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Professional Development


An Action Guide to Help in Your Professional Development

Getting Educated: Professional Development for all Support Professionals

Across America, nearly 3.5 million support professionals transport students to schools that are kept safe, clean and well-maintained; where school offices are operating efficiently and records are kept properly; where nutritious meals are served; where quality instructional assistance is provided; and where special programs -- such as those for handicapped and disadvantaged students -- are provided.

But despite the fact that schools clearly couldn't operate without them, support professionals are often prevented from turning their jobs into careers, or gaining promotion opportunities, because of a lack of professional development and advanced training.

This professional development area  gives real examples of how ESP members have created and implemented ideas to advance their professions, improve their working conditions, and contribute to student achievement. The "Getting Educated" section contains professional development information for each of the 9 K-12 Education Support Professional job classes.

Other sections contain information and Action Tools designed to be used in your local association professional development work.

Skills for All ESP

Professional development does not have to be job specific.

There are certain skills that should be gained by all ESP:

  • Effective discipline
  • Interpersonal communication skills
  • Diversity awareness
  • Stress management
  • Motivating at-risk students
  • Working with special needs students
  • Crisis intervention
  • School safety (for example, gang awareness)
  • Self defense
  • Customer/community relations
  • Health and safety issues (for example, blood borne pathogens)
  • Time management
  • Dealing with difficult people
  • Legal and ethical issues
  • Leadership skills
  • CPR/first responder courses
  • Reporting suspected child abuse
This Professional Development section of the NEA ESP Web site is based on the NEA ESP Quality print publication, "The ESProfessionals: An Action Guide to Help You in Your Professional Development." You can download the entire publication.  (PDF format)


And don't miss Supporting Our Own: A Manual for ESP Mentoring Programs    (PDF, 1.9 Mb, 48 pgs). This new on-line manual is designed to assist local Associations and school districts to plan and implement mentoring programs specifically for and by ESP.


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