School Bus Drivers Put the Brakes on Bullying

By Teal Ruland Bullying happens in stairwells and in cafeterias, in the classroom and on the playground, but it also takes place beyond the school grounds as buses pull away from the curb. According to the U.S. Department of Education, in 2006–2007, one-third of U.S. students ages 12 through 18 reported being bullied. Of those, [...]

The Persistence of Privatization

By John Rosales Person by person, block by block, school by school. Since Spring 2009, about two dozen custodians from Maine School Administrative District 75 (MSAD 75) have beat back the lingering threat of privatization. They have sat with one neighbor at a time, spoken at numerous school board meetings and labor organization events, started [...]

NEA Leaders Wrap Up Back-to-School Tour, Salute Education Support Professionals

By Sara Robertson and Alain Jehlen Education Support Professionals (ESPs) in Orlando, Florida, are being crushed financially, caught between state mandated salary cuts and increased health insurance costs. Yet despite their economic plight, student safety is still a major concern. Those are the messages NEA President Dennis Van Roekel heard from some 60+ Orange County [...]

Leadership In a Small Town

By Alain Jehlen Before Sam Phillips started fighting for grown-ups, he fought for students. Phillips is an American Indian and a utility maintenance employee in the Potter Valley Community Unified School District, a rural K-12 district with fewer than 300 students 130 miles north of San Francisco. His own daughter had disabilities and he felt [...]

Bullying Prevention: It Can Start with ESPs

By Meredith Barnett From her post in Leslie Middle School’s office, Debbie Pavon knows what to do when she spots one of her “frequent fliers.” That’s what this education support professional (ESP) calls students who land again and again in the principal’s office for being disruptive. Sometimes, they’re bullies. Other times, they’re the ones who [...]

The White House Praises NEA’s Anti-Bullying Campaign

By Mary Ellen Flannery Northern Virginia teacher Jaim Foster stood in the Oval Office today and delivered a personal message to President Barack Obama about bullying: It needs to stop, so that every child can be safe and successful. Foster was joined in his trip to the White House by NEA President Dennis Van Roekel [...]

Can You Stand Up to Bullying?

By Mary Ellen Flannery Just one caring adult can make all the difference in the world to a bullied child, research shows. One caring adult can keep them from dropping out of school. One caring adult can even save their life. NEA is asking you to be that adult. NEA’s Bully Free: It Starts With Me, [...]

Let’s Move! Campaign Celebrates a Year of Healthier School Lunches

By Cindy Long It’s been one year since First Lady Michelle Obama urged schools to serve healthier meals as part of her Let’s Move! Campaign to fight childhood obesity, and school lunches are already looking a whole lot leaner.  Food service professionals — longtime advocates of boosting nutrition levels in school meals — are doing [...]

Snow Days Mean No Pay For Some Support Professionals

By Kevin Hart From Maine to Michigan to Montana, nothing brings a smile to Snow Belt students’ faces faster than a snow day. But these unscheduled interruptions to the school year have a dark side for many hourly and per-diem education support professionals, who may experience lost wages and lighter paychecks when school is canceled. [...]

Education Support Professionals, Teachers Talk Indoor Air Quality

By Lance Fuller Amy Courson-Brock likens herself to a canary. Although she may not sing in mines to help miners detect deadly gases, she advocates for cleaner air quality in public schools. About four years ago, the windows in her classroom at Heritage Elementary in Homer, Ill., were shortened with some sections replaced with regular [...]

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