A dear friend of mine, Jim shared with me that a friend of his said, "Jim, why don't you get a different job instead of being just a school bus driver?"
Anyone who knows him, knows how compassionate Jim is about driving his school bus. He has a saying: "Anyone can drive a bus, but not everyone can drive a school bus."
Jim shared with me that “a different job is not an option because I know right where I'm supposed to be, giving out my secret stash of granola bars so that my students aren't hungry,” he said. “I am right where I'm supposed to be because when my students get on and off my bus that they know that they are cared for and loved and they are safe.”
I had a similar conversation, but mine was with an Illinois state legislator. She asked me, "if education support professionals really do have all the barriers that you say they do, then get a different job because that's the answer, right?"
No, that’s not the answer. Like Jim, I’m not getting a different job because I know I’m right where I need to be.
I am right where I need to be in the cafeteria in the morning unpacking those invisible backpacks trying to get my students ready to take on their day. I am right where I need to be giving that small group instruction, giving my students a space to dream big dreams and to learn about things they never thought were possible.
I was walking around a second grade classroom one day during snack time. I was listening to all the giggles and the stories and everything that happens in a typical second grade classroom. But as I was walking around, I was not prepared for what I was about to hear.
As I passed Tracy's desk she was leaning in to her neighbor and I heard her whisper, "When you're done with your bag of chips, can I have the crumbs that are in the bottom of your bag?"
It bears repeating: When you're done with your bag of chips, can I have the crumbs that are in the bottom of your bag?
At that moment, time stood still for me.
Because at that moment, I was taken back to when I was a child standing in line with my mom and my sisters behind a semi-trailer truck waiting for my government block of cheese.
I was standing in line waiting for that jar of government peanut butter, the kind with layer of oil sitting on the top, and for that silver can that had the silhouette of a cow on it that just said beef across the top.
I knew how Tracy felt and I knew I had to do something. I had to fix it because as education support professionals (ESPs), that’s what we do. We fix things.
I went and got Tracy her bag of chips because that day I was not going to let her settle for crumbs in the bottom of a bag. I was able to do that because I was right where I needed to be.
When I left that classroom, I went out and I applied for a grant. I applied for the Illinois Education Association Schools (IEA) and Community Outreach by Educators (SCORE) grant. The grants are for $1,000 for IEA members and their local associations to collaborate and create opportunities for community service or school projects.
A couple of months later, I received notification that we received the grant for a snack cabinet at our school. Together with my state union, we fixed a problem, because that’s what educators do.
The snack cabinet may not look like much, but it is a lifeline for the students at Lincoln Elementary School who will not have to go without a snack. Not today, not tomorrow, not next week, not ever.
But we need to apply that same energy to fixing things for ourselves as ESPs. Are you done asking for the crumbs that are in the bottom of the bag? Are you done accepting the leftovers?
I know the answer: ESPs are done asking for crumbs in the bottom of the bag.
We must advocate together. We need to advocate for a livable wage, for professional learning, and for the respect that we deserve because we are the ESPs of the largest labor union in this nation.
We will not settle for crumbs. We will fix this.
This is from a speech Amy Evans delivered at the 2026 ESP Leadership Conference, edited for clarity.
