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3 weeks ago | 
nea.org | Cindy Long
It’s not surprising, he says, that Superman would make a statement about acceptance in the wake of World War II as waves of refugees and immigrants arrived in America – just as there are refugees and immigrants today. “Superman, too, was once an outsider, a newcomer to America,” Smyth says.
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1 month ago | 
nea.org | Kalie Walker |Tim Walker |Cindy Long |Brenda Álvarez
Featured The Latest Art Feeds the Soul… And Grows Your Union! Download a new poster from NEA and put it up in your classroom or staff lounge! Remember you have a federally protected right to show the world that you are a union member. We're here to help you succeed in your career, advocate for public school students, and stay up to date on the latest education news. Sign up to stay informed.
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1 month ago | 
nea.org | Cindy Long
Andy Markus, a head custodian in Utah’s Canyons School District, was named the 2025 Education Support Professional (ESP) of the Year. He received the award from NEA president Becky Pringle on March 22 at the ESP National Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. Markus not only shines in his work to keep his school clean and safe, he’s a dedicated student mentor and fierce union activist and ESP advocate.
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1 month ago | 
nea.org | Cindy Long
As a measles outbreak rages in the southwest and cases pop up around the country, public school nurses have a clear, simple message: get the facts and get vaccinated. “You have to be educated to be healthy and healthy to be educated,” says Rachel Leathers, a school nurse in Aurora, Illinois. The outbreak has raised alarm among school nurses and the larger medical community.
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1 month ago | 
nea.org | Cindy Long
She knows much of this wouldn’t be possible without special education paraeducators whose positions are made possible in part by federal funding. Matthews points to special paraeducator Becky Marszalek, who worked daily with her daughter from kindergarten through fourth grade, helping her communicate with assistive technology, helping her learn to read and write her name, to add and subtract, and how to interact and feel part of a group of peers.
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2 months ago | 
nea.org | Cindy Long
The five finalists for NEA’s Education Support Professional (ESP) of the Year demonstrate what it means to serve the 90 percent of America’s schoolchildren every day. Forming the backbone of our nation’s schools, they lift up their students and communities and ensure that ESPs get the respect they earn and deserve.
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Jan 14, 2025 | 
nea.org | Cindy Long
Hundreds of educators and students have lost their homes and, in some cases, their schools, as wildfires incinerated wide swaths of Los Angeles. At last count, there were eight schools severely damaged or destroyed, but the wildfires, fueled by powerful Santa Ana winds, rage on. The National Weather Service issued a warning for Los Angeles that conditions could lead to explosive fire growth. So far, about 100,000 people are displaced.
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Dec 4, 2024 | 
nea.org | Cindy Long
A Surline Middle School student in West Branch, Michigan, was constantly struggling to manage his behavior until he began a boxing intervention program with his physical education teacher, Emilee Pike. He’d been called to the office for behavior nearly 40 times in one semester. After he began the boxing class, he was sent just five times. “The program had a really big effect on this child,” Pike says.
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Nov 20, 2024 | 
nea.org | Cindy Long
It’s American Education Week, and a highlight of the annual celebration is Education Support Professional (ESP) Day, which NEA marked with a tele-townhall featuring a conversation between NEA Vice President Princess Moss and NEA ESP of the Year Jen Bramson, an early childhood paraeducator from Utah. “You give me hope,” NEA Vice President Princess Moss told nearly 10,000 ESPs from around the country who attended the interactive townhall November 20.
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Nov 14, 2024 | 
nea.org | Cindy Long
Brandy Velasquez has had a long career getting students safely to school for Jefferson County Schools in Colorado. She’s driven special needs students and received training on what to do when a student needs help. Private rideshare drivers do not have the same level of training, nor the same level of concern, she says. One afternoon at pickup, she saw a young girl, about 8, who appeared to have severe autism and was visibly upset about getting into a rideshare vehicle.
