I hope that you had a great summer and you’re ready to get back to work. When I say, “get back to work,” I don’t mean what we all do day to day while working in the Princeton Public Schools’ school district.  No, I mean, “Are we ready to get back to the work of unifying our association and empowering our members?”  As education support professionals (ESPs), our students count on us!

We need to get back to work making our association stronger and better than ever.  We have several events happening this year, including ESP Day in November, PRESSA Elections (for all offices), and our continued community outreach. We need to get back to the work of making sure our communities are safer, and inclusive of all people our communities serve.  

We need to get back to work supporting each other, no matter what we do for Princeton Public Schools. We know that when each and every one of us is helping another, we win. You know who else wins when we work together? Our students win.  PRESSA will be applying for another NJEA PRIDE grant (for public relations), so that we can let the Princeton residents and students know that we are there for them.  Since September 2014, NJEA to-date has granted PRESSA approximately $11,000 in PRIDE money , which have include activities in partnership with our PREA colleagues, such as CommUniversity in the Spring.

We need to get back to work talking to our legislators about the importance of fully funding our pensions and getting real relief from the devastating impact of Chapter 78 on our paychecks. We currently HAVE two PRESSA members (and by PRESSA’s extension, two PREA members) on the Mercer County Education Association Legislative committee. 

We need to get back to work having meaningful conversations with each other, our family, our friends, and our neighbors about making sure that we elect pro-education and pro-labor legislators to represent us from Princeton/Cranbury to Washington, DC. To keep up with legislative happenings, and for an overview of actions that you, as members, can take from cyber lobbying to attending lobby days in Trenton, check NJEA’s webpage: https://www.njea.org/mobile-messaging/

This work is going to take some effort though, and I need each and every one of you to pitch in and be a part of our progress. Here is an overview of our action plan developed by the PRESSA Executive Committee:

Communications—We have set-up the following methods of communication: 

• Speaking with your building’s association representative or your PRESSA executive committee member, by visiting this web page. 
• Be sure to frequently check our Twitter and/or Facebook pages, so that you can stay informed of the issues and challenges that our local association may face this year. Please be sure you’re connected to one of these methods. 
• Representation—We will have several rep council meetings scheduled for the year. The association reps will be reporting back to you using 10-minute before- or, after-school meetings. Please be sure to attend those meetings.
• Get Involved—Think of belonging to our association like most memberships, you only see results when you show up and get to work. Don’t wait for someone else to do the work.  We need you on our committees, at school board meetings, writing post cards to legislators, and many other things which will not demand much of your time.  Let’s get to work and have a great year together!