Supporting the Supporters: HR’s Role in Education Support Staff Development

Quick look: Education support professionals (ESPs) oversee multiple duties, from food service needs to clerical work, to ensure schools remain safe and responsible learning environments. HR tactics help maximize ESPs’ efforts by delivering the expert guidance and resources they need to succeed. Read ahead to see what HR management practices empower ESPs on their mission to make a difference for students.

American Education Week is an annual holiday that honors the contributions and dedication of school workforces nationwide.  When we think about education workers, our minds often focus on the teachers who spend each day nurturing students’ intelligence. However, there’s another dedicated group of experts who are equally essential to students’ success: education support professionals (ESPs).

During the week-long celebration, it’s just as important for ESPs to receive a unique spot of appreciation. These unsung heroes—ranging from administrative staff and aides to custodians and counselors—play a vital role in improving their school’s health, safety, and functionality.

Just as ESPs enhance students’ academic experiences, human resources offer solutions that ease ESPs’ daily tasks and year-round workload. Keep reading to discover which HR practices positively impact education support professionals during the school year.

Understanding ESP careers

The National Education Association (NEA) categorizes ESPs into nine different career types:

• Clerical service workers
• Custodial and maintenance workers
• Food service workers
• Health and student service workers
• Paraeducators
• Security workers
• Skilled trades workers
• Technical service workers
• Transportation service workers

Each role involves performing a specific skill while actively engaging with students, families, teachers, and other staff members. For example, school cafeteria workers prepare and serve meals to students while managing food inventory. Custodians ensure the cleanliness and sanitation of the school grounds while tracking cleaning supply inventory and maintenance updates throughout the building.

Education support professionals also rely on their schools’ guidance to complete mandatory activities. An efficient HR management strategy streamlines a school’s operational framework, offering ESPs transparency and aid in mastering their on-call duties and career goals.

Professional development and training

Students are more confident in the classroom when their knowledge aligns with the teaching materials. Employees are the same, feeling more job satisfaction when their skills coincide with their position and career path. That’s why 76% of employees view training as crucial to their work.

Creating a professional development program for education support professionals lets them refresh their skills and grow their expertise in their chosen profession. These programs feature opportunities like new-hire training, certification courses, and collaborative workshops. An ESP’s professional development may also include industry-mandated courses such as DEI, harassment prevention, school safety, and incident reporting training.

Compliance maintenance

The education sector upholds its integrity and security by strictly adhering to legal guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Labor. State and local governments, as well as district officials, also implement educational regulations. Despite these laws’ importance, staying updated on the ever-evolving rules can take time and effort.

HR ensures ESPs and their schools comply with industry-specific education and labor laws, such as the Fair Labor Standard Act’s latest overtime pay updates to Title IX’s new final rule. By maintaining compliance, ESPs perform their duties with greater intent and accuracy.

Performance management

ESPs don’t just want to do their job; they want to do it well. Performance management supports this by offering the tools to set, monitor, and evaluate task objectives. A formal performance management system like 15Five for example, allow ESPs to establish clear goals to complete annually or on a regular basis. Paraeducators, for instance, may list their quarterly tutor scheduling duties, while school nurses may include conducting first-aid training classes.

Performance management also encourages one-on-one meetings between ESPs and their managers. These check-ins help ESPs understand where their work excels and where improvement opportunities exist. One-on-ones drive ESPs to be more proactive in their roles, too, since 85% of employees take more initiative at work when they receive workplace feedback.

Employee benefits

Working as an ESP is a rewarding but strenuous profession. The hours spent preparing activities, following up on requests, and collaborating with different people can exhaust workers’ mental and physical health. Fortunately, employee benefits can help foster work-life balance while shielding ESPs from unwanted burnout.

Traditional health insurance such as medical, dental, and vision help ESPs maintain everyday wellness. Schools providing ancillary benefits offer extra coverage options that assist ESPs with unexpected wellness emergencies and long-term health needs. With generous benefits packages, ESPs get to prioritize their well-being while helping their students and fellow staff prosper.

Strengthen ESPs with ExtensisHR

The efforts of education support professionals enhance their schools’ unwavering mission to inspire young minds and foster an impactful learning environment. ESPs deserve to tap into HR services that provide the same level of dedication and efficiency.

That’s where ExtensisHR comes in. As a professional employer organization (PEO), we deliver comprehensive HR support for schools that addresses industry challenges with certified expertise and customer-first service. Our offerings tailored for schools include:

• Professional development assistance to help staff members sharpen and further their growth
• Access to SchoolCloud™’s exclusive administrative features and services, including industry-specific resources and over 200 training modules via a partnership with Vector Solutions
• Expertise to ensure your school maintains compliance with labor laws, industry rules, and other relevant employee regulations
• Affordable access to peer review and performance management tools like 15Five
• Fortune 500-level employee benefits from leading health and wellness providers

Our school-centric HR solution gives ESPs the extra support they need to handle their niche tasks and keep core school operations running seamlessly. 

Contact us today to see how ExtensisHR improves HR management for ESPs and their schools.