2023.
A limited number of single accommodations will be available at a cost of $75 due the date of the conference either by cash (exact amount) or check made payable to Ohio Education Association, Attention: Chantal Dixon.
For those of you who are not an OAESP Member but would like to become a member, please check the appropriate box during your registration and you may complete a registration form at the conference. Dues for the year are $5 and cash or check (made payable to OAESP) can be paid at the conference.
We have some exciting professional development offerings, and we look forward to seeing you at the Conference.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Chantal Dixon at 614-227-0046 or via email at dixonc@ohea.org
Revised September 13, 2024
American Education Week — Keeping Students Safe & Secure
During American Education Week (Nov. 12-16, 2018), the Ohio Education Association is taking the opportunity to raise awareness of, and to help eliminate, the stigma of managing a disability or a mental illness.
[Video: Keeping Students Safe — Andrea Beeman, Special Education Paraprofessional, OEA/Maple Org. Support Team]
Each morning, millions of school children face the challenge of living with an impairment, mental illness or disability.
Conditions range from Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, drug dependency, and depression to varied spectrum disorders.
Despite their prevalence, unwarranted assumptions and avoidance by other are also, unfortunately, widespread.
Accordingly, the OEA has called upon state lawmakers to implement a comprehensive school safety strategy that includes meeting mental health needs in schools by providing appropriate supports for our students.
These strategies must not only include essential physical security issues, but also addressing mental health in our curriculum, and appropriate staffing and student support in the form of adequate numbers of counselors, nurses, social workers, and mental health specialists to ensure that all students’ needs are met.
Similarly, the OEA has recently:
- Opposed a plan to use federal funds to buy guns for teachers;
- Sponsored the 2018 National Dropout Prevention Network Conference; and,
- Advocate for programs that establish and support safe learning environments that are free of crime, drug use, and other disruptions.
To learn more about where OEA members collectively stand on the issues, click here! | #WeLoveOurESP | #AEW2018
12,631 Thank-Yous! — Happy National ESPs Day
The Ohio Education Association is extending a hearty thank-you to each of our 12,631¹ Education Support Professionals (ESPs) in recognition of National 2018 Education Support Professionals Day.
Observed annually, National ESP Day honors the contributions of school support employees.
These support professionals provide invaluable services and are essential partners in the children’s education process.
National ESP Day honors the work of school secretaries, classroom aides, cafeteria workers, maintenance workers, bus drivers and the others that help and do their part in making public schools great for every child so that they can be safe, learn, grow and achieve.
About American Education Week
National ESP Day is part of the NEA’s 97th annual American Education Week celebration, November 12-16, 2018. National ESP Day is observed on Wednesday of American Education Week. Celebrated the week prior to Thanksgiving, American Education Week began in 1921 with the NEA and the American Legion as cosponsors. The goal was to generate public awareness and support for education because of concerns over illiteracy. A year later, the U.S. Office of Education signed on, and the PTA followed in 1938. | #WeLoveOurESP | #AEW2018
¹ Count as of October 31, 2018, OEA Membership Office
ESP Education Support Professional (ESP) Award
Some years ago, education support professionals were not members of the Ohio Education Association. Today, OEA Education Support Professional members are actively involved in the Association, in bargaining, political action, community organizing, and school restructuring efforts, as partners with their education colleagues.
Once a year, OEA/NEA members join school districts and communities on National Education Support Professional Day to honor the many dedicated education support professionals around the nation. The OEA Board of Directors approved a special annual honor, the OEA Education Support Professional Award, to further emphasize the contributions of education support professionals to their schools, communities, and all education workers.
OEA will present the Education Support Professional Award to an OEA member whose activities reflect the contributions of education support professionals to public education. Nominations may be submitted by any member and/or affiliate of the Ohio Education Association.
Current members of the OEA Board of Directors and association staff members are not eligible for this scholarship. In addition, OEA Awards and Scholarship Committee Members are not eligible for two years after completion of service on the committee to apply or to be nominated.
The award will be presented at the OEA Spring Representative Assembly Awards Luncheon. For additional information, please contact Awards by emailing: awards@ohea.org.
NOTE: The completed online application form must be received on or before January 31, 2025. ** Late applications will not be considered.
All applicants will receive notification of receipt of his/her application. The finalists may receive an interview request at the discretion of the committee. Only complete applications will be considered. The OEA Awards and Scholarship Committee reserves the right to present no award, or to refer an applicant to another award or scholarship.
TIP: Consider using this nomination worksheet as a guide prior to completing the online form. This guide can not be submitted in lieu of the online nomination form.
Questions or Concerns? Please contact us at awards@ohea.org
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Page Updated: November 1, 2024