By Donald Gilpin

Olive Giles

Olive Giles, child study team and guidance department secretary at Princeton High School (PHS), was awarded the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) Education Support Professionals (ESP) Person of the Year Award earlier this month in a ceremony at the East Brunswick Hilton.

Among her many accomplishments over a 25-year career in education is the creation of a mentoring program which is the first of its kind in the state of New Jersey for educational support staffers. Mentoring programs for new teachers have long been an established education practice, but Princeton’s ESP program is one of only three district-supported mentoring programs for ESPs in the country, according to the NJEA.

Beginning in 2016, Giles, who is president of the Princeton Regional Education Support Staff Association (PRESSA), began collaborating with Lewis Goldstein, who was then assistant superintendent, to launch the PPS Support Staff Mentoring Program. Goldstein and Giles followed the model of PPS’ successful mentoring program for teachers, seeking to boost new ESPs’ confidence, build strong working relationships among staff, improve outcomes for students, and demonstrate the value administration and the Board of Education place on the work ESPs do. 

“This program helps to put ESPs on equal footing with teachers and certificated staff,” Goldstein stated in an interview with NJEA. “It shows that we take their professional growth as seriously as we do teachers’. The work that ESPs do is critical to the success of the district, and we are always looking to implement programs that show how valued ESPs are in Princeton Public Schools.”

Giles noted, “It is always difficult for anyone who is starting a new job, but when there are precious minds to tend to, that is a game changer. As ESPs we should all have the knowledge of and share the ‘inside scoop’ on how to navigate such an important profession.”

She continued, “Additionally, because we are a union agency, we work collaboratively, not competitively, with each other for the benefit of our students. The mentoring program embraces new employees at the door and addresses any concerns that they might have when coming to a new environment, and values them by supporting them in the new positions.”

The first ESP mentor class occurred during the 2017-18 school year with 32 participants, including 16 new hires. In 2018-19 the program doubled. There are currently 33 new hires and 66 total ESP staff participating in the program. So far, Giles pointed out, there have been no big problems, “no hiccups” for the program, only kudos.

Giles is eager to spread the word and see other districts adopt mentoring programs for support staff. “We would like to see the program replicated, especially for ESPs, who have not been serviced or shown the same attention as others in education,” she said. “Because we are a diverse group and know the children as much as, and sometimes more than, teachers or administrators, we also have a stake in how the students progress and handle their school day.  We are not just education support staffers. We are essential support staffers.”

Giles emphasized the importance of having well trained, well prepared ESPs in a school setting. “Most people learn on the job, but in this profession, you should know what you’re working with, from all vantage points, from the outset,” she stated.

Cautioning the public not to “overlook the secretaries, custodians, bus drivers, or instructional assistants in your school district,” Giles questioned, ”Were it not for ESPs, how would the school district look and run? ESPs are the backbone of the school districts and should be valued as essential to the profession.”