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Education Support Professionals (ESPs)

As an Education Support Professional (ESP) employee, you know just how much your workplace colleagues and your students depend on you – and your fellow NEARI members do too!
A group of Chariho ESPs stand together in red shirts smiling for a picture.

"ESP" - What Does it Mean?

School support staff, also known as Education Support Professionals (ESPs), support students and teachers, manage school offices, clean buildings, drives buses, and do so much more. ESPs strengthen our schools, communities, and associations across our state. They play a vital role on the education team and in students' lives inside and outside the classroom. They keep our schools running and our students safe, healthy, and ready to learn every day.

Our Impact

We deserve rESPect

Rhode Island's schools work because ESPs do! We deserve high-quality professional development, fair wages, and respect on the job.
ESPs laughing together at a professional development event.

Online Professional Development for ESPs

Check out online learning opportunities and supports for ESPs to elevate your professional excellence throughout your career.
Learn more
A custodian smiling in the hall.

ESP Pay

ESPs want and deserve better pay. NEA has a detailed report on the state of ESP earnings around the country.
Learn more
An ESP member stands next to a big banner of the ESP bill of right as she signs and smiles for a picture.

ESP Bill of Rights

Pledge your support for the ESP Bill of Rights and learn how to build strategic campaigns to advocate for a living wage, fairness, and respect for ESPs all across the country. 
Learn more
Educators dressed in red on a picket line look to the road with fists up and arms flexed.

Together we're stronger. Together we're heard.

You belong in the union! Join today to belong to the movement fighting for the pay, working conditions, and respect we all deserve.
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A labor union and professional organization.

Our Association is a remarkable blend of union and professional organization, with a proud history of serving Rhode Island. Since its inception in 1845, our members have been at the center of every struggle to advance the finest of American dreams: the promise of a quality public education for every child. One in every 100 Rhode Islanders is a member - chances are, you know us already!
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Join NEARI

The NEARI is a state affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), the nation's largest professional employee organization. NEA has affiliate organizations in every state and in more than 14,000 communities across the United States.

Learn more at NEA.org

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Find your Member ID on the back of your copy of the NEA Today print magazine, on EdCommunities, or by emailing [email protected].
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