Education
ESPs Decry Working Conditions and Low Pay; School Com’s Rosa Calls Recent Bargaining Productive
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(Additional photograph below.)
During a panel put on by the Haverhill Education Association last night, Education Support Professionals—or ESPs—said they do not earn enough money to get by, despite working what they called exhausting and chaotic jobs to support the district’s neediest children. After the panelists finished, ESPs in the audience shared stories. “With upwards of 15 kids in a classroom—three and four years old, not potty trained—could you imagine 15 children needing to go to the bathroom 15 different times and you have two people in the room? Your bathroom is in the basement and you are on the third floor,” said Jennifer Ashley, an ESP at Moody Preschool Extension. Parents, educators and a few elected officials filled the AmVets Post 147.