News Release

National Education Association Celebrates Education Support Professionals Day, November 16

Celebration Part of Association's American Education Week, November 13-19

WASHINGTON — To recognize and honor the more than 2.9 million education support professionals providing services such as clerical and administrative support, transportation, food planning, nursing and health, security and technical support, today the National Education Association (NEA) and its 2.7 million members are celebrating Education Support Professionals Day. The celebration is part of NEA's 84th annual American Education Week taking place November 13-19.

Education Support Professionals Day will help draw attention to American Education Week's 2005 theme, "A Strong America Starts with Great Public Schools." The theme represents NEA's vision of calling upon everyone to do their part in making public schools great for every child so that they can grow and achieve in the 21st century.

"By participating in Education Support Professionals Day, we will be joining millions of people nationwide in celebrating the hard work, dedication and invaluable services our education support professionals provide,” said NEA President Reg Weaver.  “They are unsung heroes who drive our students to school, help them cross the street, provide them with nutritious meals, serve as partners in educating our children and keep school buildings safe, operational and clean.”

Education support professionals include:

• Paraeducator employees who provide instructional and noninstructional support as partners in student learning;

• Clerical Service employees who are the front line of public relations with parents staff and the community;

• Custodians who pay constant attention to all safety conditions in schools;

• Maintenance Service employees who are responsible for heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and overall safety for the entire school environment;

• Transportation Service employees who are the first and last person seen by our students in a day;

• Food Service employees who provide the most basic component of student achievement: nutrition;

• Skilled Trades employees who are responsible for the physical quality of our school building environments;

• Health and Student Service employees who are vital to student health and welfare within a public school;

• Security Service employees who are responsible for the safety and security of students, staff community and campus property; and

• Technical Service employees who provide essential technical services throughout a school district.

Education Support Professionals Day was first celebrated in 1987 after NEA's Representative Assembly, the Association’s annual conference of 10,000 member delegates, called for the creation of a way to honor contributions of school support staff.  Today's support professionals provide services that enable students to learn in positive, supportive environments.  Education Support Professionals Day is observed on Wednesday during American Education Week.

About American Education Week
American Education Week presents Americans with an opportunity to honor individuals who are making a difference in ensuring that every child receives a quality education. The weeklong celebration spotlights the different people who are critical in building great public schools for the nation's 50 million K-12 students. American Education Week's celebration days include:

• Sunday, November 13: Student Leaders Day. Hundreds of future teachers convened in Boston, Mass., to participate in an American Education Week kick-off event with NEA President Reg Weaver and other NEA leaders.

• Monday, November 14: National Kick-off Celebration. From national commemorations to local events, Americans celebrated public education.

• Tuesday, November 15: Invite Parents to School Day. Schools invited parents into the classroom for a firsthand look at what the school day is like for their children.

• Wednesday, November 16: Education Support Professionals Day. Education employees who provide invaluable services to schools are being publicly recognized for their outstanding work.

• Thursday, November 17: Teacher for a Day. Community leaders will be invited to teach for a day to experience the challenges of teaching and the needs of students.

• Friday, November 18: Substitute Educators Day. This day honors the educators who are called upon to replace regularly employed education employees.

Celebrated the first full week before Thanksgiving, American Education Week began in 1921 as a way to generate public awareness and support for education at a time when illiteracy was still a major problem in the United States.

To find out more about American Education Week, visit www.nea.org/aew or contact your local public school.
 
 
Nov. 16, 2005

CONTACT:
Christiana Campos   (202) 822-7261, Ccampos@nea.org

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The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, college faculty, school administrators, education support professionals, retired educator and students preparing to become teaches.