We Need a Living Wage! Chesapeake’s Anderson Takes a Public Stand for ESPs
February 16, 2022
February 16, 2022
Chesapeake Education Association Vice President Arthur Anderson, a special education teaching assistant at Oscar Smith High School, recently spoke to his city’s school board on behalf of his fellow education support professionals. Here’s some of what he had to say about the economic challenges ESPs face, despite their essential contributions to public education.
I am an educational support professional, and I am a voice for myself and all the ESPs of Chesapeake. I love what I do, and I love my school. I’ve been here for 30 years. I love my principal—he’s a man of integrity who’s given me the opportunity to start a mentoring program at our school, to work our football games, to help young people.
When we last talked, I told you how our support staff needs extra pay. For all that you have done to make some progress with that we say, “Thank you!” However, we have sacrificed for so many years as support staff. We have done it with pride and dedication. Yet we have not been able to take care of ourselves or our families. We have not been able to pursue educational goals and opportunities. Many of us have goals to become classroom teachers but have had to postpone those dreams and goals just to put food on the table.
I have been with this school system, as I mentioned, for 30 years. But I still don’t make $30,000. Many of us qualify for food stamps and rental and public assistance. Many of us work two or three jobs just to make ends meet, sometimes working part-time as custodians or driving school buses. We do this despite the fact that we are highly qualified. Many of us are college educated. That is who we are as ESPs.
Here are some of what else we do as ESPs: Many of us cover classes for only $6 extra an hour or work daily in our schools’ main offices, train co-workers, or work part-time as school custodians or bus drivers. Many of us are also working extra part-time jobs every day. We are overworked and underpaid. We need your help now! We are essential and we need fully-funded Standards of Quality positions that provide a living wage. We don’t need extra jobs or extra pay—we need a living wage!
I am that teaching assistant who drives the bus for extra pay!
I need a living wage!
I am that teaching assistant who works in the main office who trained our building’s lead secretary, with no extra pay. We need help to get our teaching degrees!
I need a living wage!
I am that teaching assistant who does school security every day with no extra pay!
I need a living wage!
I am that custodian keeps the building clean and sanitizes extra rooms with no extra pay, when we are short-staffed every day!
I need a living wage!
I am that cafeteria worker who works every day despite being short of food supplies for students. I will burn out quickly at this rate!
I need a living wage!
I am that bus driver who is doing extra runs every day to pick up children from different schools!
I need a living wage!
I am that computer tech person who’s been working non-stop for two years to fix everybody’s computer problems!
I need a living wage!
I am that school nurse working so hard to keep everyone safe and healthy, dealing with everything from headaches to COVID!
I need a living wage!
I am that school security staff who’s short of help but must keep students and staff safe in our hallways. Students are needing to be picked up, others are having behavior problems. I don’t know what to do!
I need a living wage!
The average pay of Virginia public school teachers in 2023-24 was $65,830. That is $4,260 below the national average of $70,090.
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