00:00I am now over time and I'm going to yield to Senator Markey.
00:04Thank you, Mr. Chairman, very much.
00:06And I want to start by highlighting that I am proud of the Boston public school system
00:13for their prioritizing of equity and inclusion for their students.
00:19They aim to ensure that black and brown students have the same opportunities to achieve
00:24and that we address the systemic racism that plagued our schools nationally.
00:30And they work hard to guarantee that LGBTQ kids are not shamed for their identity.
00:37I strongly disagree that programs that aim to support and include students based on gender, sexuality, or race
00:45detract from student learning.
00:47In fact, I'm proud that Boston public schools look to include and celebrate all children
00:53because that is how we guarantee that every student has the opportunity to grow and to learn.
01:03Right now, one third of K-12 public school staff working full time make less than $25,000 per year.
01:13Less than $25,000 per year.
01:17One third of those staff in public schools in our country.
01:23I received a letter from a paraprofessional named CJ who works with students with autism
01:30in the Boston public school system and is a member of the Boston Teachers Union.
01:37CJ, like far too many paraprofessionals, is being forced to choose between the profession he is called to
01:45and basic financial security.
01:48CJ's students and their families will suffer if he has to leave the field of education.
01:54But if CJ can't make rent or care for his elderly mother, how can we expect him to stay in the school system?
02:04We cannot expect school staff to keep our students safe and healthy
02:08and learning when they are paid starvation wages.
02:12We need the Pay Teachers Act and we need a Pay Paraprofessionals and Education Support Staff Act as well.
02:22Mr. Keyes, how did your wages as a paraprofessional impact you and your students?
02:29My wages as a paraprofessional, how they impacted me?
02:33They impacted me because I needed a second job.
02:37I couldn't survive off of just paraprofessional wages.
02:42At $16,000, I was at the $30,000 when I switched over to teaching.
02:47Even that wasn't enough.
02:49A lot of my paraprofessional colleagues, they're looking to other districts and they're seeing that there's no real difference in the pay.
02:58The things that they deal with, they absolutely deserve to make more money.
03:03My paraprofessionals, they run the show for me when I can't.
03:08The last week of school, they did everything because I was so swamped with paperwork.
03:14They deserve to be paid for that.
03:16Paraprofessionals are teachers.
03:18They're just not certified.
03:20All of the teachers who I work with, they treated me with the same level of respect that they wanted to be given in return.
03:27I feel as though there definitely should be fairness in pay when it comes to paraprofessionals.
03:33They're just like me.
03:35My first year out of college, I worked for that whole year as a substitute teacher, which is not a paraprofessional,
03:41but I could also see how indispensable they were to making sure that the school did work.
03:47Mr. Arthur, as a teacher, why is it important to guarantee school buildings are as resilient to climate change
03:54as the resilience educators and students demonstrate in the face of intensifying climate crisis?
04:02I apologize, Senator. Can you re-say that question?
04:05Why do we need to ensure that the working conditions of teachers, but also the studying conditions of students,
04:13have healthy environments within which they will be working?
04:18Absolutely.
04:20Unhealthy adults, adults who are dealing with stress and burnout,
04:25have a hard time helping to prepare children to be healthy going forward in life.
04:31Our school climates are beautifully determined by the school community in which those people work.
04:38And I tell you, it makes me think, this graph I keep looking at,
04:41it's not just because I teach sixth grade math, it's just fascinating to me,
04:44and I just, I swear, I have Sharpies in my room, I change graphs all the time,
04:49I just wish I could go up to that graph, cross out spending, and write salaries for school staff.
04:54And then just like leave it.
04:56And watch over the next five years what those two colored lines do in terms of student achievement.
05:02If suddenly you have fully staffed schools with high paid, not just teachers, but paraprofessionals,
05:08school counselors, and all the other people that are critical in helping to educate and uplift children,
05:13then you will not only have better school climates, you will have better student scores,
05:17you will have everything that we're looking for in education.
05:20Man, anybody got a Sharpie?
05:21Thank you.
05:23You're right on the money, and it's why I introduced my preparing and retaining all educators to paraeducators bill
05:33to provide grants to schools for the types of pathway programs that allow school staff to grow and to thrive.
05:40Increased wages, scholarships for credentialing and further education,
05:44high quality professional development.
05:46So it's just essential that every paraprofessional in every state have access to and financial resources
05:53for high quality career pathway programs.
05:56I heard you, Mr. Keyes.
05:58I heard what you were saying.
05:59I agree with you.
06:00We just have to focus upon the resources to make sure we get that job done.
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