Education support refers to a broad array of educational strategies. In general, these strategies are designed to help students accelerate their learning progress or better meet academic standards.
From paraeducators to cafeteria workers, bus drivers and office staff, education support professionals are vital to the school community. MSEA is committed to helping them win decent wages, working conditions and respect.
Guidance or Counseling Office
School counselors typically focus on academics and future plans, addressing concerns about which courses to take for the next year, college or career advice or financial aid. They also might help students with personal issues and family problems that interfere with school. They often have relationships with school psychologists or social workers who can handle more serious situations that may require professional intervention.
They work in a private office and often have meetings with students, parents or teachers. They should be able to empathize with their clients and provide them with appropriate strategies for solving problems.
To become a guidance counselor, a four-year undergraduate degree in psychology, education or sociology is usually required. In many states, a master’s degree in counseling or a similar field is also needed. Obtaining national certification from the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) can make you more marketable. It requires supervised counseling hours and passing one of the organization’s exams.
ESL (English as a Second Language) Specialists and Bilingual Teachers
Many school districts offer bilingual programs to help students who speak other languages in addition to English. Some have full or part time ESL or bilingual teachers who provide instruction to ELLs and support them in classrooms in a “push-in” model. Others do not have such a program. In any case, all schools must provide a means for ELLs to achieve academic success.
The ESL administrators surveyed reported that university coursework prepared them well in areas such as second language acquisition, curriculum, and pedagogy. Initiating collaboration with classroom teachers was a key responsibility but one that was often complicated by scheduling and time constraints.
Individuals interested in a career working with ELLs should seek out professional organizations that represent the unique population and educational programs of each region or state. For example, there may be a state or regional TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) association. There are also a number of national and international professional associations.
Library and Media Services
School library media centers provide students with access to a wide range of resources that support the curriculum. They help students become critical thinkers and enthusiastic readers. They are also skilled researchers and ethical/responsible consumers of ideas and information.
School librarians and media specialists model and teach information literacy skills that empower all learners to live and thrive in a digital age. They collaborate with classroom teachers to build a community of lifelong learners who are college, career and “life” ready.
JCPS library media specialists work with the district curriculum team to ensure that students have equitable access to a rich, varied literature collection. They also offer a variety of instructional and instructional media for instruction and student creative expression. In addition, media services provides a no-cost, centralized checkout for faculty/staff of audiovisual equipment with priority given to those seeking to create course integrated student media projects. For more information on utilizing media services, click here.
Health Services
Health services staff includes physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, dentists, school health educators and allied health personnel who provide a variety of medical and preventive services to students including vision and hearing screening; recording of health histories; dental prophylaxis; physical examinations and in-school immunization; monitoring and management of chronic illnesses like asthma and diabetes (select high schools), and emergency care programs for ill or injured students. In addition, some schools also offer classes and workshops on topics like reproductive health (select high schools), and asthma and diabetes management (Open Airways and HOP). Education Law 912 requires that the school district in which a student resides provides students who attend religious and independent schools with all health and welfare services available to public school students in the district, provided the administrators of the nonpublic school request such services in writing. The administration of these services is then governed by the written agreement between the school districts.