The NEA ESP conference is the premier professional development opportunity for Education Support Professionals across the nation. The goal of this conference is to enhance the skills and knowledge of ESP members to positively impact student achievement, build community relations, organize members, advocate for educators, build stronger locals, and help our members do their jobs better. The conference offers more than 60 different hands-on workshops over the course of four days. Pre-Conference workshop opportunities are offered in topics ranging from social justice, early career educators, leadership development, team building and school climate.

Dr. Thomas Green and Dr. Rebecca Baldwin will be conducting three Stop School Pests in-person workshops at the 2018 NEA ESP Conference on March 24th, 2018.

Title: Stop School Pests! Introduction to smart, easy pest management practices for all school staff
Description: Pests such as bed bugs are a growing problem in schools. Learn how to identify and manage common pests like bed bugs, cockroaches or mice with smart, easy pest management strategies. This workshop is for everyone who works in schools and participants will see live insects to gain practical knowledge and skills to respond to a pest problem efficiently. In this workshop, participants will gain an understanding of strategies to recognize and identify pests that threaten student health and performance, and learn about health, environmental, and economic risks of pests in schools. By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
1 – Identify how Integrated Pest Management (IPM) reduces the risks of pests and pesticides in schools
2 – Identify health, environmental and economic risks of pests and pesticides in sensitive environments
3 – Apply basic pest monitoring, inspecting and reporting

Title: No bugs in my kitchen! Smart, easy pest management strategies for Food Services Professionals
Description: Food Service professionals are uniquely positioned to prevent problems with flies, cockroaches and other pests that threaten student health and performance. Clean and well-maintained food service areas are essential for the health and well-being of all people who eat and work in the area. In this workshop, participants will meet live insects to gain practical knowledge and skills to respond to a pest problem. To keep common pests from entering school kitchens and pantries, staff will learn how to identify pests by simply ‘thinking pests’ in their daily work. Participants will also learn strategies and ways to recognize, identify and prevent pests. LEARNING OBJECTIVES ALIGN WITH ServSafe® Food Handler STANDARDS. By the end of this workshop participants will be able to:
1 – Identify common pests in kitchens and pantries
2 – Describe key elements of sanitation and exclusion
3 – Describe the importance of effective communication, education and cooperation between food services, custodial, maintenance, facilities and administrative staff

Title: Bed bugs no more – Smart, easy pest management strategies for Custodial and Maintenance Staff
Description: Custodians and maintenance staff are uniquely positioned to prevent problems with bed bugs, cockroaches and other pests that threaten student health and performance. Staff will learn how to address pest problems in schools by simply ‘thinking pests’ in their daily work. In this workshop, participants will learn how to recognize, identify and effectively prevent pests that can be common in schools. Participants will encounter live insects such as bed bugs to gain practical knowledge and skills to correctly recognize and identify pests. Participants will also gain an understanding of strategies and ways to prevent pests from entering school buildings. By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
1- Identify bed bugs, cockroaches and other insects commonly causing problems in schools.
2- Apply elements of sanitation and exclusion and can identify sanitation issues and problem areas.
3 – Know effective communication, education and cooperation between relevant parties in the school to effectively prevent pests

Interactive presentations with time for Q and A during session, time for discussion and review of living insects to help participants learn how to correctly identify bed bugs, cockroaches and other common pests in schools.