Education Support Professionals Going Above and Beyond for Student Safety
Every day, in every public school, education support professionals (ESPs) keep students safe. School bus drivers know the proper evacuation routes and safety procedures on the bus. School security staff keep the school campus free of drugs, crime, and illegal substances. Trades staff keep campuses safe and clean. Student services professionals advocate for greater mental health resources. Secretaries intervene in bullying situations, and work to help the victim and the bully. Custodians serve on school safety committees. Nurses look for signals that a student may be shouldering an eating disorder, drug addiction, or other challenge. The list goes on, but what it comes down to is that ESPs contribute to student safety in ways that are significant and innumerable.
Here are just a few of the countless ESPs who provide students with a much-needed safe haven.
Victor Marquez, School Security Officer, Citrus Valley High School, Redlands, CA.
School security staff are on the frontlines of school safety. From playground scuffles, students who smoke on school grounds, and mechanical accidents, to disasters—whether natural or manmade— and other situations, these highly trained professionals provide schools with leadership and expertise when it’s time to prepare for or react to a crisis.
In a recent NEA video, Victor Marquez, a security officer at Citrus Valley High School in Redlands, Calif., talks about the role he and his colleagues play in schools across the nation.
Karen Barnes, School Bus Coordinator, Austin Independent School District, Austin, TX.
Karen Barnes’ district educates approximately 85,000 students and embraces 129 diverse school communities. Austin Independence School District (AISD) also Education Support Professionals Going Above and Beyond for Student Safety - NEA Today: