When I was finishing my student teaching experience, my mentor, Art Goffe, asked me if I had any questions for him. My question was this: “What is the most important thing for me to know that I wasn’t taught in college?”
Mr. Goffe smiled at me and without skipping a beat said, “Make friends with the support staff. They will help you more than you know.”
Man, was he ever right! Education support professionals in K-12 public schools play pivotal roles in creating conducive learning environments for students. Administrative assistants, custodians, cooks, bus drivers and paraprofessionals contribute significantly to the overall functioning of our schools, and impact our students in positive and profound ways. Put simply, our schools could not function efficiently without them.
November 15 is Education Support Professionals Day! On behalf of all of us at North Dakota United, I want to thank all of our ESP members for the incredible work they do and the difference they make!
ESP of the Year
We are pleased to announce that we are seeking nominations for the NDU Education Support Professionals (ESP) Member of the Year! This is a great opportunity to recognize the hard-working support staff in our public schools.
ESPs impact young lives every day in North Dakota. The North Dakota United ESP of the Year Award annually recognizes an outstanding ESP member and the impact they make toward their school, community and profession.
Your NDU ESP Advisory Board seeks a member who reflects the importance, value and quality of the work performed by our paraprofessionals, education assistance, secretarial, custodial, food service, maintenance and trades, transportation, groundskeepers, security, technology services, health services and other members, who serve not only in their schools but in their community.
The nomination window for this year's award closes on December 1, 2023. Nominees for this award must be members of NDU to qualify for consideration.
