American Education Week Salutes NV Support Professionals
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November 18, 2009
LAS VEGAS - You may want to tip your hat or even salute if you see a school bus drive by today. It's "Education Support Professionals Day," dedicated to the recognition of bus drivers, school nurses, custodians and other members of school support staffs, for the positive effects they have on students' lives each day.
Lynn Warne, president of the Nevada State Education Association, believes it is important that American Education Week (November 16-20) includes a day to salute support professionals, as the nearly 11,000 Nevadans who make sure that students have the tools they need each day to succeed.
"From putting Band-Aids on scrapes to serving lunches, as well as the bus drivers that are the first ones to see the kids in the morning -- they're all critical to the success of the students."
Warne says support professionals in Nevada deserve an extra round of applause this year, because their jobs and departments are among those hit hardest by multiple efforts to balance the state budget.
"You've seen a great reduction in the number of custodians. They've tried to condense bus routes; there's not as many bus drivers available for field trips. They've cut back on the number of clinical aides and other support professionals."
This year marks the 88th American Education Week celebration, which was created to stress the importance of providing every child in America with a quality education from kindergarten through college. On Friday, schools will honor all the Substitute Educators who are called upon to take over classroom duties when regular teachers are sick or on vacation.