It’s back to school for support professionals
Every school and college support staffer who belongs to the AFT knows they’re in this line of work for their students, for each other and for their communities. It stands to reason. They love the work. They are devoted to their students, fighting for resources that will help young people and communities thrive. They have each other’s backs. And they’re sticking with their union, which provides supports like professional development, as well as collective bargaining tools, free lesson plans and sources for books and supplies. Here’s what some Oregon paraprofessionals and school-related personnel told us as AFT Secretary-Treasurer Lorretta Johnson, a former PSRP herself, visited their schools.
‘How could you not love it?’
Sandi Byers, a college and careers coordinator at Newberg High School, is dedicated to her students and got involved with the Oregon School Employees Association because she saw injustice and wanted to correct it. “Fair is fair,” says Byers, a chapter vice president. But mainly, she loves the kids. “I get to help form their futures,” she says. “I get to make their dreams come true. How could you not love it?”
The biggest challenge for a school bus driver
John Mason enjoys helping lost kindergartners and shiny new middle schoolers find their way to school and back home, but his biggest concern is trying to keep them safe in traffic. The roads are plagued with an “epidemic” of unsafe driving, says the member of Hillsboro Classified United, as other drivers fail to stop at school bus stop signs, speed around blinking red lights and ignore children dashing on and off the bus. It can become pretty stressful for the driver whose job it is to keep children safe at all times.
Getting members engaged is her mission
You know how administrative assistants are the glue holding every organization together? Well, Vicki Nelson is lead secretary at her school, and her mission is to glue every member of the support staff to our union through strong communications. “We try really hard to have a worksite organizer in every building — at least one,” says Nelson, president of OSEA’s Centennial chapter. “A go-to person who can answer questions or steer them in the right direction.” She’s serious about making sure every school employee has a “first friend, best friend” in the union.
Bottom line, it’s all about the kids
Devin Hunter, a technology professional and president of AFT-Oregon’s Hillsboro Classified United, says his union is in the middle of bargaining issues like a bus driver shortage, standardized job descriptions and cost-of-living adjustments for special education assistants. Better working environments for members, he notes, translate into better learning environments for kids. “Everything we do here is all about the students,” he says. “It’s about making a strong educational environment for them to learn in.”
Don’t miss out on the great things school and college support staff are doing all over the country as they help students learn. Subscribe to your free monthly AFT PSRP electronic newsletter, and any other AFT e-newsletters you like, at aft.org/subscribe.
