Education Support Professionals (ESPs) are an integral part of the education team that supports student learning. When ESPs are hired, they are often left alone to “figure out” what their job entails. This leads to poor job satisfaction, high turnover, and weaker performance. When ESP mentoring is done right, it can lead to improved outcomes for students, greater retention of ESPs, higher job satisfaction, greater confidence, and leadership development.

This session will explore ESP mentoring and how to justify the importance of mentoring to the district, build the program from the bottom up, and document the success of the program through data collection and analysis. Participants will receive information and materials they can bring back to their locals that can be customized to meet their needs. ESP mentoring uses the ESP Professional Growth Continuum (PGC) as its foundation, providing a vision for each ESP career family as ESPs develop their professional learning goals.

Presenters:

• Tara Gauding, Vermont-NEA
• Stephanie Dupras, Vermont-NEA
• Gloria Mantagaris, Vermont-NEA